Stop asking users to introspect their behaviors

People like to think that their decisions are rational and made with deliberate thought.

But, in reality, people are very bad at introspecting their behaviors & decisions.

People want to tell a good story—a “narrative”—of their life and will change what they say to fit the view of who they are and to whom they are talking.

Instead of asking people to examine the reason behind their behavior, we should run experiments where we can observe them & find how they are currently solving their problem. We should try to map their needs, goals, and pain points, ideally where the action happens.

Don’t just listen to what users say they do. See what they do while they do it.

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