Rick Segal gets Inuitive

Your product and the way you develop it is often a product of your environment. Rick Segal illustrates this with great effect.

I swung by the grocery store (Sobeys, if you must know), hopped out and proceeded in with my toilet seat. I dropped it into the basket, wandered around, grabbing a few things, and then headed to the checkout. Stares, looks, snickers from kids, right on cue.

Next, I headed over to the Home Depot and did same. Nothing. Everybody, including the kids with parents, were all busy doing whatever.

By now, you’ve gotten the point.

Developers of products and services spend way to much time thinking that whatever environment they are in, it’s the same comfort zone as everybody else. So, the next time you want to remind a developer/designer to remember the target, send em out for a case of soda and a bag of chips while carrying the office toilet seat. That feeling of being uncomfortable, stared at, etc, is what some people feel like when a software and service isn’t comfortable for them.

What works for you has a lot to do with who you are, where you’re at in life, and what experience you’ve previously had.