[IxDA Discuss] Is user research a band-aid for "the listening deficit"?

[Jeff White]

On Jan 7, 2008 12:49 PM, Robert Hoekman, Jr. <robert at rhjr.net> wrote:

> I'd agree with this, but I also see that often, the parts of a company that
> are listening have no direct line of communication to the ones that need the
> info. For example, a call center staff will have tons of useful insights,
> but there's no link between the call center and the design team.
>

Exactly right. And that's part of where we (if UCD or a similar
research approach is being used) add value, we can help organizations
leverage the stuff they've already got, but didn't know they had, or
just didn't know how to use it.

I also agree with an earlier comment in the thread that it's not just
about listening. It's about the way you do it. Being skilled in
interview techniques, observation, etc is another area where we
provide a huge amount of value.

Jeff