Developer as user

Textile 2023 week 45 note

When preparing to speak to a large room full of developers, as a designer you need to think a lot different. But this is exactly the problem with the approach many designers take with this sort of thing. We talk about empathising with users and collaboratively defining problems and shaping solutions, yet often forget that developers aren’t just people building things for us, they’re also users. Just like someone using any sort of consumer application, be it to hire a car or get something delivered, if your user is a developer, you need to understand their inputs, outputs, concerns and frustrations. We as designers need to also realise that if we’re helping build tools, that we need to loosen up with things, because we are helping design ranges of possible use. We are helping build ways of building things.