Re:Whitespace killed an enterprise app
by NeedMoreTea on Wednesday February 13, 2019 @12:11PM
(#19154596)
They often gloss over how they might use an app, or use it differently to described when doing real, live work with real data instead of test scenarios. Just as I would likely gloss over much of what I do when I drive a car, as I no longer think about it. Sometimes they use something differently to how their supervisors think they do. Maybe they found a handy shortcut or unintended timesaver, maybe relying on a side effect or unused field.
Best to watch a few at all levels of seniority, if at all possible, to fully understand how to deliver what they might need. Then dig into the issues, shortcuts and timesavers or bottlenecks they currently have.
That's a bit harsh. IMHO people don't know what's even possible, so they can't tell you what the solution is. Sometimes they can tell you what bothers them about what they've got even if they don't know what would be better. The rest of your comment it good though. Watch them. Look for things that look hard or redundant. Ask if they ever get tired of X, what gets in the way, etc... But don't necessarily expect them to tell you how to make it better.
I like to say users don't have requirements. They have problems.