Today’s Dilbert takes the old programming truism to an extreme – “Users don’t know what they want.”
Roy Tang
Programmer, engineer, scientist, critic, gamer, dreamer, and kid-at-heart.
Programmer, engineer, scientist, critic, gamer, dreamer, and kid-at-heart.
Today’s Dilbert takes the old programming truism to an extreme – “Users don’t know what they want.”
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As a developer who regularly talks with users, I believe it is our responsibility to help users express what they want. This is not just about writing specs and having them sign it.
It is also an issue of expections. Developers sometimes (or oftentimes?) assume that users know the capabilities and limitations of a program and that these things should not be discussed with the users.
We also need to be creative in helping users understand what we are trying to build. Instead of writing a spec, use screen prototypes. Instead of using PowerPoint to describe what the application can do, conduct a demo. Let the users play with the program and observe them.