War Stories LIVE! Susan Simon-Daniels
Summary
In her talk, Susie recounts a poignant experience from seven years ago when she interviewed Rick, a middle-aged government translator, during a smartphone unboxing study. Observing his sighs and frowns, she initially suspected usability problems. However, Rick revealed his emotional state stemming from recent personal losses, highlighting how external factors can influence user reactions. Susie discusses the necessity of holding space for discomfort, as Yasmin Khan described, allowing participants to share their feelings before resuming the task. The story reinforces the lesson Steve shared: to remember that humans are complex and that researchers must never assume the cause of observed behavior without asking why. Susie ties it to the classic song from Casablanca, 'A sigh is just a sigh,' underscoring fundamental truths in user research and the importance of empathy and presence. She then passes the stage to fellow researcher Randy Duke to share his own war story.
Key Insights
-
•
User frustration or emotion is not always caused by the product; external personal factors can influence reactions.
-
•
Researchers must avoid assumptions and instead ask why to truly understand participant behavior.
-
•
Allowing participants emotional space during user research can lead to more honest and productive sessions.
-
•
Small pauses in interviews to acknowledge participants as humans can improve rapport and data quality.
-
•
Sensitive moments in research require empathy, not rushing to fix perceived flaws.
-
•
Personal stories shared during usability testing can provide rich context for understanding user needs.
-
•
Unboxing a device is a valuable usability test that can reveal hidden issues or emotional reactions.
-
•
The metaphor from Casablanca—'A sigh is just a sigh'—reminds researchers to consider underlying causes beyond the obvious.
-
•
Operating from a mindset that users are humans first can change how researchers design and interpret studies.
-
•
Sharing empathy and patience can enable participants to regain focus and contribute meaningfully to research.
Notable Quotes
"As a researcher, your brain is shouting, red alert, red alert, there’s some problem I need to find out."
"His sigh was just a sigh. It was not a signal of any defect or usability issue to solve."
"We had passed through this awkward moment. I felt I had rudely probed into this open wound."
"My job was to find out why. Why was he frowning? Why was he sighing?"
"By taking a moment to pause to just let people be people, we could allow the interview to resume with some dignity and purpose."
"Steve just talked about humans being humans in a world full of humans."
"You must remember this. A kiss is just a kiss. A sigh is just a sigh."
"The fundamental things do apply as time goes by."
"Never assume and always ask why."
"I was ready to capture this fatal flaw that this fellow had discovered. It was so horrible it made him sigh. But it wasn’t."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Even offering an 'other' category in gender questions implies the participant deviates from a presumed norm."
Matt Bernius Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Aditi Joshi Alba VillamilLearnings from Applying Trauma-Informed Principles to the Research Process
March 10, 2022
"Think about alignment versus coherence. Coherence means the system makes sense even if parts go different directions."
Jen BriselliLearning Is The Engine: Designing & Adapting in a World We Can’t Predict
April 16, 2025
"We’re going to explore trauma responsive design, radical participatory design, and ethical technologies."
Sarah BrooksTheme 3 Intro
December 10, 2021
"Forrester found that design thinking teams move twice as fast from idea to market because they’re closer to their users."
Doug PowellDesignOps and the Next Frontier: Leading Through Unpredictable Change
September 11, 2025
"Peter Conner, our lawyer, redesigned compliance training so people took fewer courses but more relevant ones."
Julie BaherCulture Change—My Journey
May 14, 2015
"We immediately transitioned designers embedded on lower priority projects to higher priority ones."
Patrick CommarfordDesign Staffing for Impact
January 8, 2024
"Time is out of time—the present is broken because the past remains unresolved and futures once promised have been withdrawn."
Angelos ArnisOur Fragmented Identity
June 12, 2026
"Enterprise is kind of sexy because big, hairy, hard problems of scale and distribution live at the enterprise."
Bria Alexander Louis RosenfeldWelcome
January 8, 2024
"We built a coalition of about 30 research advocates in a single year. That’s powerful."
Dagmara KukawkaTiny team, moonshot impact: Democratizing research across continents
March 10, 2026
