In the "Schmidt List" podcast, hosts Kurt Schmidt and Lucy Hinton explore the essential role of user experience (UX) and user research in creating successful digital products. Lucy Hinton, a UX consultant at Fathom Consulting, shares her deep experience designing digital and physical products. She highlights the importance of understanding user needs to align product functionalities with user expectations.

The conversation shifts to how organizations move from top-down design to customer-driven methods. Kurt uses the famous, though misattributed, Henry Ford's "faster horses" quote to underscore the importance of grasping user needs for true innovation. Lucy offers practical advice for those new to user research, emphasizing the need to learn users' broader contexts and environments through prototypes and usability tests.

They discuss the framework for the jobs, focusing on users' tasks rather than just their interactions with products. Lucy underlines the need to account for varied user environments and tailor designs accordingly. The discussion also covers the importance of competitor analysis without merely copying trends that may not suit the business.

Lucy discusses the significance of presenting research findings objectively, urging the removal of personal bias and the inclusion of diverse viewpoints. She differentiates general user feedback from usability testing, endorsing the latter to validate hypotheses through real interactions. They also discuss the importance of building rapport with users for genuine feedback and the risks of biased questioning.


Visit Lucy!

lucillehinton.com
linkedin.com/in/lucillehinton
consultfathom.com