Summary
If you want to build something people actually use and love, you have to observe before you build. Bad product decisions happen when teams design from assumptions instead of real behavior. Watching users reveals the truth about what matters. Once you see the real problem clearly, everything else gets easier.
Observe
Behavior reveals truth.
Before you design or build anything, put something in front of users and watch what they do. Record the session so you can return to what actually happened, not just what was said.
Do not explain. Do not defend. Guide only when absolutely necessary. The goal is to see how users experience the product when no one is there to help.
Watch closely.
Where they look.
Where they pause.
What they ignore.
Notice when they light up and when friction appears. What users do is the signal.
Do not build the solutions users suggest. Listen for the problem behind what they say. If you build exactly what they ask for you will end up with a fragmented product.
Patterns
After observing a few users, step back. If multiple people stall in the same place, pay attention.
That is not coincidence. That is truth repeating itself.
Your job is not to fix yet. Your job is to understand.
Identify the problem
Before touching pixels, write the user problem in plain language.
When you force yourself to name the problem clearly. Decisions get sharper.
Examples:
As a user, I need the product to tell me what matters right now, because I will not figure it out on my own.
As a buyer, I need to quickly find something relevant to browse or buy, because scrolling without context feels like wasted time.
Make a bet
Not a guess. A leap grounded in what you saw. A good bet names cause and effect.
If we autoplay the next episode, more viewers will keep watching, because removing a decision reduces drop off.
If we delay account creation until after the first meaningful action, more users will finish onboarding, because commitment follows value.
In practice
People were not asking for a phone without a keyboard. In fact, many trusted them.
What Apple observed was friction. People were forced to tap a down arrow to move through playlists. Thumbs hovered. Navigation stalled. Physical keyboards locked interaction into a rigid, button-driven flow that broke momentum.
Based on that observation, Apple made a bet. They removed the keyboard and let the screen become the interface.
It was a risk. But the bet was grounded in something real. Remove friction and let people interact naturally.