Product people get excited about solving problems that make users’ lives better. On that we can all agree. It’s the approach through which we choose to achieve that goal where differences arise. Sometimes the differences are more clear – Agile vs. Waterfall, for example. On other occasions, the difference is less obvious. Take user-centered vs. human-centered design. On their face, they seem synonymous; after all, users are human. But as we’ll hear from Kim Goodwin, the difference between them is more than a mere distinction.
In this episode, hosts Sean and podcast newcomer Paul Gebel welcome Kim Goodwin, author, consultant, and a featured keynote speaker at ITX’s 2nd annual ITX UX 2019: Beyond the Pixels design conference. Paul is a new host for the show and a Senior Product Management at ITX.
Kim discusses the power of human-centered design, in which product people must draw ever closer to those most familiar with the problems they face every day. It is those most familiar with the problems our product aims to solve, she says, who hold the key to their solutions. If we are to create products that solve those problems, we need to think in terms of meeting human needs.