We are garnering a few interesting insights into the miscommunication that often happens between IT and users from reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink. The thrust of the book is that behind people’s locked unconscious is a whole range of pattern recognition and cognitive abilities that allows people to make snap judgments and decisions. More often than not, according to Gladwell, these snap, unconscious decisions are correct. How this applies to the interaction between IT and users can be demonstrated through the common refrain “It just doesn’t work right!” and “I can’t explain it, but it’s not right.”

So what does this mean to unlocking the secret code of user feedback to IT:

• Don’t discount a user’s "gut reaction". Just because they cannot describe their reaction doesn’t mean they are wrong.
• Be able to interpret their reaction: People react to new and different as “bad,” so those first gut reactions may need interpretation. Is the user being presented with something different from the norm, causing some discomfort? Or is there something intrinsically wrong that really needs to be addressed?
• Find a common language. IT has a specialized language to describe their world, something users do not. They do not have the words to describe their “feelings,” and when we try to give them IT’s jargon, it has no meaning for them. Try to find a middle ground you can both understand.
• People are ignorant of the things that affect their actions, but they rarely feel ignorant. When confronted with a feeling but no clear rationale, they will create one. This plausible explanation takes the place of the real pattern their unconscious saw or took exception.
• Try and Try Again. It just may come down to trial and error. Go back, change a setting, rework the interface, or explain the concept in a new way. Then see how the user reacts. Not terribly efficient, but could mean the difference between satisfied and disgruntled users.