Andy Mc Blog #3

Is the user always correct?

No, clearly as we saw in class on Monday, people know what they want, but they don't know what they need. When I say they know what they want, I mean that sometimes they have good ideas. However, so many things influence what they say, like what they think we want them to say. Because of that, we don't get honest answers and we must try to listen to what they are not saying.

Should the designer always provide new features because one or more users ask for them?

The purpose of a designer is to create an object that provides for the given needs. If the designer gets caught up doing smaller features, he can easily lose track of the bigger picture and end up with crowded software that has too many features and fails to provide for the needs of the

Is there a larger “user-centered” focus that Hoekman advocates?

Hoekman advocates for a "user-centered" focus that comprises a few different things. The designer must listen to the user and their ideas and let them know they are being listened to. The designer needs to keep the original design for the needs in mind. They can't get carried away with smaller features that distract from the big picture.


Project 2 Eliminations

In project number 2 with the treadmill we found lots of extra stuff. It seemed the creators of this treadmill got so carried away that the HUD was overcrowded to the point of being distracting. I would have eliminated all of the double buttons, the extra start buttons, and all of the random drawings. The two panel screen needs to be narrowed down to one with all of the eliminations. It just needed to be simpler and not confuse people to the point of them not being able to walk.