How do you improve and innovate products, services and experiences? Or even anticipate a solution to a human problem that doesn’t exist yet? While mind-reading or time-traveling to see what the future holds would be ideal, unfortunately these are not realistic methods. Instead, we need to rely on good old fashioned human understanding to gain the upper edge in answering these questions.
Every great step forward in our world has revolved around solving for real problems and human needs. Sometimes that problem reveals itself in an obvious way, and other times the need might be blind to us at first, completely unspoken, or non-existent. At times, our expertise or skill in a discipline plays a key role. And at other times, we have to forget everything we know and put ourselves completely in someone else’s shoes to see the real problem.
A set of stairs, for example, would not be categorized as a problem for most, but what about an elderly person who struggles to make it up to the fifth floor? What about the new parent in a public restroom, carrying a baby in one arm, who's met with the challenge of pushing soap from a dispenser with a single free hand?
Oftentimes, we design solutions for the ‘in most cases’ for people like us. Blinded by our own experiences and biases, we unconsciously put our frame of reference first rather than truly considering other perspectives or contexts. However, using an empathetic, human-focused approach, we can go beyond solving for only the reality we experience firsthand. With empathy we’re able to develop solutions that not only work for everyone, including those who are often excluded, but also solutions that lead to more intelligent, efficient products that can transform or disrupt the status quo.
“With empathy we’re able to develop solutions... that can transform or disrupt the status quo.”
The Peeler: A Modest Tale of Empathy Design
Before 1990, few people paid much attention to kitchen products. They were typically made of cheap plastic or metal, utilitarian, and difficult for some to use. But then came Sam Farber. He listened often to his wife Betsy complain of worsening arthritis while prepping family dinner. She was frustrated and in pain from having to grip the thin base of a metal vegetable peeler. From this human moment a problem was realized–a better tool could not only help those suffering from mobility issues like Betsy Farber, but one that could help all people who cook be more comfortable and productive in the kitchen.
With rounds of prototypes and human testing, the Swivel Peeler was born featuring an ergonomic rubber grip. This basic kitchen tool that hardly gets a second thought today caused a major pivot in consumer product design forever. And it started with empathy–one person realizing the reality of another and seeking a better solution.
Empathy: The heart of Human-Centered Design
By definition, empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. And it’s what grounds Human-Centered Design (HCD), the approach we follow at Informed XP, to bridge the gap from people’s needs to our client’s products and services. Human-centered design is a process in which we start with the perspectives of the people we are designing for, and end with an output tailored to better suit their needs.
Empathy is a foundational attitude at the heart and start of HCD. Empathy places the person at the center of the design process, allowing us to seek and understand their context, motivations, desires, struggles, and definitions of success. When we take an empathetic approach to design, we are freed from our own preconceptions, biases, and often mistaken assumptions in order to effectively design and measure true desirability. It allows us to overcome what we think the problem is and to discover and solve for the actual needs of our user, whether the user is aware or unaware of those needs, or even unable to articulate them.
Looking back to the peeler example, by listening to and sharing in his wife’s struggle, Sam Farber knew that there was a real need to have a more intuitively-designed, easier to use kitchen tool. He also discovered that this new product would be something that could benefit everyone, not just those with arthritis. The cheap, flimsy peeler was an inconvenience in the kitchen, whether people were conscious of it or not, and if given the choice of something better and still affordable, they’d choose the something better.
“Embrace people and their needs, and they will embrace your product or service.”
If the design of a product doesn’t account for the people who will be using it, then the product will not be used. Embrace people and their needs, and they will embrace your product or service. Use of empathy becomes a competitive differentiator. But too often, organizations skip an important beginning step by not talking to their users. And unfortunately, then fail to incorporate this step in any phase of their product development lifecycle, leading to preventable issues, unused features, or other unwanted outcomes. Anyone remember Facebook’s app, Facebook Home? Probably not. When it launched to tens of millions of users in 2013, including Android users, those who tried it reported a number of issues around cumbersome, clunky operation. Worse, it forced features and ‘benefits’ on unsuspecting Android users like hiding their other apps behind the Facebook feed. Had Facebook spent time considering their users’ needs and contexts, the app could have been something we still use and talk about today—and something that generates ongoing value for both the company and users alike.
Practicing Empathy in Design
So, how do we actually achieve an empathetic mindset in order to create better products and experiences? To truly empathize and uncover a tangible problem, either known or unknown to our user, takes effort and an intentional human-centered approach.
As people, and as product designers, we have all developed a set of professional skills, a background and story that differs from those around us. The goal of empathy in design is to push beyond our own perspective and truly place ourselves in another’s shoes. To experience the world through their eyes, from a very different skill set and background.
“Fall in love with solving a true need or problem versus getting caught up in a preconceived solution.”
Assuming a beginner’s mindset allows us to become a blank slate — to consciously put aside our biases and approach design challenges with fresh, open eyes and minds. This creates the bridge to understanding users, the people at the center of our design, and fall in love with solving a true need or problem versus getting caught up in a preconceived solution. Solutions themselves can be exciting, so we need to stay focused on the core problem to avoid quickly settling with an attractive, but less than optimal solution.
Now we’re ready to empathize. And how better to understand human problems than to study humans? At Informed XP, we observe, engage, and immerse. We observe our users in the real context of their lives. We interact and talk with them, and we seek to immerse ourselves within their mindset through human-centered research methods such as interviews, contextual inquiry, observations, and other interactions. Once we understand our users and their needs, we’re able to identify the factors that will create meaningful impact and lead to better products, services, and experiences.
Pushing the Boundaries for our Clients Using Empathy in Design
All industries and organizations have user experience challenges, from the struggles of a common kitchen tool, to the pains of navigating digital solutions. At Informed XP, empathy drives us to find those problems worth solving and passionately pursue better outcomes for agencies and companies large and small. By shining a spotlight on our users’ needs and what motivates them to take action, we’re able to create more meaningful connections for our clients and for the people they serve.
Empathy is the key to unlocking insights that improve experiences and create true value for business, stakeholders, constituents, customers, citizens - for people. In taking time for empathy, we can deliver experiences that matter.
