4 - Chase Buckner

    Is the user is always correct is a lot like the saying in retail, "The customer is always right!" Everyone in the retail industry knows that statement is most definitely not true all of the time. I think that there are many similarities between these two sayings. While one must always act in accordance to "The customer is always right" whenever they are dealing with a customer I think that Hoekman is trying to get the point across that you should act like the user is right even when you know what is best for them. For example, on page 44 when Hoekman teases, "You ready? People adapt to technology." He builds this idea up as if it is a revolutionary thought when in reality, everyone knows this simple fact. So no, I do not think that the user is always correct, but I do think that we should treat them as if they were. In response to the question, "Should the designer always provide new features because one or more of the users ask for them?" I would say no again, because ultimately, the designer has to do what is best for the sake of the design not for the one, two or ten people who want a specific function. Ultimately our purpose for the design should be to identify and correct the problem presented as well as satisfying as many people as possible throughout our implementation of the new design. We should take user's input to heart and make decisions based off of them while at the same time, doing what is best to fix the problem.
     By a situation-centric approach, Hoekman means that instead of solely focusing on what the users say they need and grouping the results according to common answers from the users, we need to look at the real thing that is bringing all of these people together, the situation. Designers need to look at why these users are using the website or app we are designing and from there, we can come to conclusions of what the users actually need. I suppose that if I were to critique the way that I conducted project 2, I would say that I should have definitely tested more users but also asked the user's different questions. I would've asked them why they worked out and how, in their mind, they envisioned themselves getting on the machine and exercising. I would've focused less on making it simpler for them to start their workout and instead made it quicker for them to get started with their workout, which is what they came to do in the first place. I would eliminate as many barriers as possible between the users and their goal of working out.