[IxDA Discuss] Design research

[Dan Saffer]

On May 9, 2007, at 7:50 AM, David Malouf wrote:

> On 5/9/07, Dan Saffer <dan at odannyboy.com> wrote:
>> I'm not sure this is true. Vista: 3 years of user research. OS X:
>> None. Just for one example.
>>
>> Research can improve our hunches, but it isn't a substitute for them.
>
> Dan do you know there is ZERO research at Apple for OS X?
> I severely doubt this. I know Apple is a big black box of secrecy, but
> b/c it is a blackbox doesn't mean there isn't research going on.

I'll look over the section in Designing Interactions with Cordell  
Ratzlaff re: designing OS X again, but I'm pretty certain little to  
no research was done for it.

>
> Design research doesn't always mean user research. To me rapid
> exploration and validation is an important form of design research
> (vetting out hunches in a studio environment is crucial).

That is not research. That is iterating on prototypes. Totally  
different thing.


> I think what I would rather say is that, don't be shy about your
> hunches, but you should always validate them.

I said nothing in that piece about testing concepts. I don't consider  
testing in the same way I consider generative research.

Dan