Recently as part of reviewing a design for a client, we asked users to have a look at different versions of specific pages. The aim was to get users to help us decide which version to adopt. Naturally there were two different camps among the designers and the client each supporting a different design and each hoping users will prove them right.
Getting users to help designers make a decision is not a bad idea, hanging on to their every word and always adopting the most popular design definitely is. Users' reasoning for selecting a particular design is more important than the choice itself. Why is it they they voted for version A? is it familiarity, an attempt to appear forward thinking, traditional, knowledgeable, or is it that version A is the most appropriate and efficient version of the task at hand? getting to understand the reasons behind each choice will help designers make the right decision.
Users are their to help us do the best we can, they are not their to make decisions on our behalf. We certainly listen to what they have to say but we then analyse, evaluate, and apply our own expertise to make those choices.
Sounds like a case for A-B testing... If you have a live user-base that is.
Posted by: Harry | 02/12/2008 at 07:28 PM