How would you explain the following…
Imagine seeing hordes of teenagers, sleeping on sidewalks to ensure that they get Miley Cyrus tickets.
Or imagine watching patients fly across the country to see different doctors to get a “better” diagnosis.
Or my personal favorite: listening to frustrated employees complain about their job, then watch them get drunk on the weekends and then show up to work bright and early on Monday morning.
What does each person want?
They want their needs met.
You don’t need a skilled researcher to tell you that. But what exactly are the needs of teenager? What are the needs of the patient? What are the needs of the employee? And finally, how do you empathize and understand these completely different groups of people if you haven’t done any of these things?
The skilled researcher understands with empathy and compassion what is needed in each situation. This is difficult, yet not impossible. But it is something we must learn to do, if we seek to make change happen.
This is the beginning in a series of posts about user research, empathy and compassion: why it’s necessary, how to develop it, some pitfalls to look out for, when you actually have understood your user and more..
Here’s to understanding empathy and compassion in 2019.
A New Source Code 