Chapter 6
Takeaways
1. Just because you have the money and ability to add a feature or functioneven if the user
wants itdoesnt mean you should add it. Your goal isnt to give users everything and
2. Balancing needs is about prioritization and filtering; you have to give priority to what will
3. Use triangulation to filter down your full set of possible product features into a reduced set
that meets user and organizational goals.
5. If you dont filter features up front, you run the risk of giving too much for users to handle,
6. If you bombard users with too many options to satisfy what you perceive to be your goals or
theirs, you will overwhelm users so much that they are effectively paralyzed into inaction.
Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think so many products have so many useless features? Where do you think the
breakdown in the UCD process occurs?
2. Do companies have to add extra features (even if they know users probably wont use them)
to be competitive or differentiate their products from other companies?
UCD Quests
1. Describe a situation where youve recently encountered a paradox of choice. What were the
circumstances? What action did you end up taking? How did it make you feel?
2. Imagine that you are co-designing a new library of document reference web site for your
school or workplace. Work with a partner (classmate or coworker) for this activity. Your task
is to define the product features, and your partners task is to define the product goals and
3. Prepare a five-minute practice conversation where you explain the UCD process to a client.
What should they know about UCD? What can they expect from a UCD team?