What’s The Thinking Model of Your Users?
Why it is more important than the UI itself
Most of us, who design digital products, have heard at least once that we have to create things that people naturally understand. We must aim for clarity and self-explanatory interfaces that people will be able to use on a daily basis. We must create products that are familiar to our users so there is no friction during the learning curve.
In this case, many become concerned that by making digital products look familiar to other’s we won’t be pushing boundaries — no new interfaces. But we forget that the end result of your UI should depend not on the familiarity principle, but on the thinking model of your user.
For example…
You may be working on a dashboard for university teachers. The new dashboard will allow teachers to upload lessons, course materials, tests and results for their students. They could interact with students through it and check homework as well. So in this case, we think about the UI & UX requirements from a teacher’s perspective.
Here we have to realise that when a teacher thinks about class, they have precise definitions of the course material which is divided into lessons, units and certain checkpoints. They have a textbook overview in their mind with a bullet list and things to be taught. So everything seems clear for now — design a dashboard that will allow teachers to do their jobs better and more efficient. But we forget that there is also another side to the story, and that’s the student’s.
When a student thinks about a class, they don’t have a teacher’s kind of thinking model in their head. They rather think this way:
- What did we learn yesterday?
- What did we learn when I missed that class?
- What do we have to do for tomorrow’s class?
- What is the most important thing to remember from this lesson?
A student thinks in terms of class-time and the teacher as class-content. And this is the kind of familiarity we should aim for. A familiarity in terms of thinking model and not the user interface.
And now you see that the UI doesn’t play such an important role. It is more or less a by-product from what you realised previously — the thinking model. So the solution will be a reflection of a teacher and student’s way of thinking. And when you work on the UI, you may even copy the same design patterns from a competitor or a company from a different industry, but it will work.
If the wheel works, why reinvent it? Copy and tweak it to your needs.
This does not mean we are limited or we lose the creative part in the creation process. We have to realise that once you have the thinking model of your users, the door to the innovation opens right in front of you. So any type of UI that solves the problem best can fit the scenario.
It is not the user interface, but it is the words and the model of thinking that clicks with your user’s brain.
And for the thinking model to work…
You need to have an in depth understanding of your users. The understanding comes from domain knowledge. Designing for somebody is the same as buying a gift for your friend. If you know them well, then you know what they want. It is easier to buy gift when you know a person’s personality, wishes and desires. Now apply this to designing digital products.
How to know your users better?
The same way you become friend with somebody. Go out for a beer, have lunch or sit and have a conversation about their concerns, struggles, or how a work day looks for them. It’s that easy. And there is no substitute for getting to know each other.
The domain knowledge which is all about knowing how a day in their life looks and works. So, for example, if you are going to make a software for people who run restaurants, then you do need to know everything about the restaurant business. How do they name different processes? What are the steps they go for ordering fresh food? How do they manage staff/stuff? How do they track who does what? You need answers to these type of questions because they will give you a clear picture of what should be done. More you ask, more answers to paint the picture.
To sum up, I often remind myself that designing digital products for people is about knowing the technical side of their work/day, and there is the more human part — getting to know the person who will use the product.
