Research
Why users don’t tell you the real problem
Users are very good at telling you when something doesn’t feel right. They’re much less reliable at telling you why.
Why research becomes more useful when feedback is treated as a signal to interpret, not an instruction to follow literally.
In short
Why research becomes more useful when feedback is treated as a signal to interpret, not an instruction to follow literally.
Why answers rarely explain the real issue
Not because they’re being difficult, but because they don’t experience problems in the same way teams define them.
When something doesn’t work, users don’t break it down into neat, diagnosable issues.
They don’t say, this glossaryPain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term has too many steps or this glossaryDecision PointA decision point is a moment in a user journey where a user must choose between actions that affect what happens next.Open glossary term is introduced too early. They feel glossaryFrictionFriction refers to anything that slows users down or makes it harder for them to complete a task. It can be caused by poor design, unnecessary steps, unclear messaging, or technical issues.Open glossary term, hesitation, uncertainty. Sometimes they push through it, sometimes they stop.
What they tell you is their interpretation of that experience, not the cause of it.
What users tell you is usually their interpretation of the problem, not the cause of it.
How teams end up solving the wrong thing
I’ve been in glossarySessionA session is a single period of user interaction with a product, from entry to exit within a defined timeframe.Open glossary term where a user says something is confusing, but when you watch them more closely, the issue isn’t glossaryClarityClarity is how easily users can understand what is happening and what they need to do.Open glossary term at all. It’s that the glossaryDelightMoments that exceed user expectations.Open glossary term doesn’t match what they expected to happen next.
In another, a user described a glossaryProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term as too long, but the real issue wasn’t the number of steps. It was that they were being asked to make decisions before they felt ready, which made the whole thing feel heavier than it actually was.
If you take those comments at face value, you end up solving the wrong problem.
That’s usually where things drift.
glossaryFeedbackFeedback is the system response that informs users about the result of their actions. It helps users understand what has happened and what to do next.Open glossary term gets translated directly into action without enough interpretation. Something is labelled as confusing, so more explanation is added. Something feels long, so steps are removed. Sometimes that helps, but often it just shifts the problem somewhere else.
Because the underlying issue hasn’t been addressed.
Key takeaway
If feedback is taken too literally, teams often end up fixing the symptom rather than the cause.
Why the words are only part of the picture
I’ve seen this happen across different types of projects.
In eCommerce, users might say they want more information, when what they actually need is reassurance that they’re making the right decision.
In more complex glossaryServiceA service is a component or function that performs a specific task within a system.Open glossary term, they might say something is unclear, when the real issue is that the glossaryPain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term doesn’t align with how they think about the task.
In both cases, the words point you in a direction, but they don’t tell you the full story.
That’s why the most valuable part of serviceUser ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service isn’t what users say.
It’s what sits behind it.
Where the real insight sits
You start to see glossaryPatternA reusable solution to a common design problem.Open glossary term in glossaryBehaviourBehaviour refers to how users interact with a system, including actions, patterns, and responses.Open glossary term.
Where people hesitate.
Where they go back.
Where they move quickly without engaging.
Where they seem confident, and where that glossaryConfidenceConfidence is the level of certainty in a decision or outcome based on available evidence.Open glossary term drops.
Those glossarySignalsSignals are data points or triggers that indicate changes in user behaviour, context, or external factors.Open glossary term tell you far more than a direct answer ever will.
I’ve found that some of the most useful glossaryInsightAn insight is a meaningful understanding that explains why something is happening and what it means.Open glossary term come from moments that users don’t even mention.
A pause before clicking.
A glance back at something they’ve already seen.
A shift in tone when they’re talking through a step.
None of that appears in a quote, but it’s often where the real problem is hiding.
What good research does instead
This is where serviceUser ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service becomes less about collecting glossaryFeedbackFeedback is the system response that informs users about the result of their actions. It helps users understand what has happened and what to do next.Open glossary term and more about interpretation.
Understanding what’s driving glossaryBehaviourBehaviour refers to how users interact with a system, including actions, patterns, and responses.Open glossary term, not just what’s being said.
In my experience, the teams that get the most value from serviceUser ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service are the ones that don’t treat user glossaryFeedbackFeedback is the system response that informs users about the result of their actions. It helps users understand what has happened and what to do next.Open glossary term as instructions.
They treat it as glossarySignalsSignals are data points or triggers that indicate changes in user behaviour, context, or external factors.Open glossary term.
Something to explore, question, and understand in glossaryContextThe surrounding conditions that shape behaviour and decisions.Open glossary term.
Because users are very good at telling you when something doesn’t feel right.
They’re much less reliable at telling you why.
And if you rely on the answer instead of understanding the cause, you end up fixing the symptom, not the problem.