Empathy destroys assumptions. In order to get through our days we are forced to make assumptions about the world around us. Sometimes these assumptions are helpful, sometimes they aren't. I believe the empathy forces me to address my assumptions about my perspective, and work to try and break down my inherent biases so that I can truely see a situation from another viewpoint. Empathy is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. It can be terrifying and difficult when you are understand that your perspective is different from someone elses. In my life empathy has been the key to understanding.
By truely understanding the intended purpose of the software, and the user, you can constrain your design decisions to focus and a set of needs that is outside of your own. In the article, the auther wrote "The risks of product development are high. So are the rewards." The work and energy that goes into a piece of software is all for nothing if the end user has not been considered from the onset.
We all, inherently, have differing viewpints. In a team setting, these differences become obvious. Without empathy, we are unable to see the flaws in our own thinking which causes conflict.
One of my first jobs out of college was working in an Apple retail store. An amazing thing about Apple retail are the people they are. I worked with an incredibly diverse group of people and was exposed to people I had never come to know. I worked with a gentlman by the name of Chuck. Chuck was born deaf, but had a Cochlear implant put in when he was 12. On the surface Chuck was abrasive and said things that could be considered off-putting. He had a very short temper, and would often get into altercations with other Apple employees. My first interactions with Chuck were difficult. I immediately decided that I did not like him. Over time, we were forced to work together closely on various projects. I came to understand more about the things Chuck had to deal with on a day to day basis. He was constantly 'othered' and skipped over for basic tasks. It came out that he felt that he needed to stand up for himself and make his presence known. Knowing this gave me a completely different perspective on Chuck. We became great friends.
When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
I find it very difficult to empathize with people who are being rude or condesending to myself or others. In these situations I have found it helpful to put the specific interaction into the greater context of an individual's life. Where they are coming from, where they are going. Try to understand that I am sometimes frustrated and react poorly.
I find www.medium.com very difficult to navigate. It doesn't clearly tell me where I should go or what I should do.
www.craigslist.org has very little design, but very clearly flows users to their respective portions of the website using language.
https://krownlab.com/ is the website for a company I worked for. Although I believe the design and copywriting is good, the usability is not. It is not very intuitive.
http://denverbicyclecafe.com Although the design isn't particularly good, it is very straightforward and provides all of the information you might need very quickly.
Very bad design. The person who runs my dad's website put this together and did not know how to give my access. This is an example of a website a website with almost zero design. http://www.brennan-maffei.com/Loom.htm
A little bit of a softball answer here but https://www.google.com/ is a great example of a site that has considered the average user's psychology. They have done an incredible job reducing the clutter from the landing page and providing just the things a user might need. There is no question what you need to do once you land. I might be mistaken, but I believe they also keep track of the features you generally use and eliminate the ones you dont.
https://krownlab.com has clear, straightforward, language describing its products.
Another personal example: the website that was built for me is almost all text. Overly verbose and doesn't go into the details of the product very well. http://brennan-maffei.com/Loom.htm
Clearly Google are the masters of analytics. The google landing page considers users specific needs and only presents what is necessary.
https://www.skihood.com/ hasn't changed at all in the last 5 years. Most people go there for one purpose; to check the conditions. I don't think they take this into account at all and just provide the information they think people want.