Research
Observation vs. Interrogation
The distinction between watching what users actually do versus asking them what they think they do.
Observation captures behavior; interrogation captures opinion. Users are terrible at predicting their own behavior, excellent at rationalizing it after the fact, and often unaware of their own workarounds. Observation reveals the truth: the spreadsheet they maintain, the three apps they toggle between, the manual step they never mention in surveys. Interrogation is useful for understanding emotional and social jobs, but it must be paired with observation to avoid building a product for a fictional user.