I'm D.L. Grimes, but you can call me Lue. If you're reading this you're probably similar to me, in that we never grew out of that "why?" phase. I can still feel classmates' eyes roll whenever the teacher asked if there were anymore questions. Of course there were more questions, and of course they were all from me. This continued into my professional life after starting in the restaurant industry. But something else happened along the way; I came face to face with empathy and it's real world applications.
In the middle of a lunch shift as a new server at a restaurant in downtown Nashville, I was ill prepared for guests knowing the menu better than I did. One table of office workers was furious their lunch was delayed and expressed how much trouble they were in for heading back to work late. The manager comped all their meals AND gave them gift cards. I later asked him why he did both, and his response still rings true to this day. "They expected to get in and out, like they always do. We're the ones who didn't hold up our end of the bargain. We need them to come back, and they won't unless they trust us". Another table of medical workers, done for the day saw how flustered we all were, myself especially. The all tipped me way more than they should have, so naturally I chased them down and asked them why. "We try everyday and we fail everyday. We totally get it." I got two very different reactions from two different tables.
As a UXer just beginning his journey, I understand that there's so much left for me to learn. And that's why I'm looking for a specific position, one where I get to ask questions for the benefit of understanding users. A position where the team I'm working with is as curious as I am. A place where our information can be shared for the betterment of each other as professionals & in our personal lives.
UX Design and the research that supports it is the love child of "why" and empathy. If you can't relate to the pressures and pain points of someone, even the most beautiful product won't strike a cord with them. I love not only asking, but to be able to take those answers and tell a story of who the end users are and why this solution being offered will get the job done. Whether I'm conducting user research & doing comparative analysis, or doing round after round of wireframe iteration, my goal is to advocate for what the user needs. I may never stop asking "why?", but together we can better understand your users... and maybe we can get to the bottom of it.