fine line between genius and stupidity

i know that oscar levant said "there is a fine line between genius and insanity" but that doesn't apply here. i work with a bunch of people that can be genius one second and stupid as a wet roll of toilet paper the next. it is frustrating as hell!!!! how can someone be able to talk technical terms and subject matter in such detail only to turn right around and say the stupidest thing about how a user would want to do something.

i work in software development as a quality assurance analyst. it is my job to understand what the user wants or would do, then validate that the developer understands it and builds the functionality correct. it amazes me how some of the most brilliant developers can not understand how a user would want to do things. even if we have the user standing in front of them explaining, they don't understand. they hear a single sentence and fixate on it. they listen to what the user says and hear what they want to hear, not what they user is saying. they frequently say "that isn't what the user wanted" even if i am directly quoting the user!

have you ever used software and asked yourself the question "what were they thinking?". well, i can answer that question. they were thinking that you don't really know what you want so they are going to give you what you really want. after all, you are only the person that uses the software. how would you know what you want it to do?

so the next time you are tempted to submit an idea for product enhancements via a web forum or email, let me help you out. don't waste your time. no one really reads it nor do they really care what you have to say. you will get what they want to give you regardless of whether you want it or not.