[IxDA Discuss] Design research

[Gretchen Anderson]

1. Re: the "Blink" reference: Everyone remembers the art historians and
doctor examples in that book. But let's not forget the Anthony Diallo
example where a bunch of cops trusted their gut and shot an unarmed man
a bunch of times. Research is useful to test our assumptions, though
this is probably more along the lines of validation research as Dan
says.

2. Re: Where research isn't needed: designing consumer electronics often
doesn't require research in the sense of "go out and watch people use
stuff" sense. BUT I still try to get my clients to buy into "time to
feed my intuition" research where I go survey what's out there. This is
especially valuable in a consulting setting where I'm becoming an
"expert" at many things. So, I agree that research isn't required in all
cases, but don't throw out babies with the dogma. ;)

3. Re: Apple doesn't do research: it's true for OSX, Steve made the
calls. But that to me is analogous to consumer electronics; we're all
target users. They DO consult with subject matter experts for the Pro
apps (Aperture and the like) to inform their design and understand
workflow.

Cheers, Gretchen