In our endless echo-chamber of screens, remaining focused on the underlying problems becomes really hard.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been part of many teams that became blinded by screens. In the stacks of screens we built and debated we ended up with solutions that never really solved a problem.<\/p>\n But I\u2019ve seen those very same teams transformed by watching people use the screens and software they\u2019ve designed.<\/p>\n We all know that observing people use our products gives us actionable insights. But it is also the best way to focus on\u00a0what is important.<\/p>\n Showing what you\u2019ve been working on to someone who has the problem you\u2019re trying to solve is when you see the real thing your team is building. It isn’t the screen, or even software. What you’re building is a change in what people do, and how they feel while doing it.<\/p>\n For the first time the whole team can see that the thing they are making isn’t pixels or code. It’s a change in how people live their day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n Having good intentions at the beginning isn\u2019t enough to help get you over the finishing line. Throughout the whole process you need to keep forcing yourself to always look beyond the screen you are producing to the behaviour you\u2019re hoping to change.<\/p>\n Next time you\u2019re in a meeting debating the merits of a screen, don’t forget that it is just an artifact of the process, a task along the way.<\/p>\n All the really interesting stuff is going to be happening on the other side of the screen.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Solve real problems. It’s become a universally agreed upon principle when designing products. Less agreed upon is just how truly difficult this is to achieve. Good intentions don\u2019t build great products, and wanting to solve a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":11053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"category":[5],"tags":[83,153,161],"coauthors":[481],"class_list":["post-11050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-product-and-design","tag-design","tag-product-design","tag-product-development"],"yoast_head":"\n![](\"https:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/off-the-rails-v2.png\")
\nThe more screens are involved, the less we focus on the problem. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\nHow we keep focused on the problem<\/h2>\n