Don’t ask “what do you want?”

In user research, we never ask participants "what do you want?” for several reasons. And while this may be obvious to come, the reasons behind it may not. Participants...

• Often do not know what they want

• Are likely not trained product or service designers 

• Don't know our business goals, what our roadmap consists of, where we are coming from, or where we want to go

• Are unaware of what we think about our brand or competition, how we want to compare, contrast and evolve 

• Don’t know the need or opportunity space we are looking to solve for, or achieve

• Find it difficult to envision something that may not yet exist

• Likely have not spent a lot of time thinking about the topic at hand

It’s also not their job to think in this way and most people do not have the ability to think in this way.

Instead, create space for participants to add to the conversation. Some questions that may help to ask at the end of a focused session include: 

• What else do you think would be helpful for me to know about X?

• Who else do you think would be helpful for me to speak with about X?

• Is there anything else you think I should have asked about? 

• If I had a magic wand, and could [improve/create/solve] for X, what might that look like?