Placing your product in customers' hands for feedback marks one of the most rewarding moments in product development. Observing their interaction and collecting insights for improvement is crucial. However, soliciting direct instructions from customers is not a substitute for professional design and engineering expertise. Often, especially in startups, there's a rush to seek user direction, though users typically lack the expertise needed to envision the best solutions.
Over-relying on user feedback is particularly severe in automotive UX, where safety, functionality, and user experience are deeply linked. For example, feedback on developing a new dashboard layout might favour more displays and features, viewed essential for a “better” UX. Yet, without adhering to ergonomic principles and human factors engineering, this approach can lead to cluttered interfaces that hinder rather than aid the driver. The customer's voice may inadvertently become noise, pushing for solutions that sacrifice safety and usability.
This isn't to downplay the importance of customer feedback but to stress the vital role of data collection, analysis, and interpretation in separating valuable insights from mere noise. While collecting feedback is relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in applying expert knowledge to filter this data and extract insights that adhere to core design principles and enhance the product.
Some areas where it is difficult to obtain quality feedback from users:
Ergonomics: The relationship between seating position, pedals, and steering wheel (“magic triangle”), controls clearance, vision zones, and comfort after extensive use. These aspects are typically challenging for users to provide feedback on because they require a deep understanding of design principles and ergonomics.
Human Factors: Icon sizes, warning prioritisation, managing alert overload, and ADAS. Translating customer feedback into actionable design usually requires considerable effort, particularly in scenarios that users encounter infrequently.
Voice of the Sun: The appeal of a glass-heavy cabin might be high, but it's easy to overlook the sun's impact on reflections and thermal comfort. While visually appealing to customers, a glassy cabin poses challenges in terms of heat management and the strategic placement of critical interfaces to minimise exposure to the sky and mitigate glare.
Critical design and engineering decisions often go unnoticed by customers, yet they are essential for their satisfaction and safety. It is our duty to ensure these elements are in place when needed. VoC is vital, but it requires thorough foundational work.
To paraphrase: In automotive UX, the only rules are dictated by anthropometrics, human cognitive capabilities, and the power of the sun. Everything else is a suggestion.