Players

User Center Design, by its very name, is focused on the end user. But who is this person? There are a lot of explanations and ways of examining this. I'm taking it from a broad scope view and describing three "players" in the realm of User Centered Design. In my posts, I will typically use these terms the way they are defined here.

1. "You, the Creator/Designer" -- This is the person (perhaps you, the reader of this blog) or the company, who is producing an product or service and along with it, at some point, an interface that a user must interact with. This may be an bona-fide person or a faceless corporate entity. Anything that produces something. Usually, I'm referring to Microsoft, Apple, or whoever designed the app or webpage I'm posting about.
2. "They, the Intermediaries" -- These are the folks who support you in your work. They provide insight, tools, parts, money, and requirements that help your product or service come to light. They are clients (not users!), sales team, vendors, co-workers, partners, stakeholders, even competitors. These are also all the folks who distract you (and you are included in this group), from focusing on the user's true needs and desires. Don't forget that you may be them.
3. "We, the Users" -- This is the collection of people who ultimately interact with your product. They are individuals. Each person in the group is "the user." They are flesh and blood, have emotions, families, passions, desires, biases. You are us.

When I'm talking about you, I'm talking to the entity creating the design. When I'm taking about them, I'm talking about the folks in the middle, often your stakeholders. When I'm talking about us, I'm talking about the rest of the slobs in the world who just want things to work and want life to be pleasant and honestly don't care that you had to struggle with Project Manger A or Lawyer B to or Patent C or Opinion D to get something out (or whatever other excuses you have for producing a piss-poor product, which you (and I mean me, too) inevitably do when you ignore the us).

Something about us, by the way. We may be a faceless mob at sometimes, but most of the time we're individuals. It's okay to categorize us on occasion, but don't forget we're all different from one another and we're especially different from you. Most of us aren't user interface designers (nor engineers!) Don't assume what works for you works for us. You're too deeply involved; that's why tools like UX, patterns, and best practices are in place. Add your own personal (or corporate touch), but not at the expense of delightful usability.