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0 pointspbhjpbhj7y ago0 comments

You all them what they do, and they say things like "I open my email, ...":

If you watch them you see that what they mean is (dramatised!) "I open my browser, which defaults at Google, then on the Google home page I type 'bing', click on the first search result, then go back because it wasn't Bing search but something else, then read the results and find bing search engine, follow that, login to Bing, then access the app button to choose "Outlook" online, ...".

You might not be able to train them not to search for a URL, but IME users will click an "outlook email" icon on desktop or favorites/links bar; of course you need to watch them to see if they do.

Aside: browsers could fix this but the browser makers are either the SE owners or in their pockets and don't choose to.

0 comments

enraged_camel7y ago

>>If you watch them you see that what they mean is (dramatised!)

Not necessarily dramatized... I've seen almost identical behavior in some places I've worked.

Basically: you can't take anything users say for granted. You need to actually see them work.

pbhjpbhjOP7y ago

Yes, this is from experience of watching users. I've often had to bite my tongue. Sometimes one learns something clever.

ummonk7y ago

I once saw a professor type "google" into the browser search box (which had google selected as the search engine), click on the first result, and then type in their Google query.

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