Imagine you’re standing in a room. Some parts are hot (near the heater). Others are cooler (by the door). Now imagine taking the average temperature of the entire room and saying, “Everything is fine. It’s only 1.5°C warmer than usual.”
That average hides the lived reality. Some people are overheating, others are okay, but all are affected differently.
This is how we often treat data in product design (and climate change). We rely on averages, trends, and metrics and forget that they are just abstractions of real human experiences.
“Measurement provides precision but is an abstraction of the situation. The lack of context can lead decision makers to make perfectly rational, logical choices that are fundamentally wrong once implemented in the real world.”
Don Norman, Design for a Better World
The Limits of Measurement
Data helps us identify patterns: bounce rates, clicks, conversion funnels. It’s precise, scalable, and easy to analyze. But just like the average temperature in the room, it smooths out the extremes and often misses the points where people struggle, feel joy, or drop off.
The Role of Stories
This is where stories come in. They bring the qualitative layer: the emotions, goals, and context behind user behavior. Watching a user hesitate before clicking. Hearing someone say, “I didn’t even know that was possible.” These details don’t show up in your dashboard, but they tell you everything.
Stories are messy. They’re limited in number and scope. But that’s also their strength—they reveal what your averages cannot.
People have an idea of who they are and what’s important to them. They have self-stories that they tell themselves and other people about who they are, why they do what they do, and why they believe what they believe.
Susan Weinschenk, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
As designers, we’re not just shaping interactions, we’re shaping the narratives people tell themselves about their abilities, their choices, and their identity. When a product supports those narratives, it builds trust and long-term engagement.
The Magic Is in the Mix
To truly understand your product’s impact, you need both:
- Data to identify what’s happening
- Stories to understand why it matters
Together, they help you make better design decisions not just optimized ones. Design that works in the real world, not just in reports.
You should read this other blogpost too:
Schreibe einen Kommentar