Be a learner, not a knower: How asking the right questions leads to better UX

Because solving real-world problems, for real people, requires informed decisions.

Do you ever think about the play icon? It’s pretty… iconic. Looking at it, an incredibly high percentage of people are likely to understand, instantly, what it’s communicating and how to interact with it. This is an example of what Don Norman would refer to as an affordance: An existing relationship between an object and a person that implies an expected outcome.

A symbol with such a high level of affordance that YouTube uses it in their logo

Regardless of the interface—YouTube, Netflix, or even a VCR—we’re fairly confident we know how to initiate a video when we come across one. Growing up with the everyone-has-a-microwave-in-the-home generation, it’s a symbol I’ve never questioned. In fact, a friend of mine argues that we—those early tech crash test dummies—learned the ins and outs of technology through ignorant fearlessness. We learned how to operate the VCR because we were naive enough to push all the buttons and wait for a response.

There were also way more buttons in those days.

See what I mean? Photo by Anthony from Pexels

Today I learn from asking questions; obsessing over how things work by analyzing interactions. It’s an exercise that often relies on flat-out talking to people. Every time we question the way things work, we collect data on everyday interactions and strengthen our understanding of, not only what works, but why people love “this thing” versus “that thing.”

Surveys and focus groups can be soulless and impersonal, but conversations between people align understanding and foster honest communication.

Before pledging my allegiance to UX, I spent roughly 10 years working for creative agencies: The marketing with a big M world. And in that world we would often talk about knowing our audience. Today, I associate…