I had the pleasure of attending a User Group last night of a product near to my heart. I worked on the first version of it and always was a huge supporter.

During the event the speaker and teacher kept referring to "cold hard logic" to explain that while he could understand WHY things worked they way they did, or could explain it away, that he still couldn't do what he wanted. It made sense logically, but it wasn't intuitive.

This is why listening to your testers is important. This is why testing for the user experience is important. No one cares if your decision makes sense. They care if they can do what they want to easily. They care if they are disappointed and have to use workarounds, or if you provide what they need and more.

Obviously, you can't make all of the users happy all of the time, but if your decisions have to be explained away by "cold hard logic", obviously you've made some regrettable choices along the way. Yes, there are reasons, but the facts must be faced that cold hard logic isn't what is important in life.

Love of a thing or love of software for most of us is how it connects us to people. This is what Web 2.0 is about. This is what viral video is about. Cold hard logic just won't cut it anymore.

The next time I hear a complex explanation that makes sense about why a feature is usable, I'm going to think of it as an excuse. Yes, you make sense, but it still doesn't create a passable user experience, let alone a good one. Not to say that we should be uncooperative or unconstructive in our language or dealings with others, especially well intended developers. I'm just saying, it is our job as testers to represent the customer, even when it doesn't make logical sense.