[Sigia-l] Sample question set for user research

[Ziya Oz]

malahat at telus.net:

> You mean those doing pure research dont know why they are doing it ?  :)

A classmate of mine used to work at the famed Bell Labs in New Jersey. He
used to say that you had to know what you're doing there but not necessarily
why you were doing it.

You see, pure research is just that: it doesn't have a commercial product as
the end game. If you're too concerned about commercial ROI you'll likely
compromise the quality and depth of the research (researchers don't like
that) and if you're deep into pure research you'll likely miss or ignore
commercial opportunities (the business line doesn't like that).

When you mix these two approaches, you're asking for trouble. Indeed, there
must a few things I posted a long time ago on this list bemoaning the
corruption of work done at universities in the name of (pure) research paid
for by commercial interests. The results should fool only the naive.

So, if you have the luxury of finding out whatever you can about a domain
without a delineated purpose, sure, wallow in pure research. But if you're
under commercial constraints, under a deadline, with a product/service to
roll out, you'd better operate under a business proposition and a context
for inquiry. Serendipity not withstanding, of course. ;-)

----
Ziya

Usability >  Simplify the Solution
Design >  Simplify the Problem