#69 - Thinking Styles and "Average" Users with Indi Young

Indi Young has been researching people (not users), coaching, writing, and teaching about inclusive product strategy for over 25 years. Earlier this week, she joined Erin and JH for a live podcast episode to explain why researchers and designers are doing it all wrong!

Okay, not exactly. But she did explain how researching and designing for the majority or “average user” actually end up ignoring, othering, and harming the people our designs are meant to serve. Indi shared how she finds patterns in people’s behaviors, thoughts, and needs—and how she uses that data to create thinking styles that inform more inclusive design decisions.

Indi talked about…

• Why researchers should look for patterns, not anecdotes, to understand real user needs.
• What are thinking styles and how to uncover and use them.
• Why your “average” user often doesn’t exist in the real world, and how we can do better.

Episode highlights

• [00:04:13] How do you simplify the world without losing sight of the individuals within it?
• [00:07:47] When is it important and meaningful to consider demographics—and when does using them in your research cause harm?
• [00:11:23] Speaking of harm… what does Indi mean when she talks about causing harm in the context of user research and product design?
• [00:15:20] What are thinking styles, exactly?
• [00:28:43] Why you should never ask: “what is the right number of thinking styles for us to have?”
• [00:31:33] How Indi looks for patterns.
• [00:33:57] How can you uncover thinking patterns through user interviews (vs. ethnographic observational research)?
• [00:44:41] The “average” often doesn’t really exist. So why do we design for them?

Resources mentioned in the episode

• Practical Empathy (2015) and Mental Models (2008) by Indi Young
• Mixed Methods (2019) by Sam Ladner
• Weapons of Math Destruction (2016) by Cathy O’Neil
• Joy Buoalmwini’s work toward algorithmic justice
• Online courses and resources available through Indi’s website
• Articles on thinking styles and more at medium.com/inclusive-software
• You can follow Indi on Twitter @indiyoung
• 54 Templates for User Personas, Jobs to Be Done & Other Mental Models

About our guest

Indi is a renowned researcher with over 25 years of experience who coaches, writes, and teaches about inclusive product strategy. Her work is rooted in the problem space where the focus is on people, not users. Indi pioneered opportunity maps, mental model diagrams, and thinking styles. Indi has written two books, Practical Empathy and Mental Models. She was also one of the founders of Adaptive Path, the pioneering UX agency.