I have been doing a lot of market research and customer interviews as of late. Most of the work has been focused on providing role based information management tools for information consumers. There has been one common thread to the conversation: Simplicity.

I think there is a tendency on the behalf of people that design information solutions to try and jam as much relevant data as you can into the users workflow. I’m not sure why that is, maybe because we are accustomed to processing large volumes of data, maybe a desire to ensure we have a complete picture, maybe simply because we can. But it is clearly not what information consumers want. All they are looking for is *the* relevant data, not *all* of the relevant data.

I think it is easy for information professionals to lose sight of the importance of this subtle distinction. Information is our jobs, it’s what we do. But for end users it really is just a small (albeit incredibly important) part of their job. Probably one of the most valuable things we can do as information professionals is understand what the real needs of the end user are. This of course is easier said than done, because often users have difficulty describing their needs. In some cases they will also have trouble in defining them, and often cast too wide a net. Of course then after being given what they asked for, they will be overwhelmed, and in turn unsatisfied.

The best way for us to understand the information needs of users is to understand their role, their objective, and how it supports the operation of the company as a whole. Don’t ask “What information do you need?’, instead ask “Can you describe a typical day? What are the 3 primary objectives in your role? What are your top 3 challenges in meeting those objectives? What happens if you don’t get the information you need? “. Taking this sort of consultative approach will help you identify what an end user really needs, as opposed to what they ask for. It also has the benefit of helping you determine the value of the solution, and perhaps more importantly it can help the end user understand that as well. In many cases, it will also help you determine what sort of analysis that you can do on the users behalf (this is incredibly value because of the time savings you can provide).

Ultimately, once you identify the information needs, avoid the temptation to over-deliver. Deliver only what the user absolutely needs. Anything more will simply be a distraction.

- Ken