22. Stop Saying “User” and What to Say Instead with Radu Vucea

How might we humanize the people who use the software we build?

We can start by calling them what they are. People. People who happen to use our software to solve some problem.

The term “user” is thrown around quite a lot in the software industry today.

“As a user, I want to do A.” or “As a user, I want to do B.”

But what does that even mean? The term “user” can mean almost anything to anyone.

And if it can mean almost anything to anyone, what use is it to us?

Instead of saying “user,” what if we came up with a better, more meaningful way to talk about the humans who use our software?

Check out this week’s episode with Radu Vucea where we discuss the idea of ditching the term “user” and talk about what we might want to use instead.

Topics:
• 04:20 – Stop saying “users”
• 07:52 – What do we say instead?
• 11:52 – What do we do about “user experience?”
• 16:05 – What is the benefit?
• 21:20 – Are personas still worth doing?
• 23:35 – How might we build personas in a more dynamic way?
• 31:41 – How do we get our teams to go along?

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Radu on LinkedIn
• Mento Design Academy
• 18. Stop Saying “User Test” and What To Say Instead

Radu Vucea
Chief Design Officer @ Actio // Co-Founder Mento Design Academy

About Radu

Radu is Senior Design Executive, Educator, Mentor, and Community Builder with over two decades of experience in digital design. From freelancing to leading big design teams for companies such as Fitbit, Radu is passionate about building and growing design teams and communities. His mission in life is to create a meaningful impact through coaching, mentoring, and creating successful digital products. In recent years, he has built two start-ups to over seven figures in revenue, educated over two hundred new designers, and shipped over a dozen digital products with an impact of millions in both revenue and users.

Connect with Radu on LinkedIn

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