When I was about 12 years old, I went to a "computer event" at the local university.

It was a little weekend meetup that was open to the public.

I felt so big and important going to university to hear a lecture.

A presenter went up to the front of the lecture room and said...

"I'm going to tell you a big secret. But you can't tell anyone!"

I was riveted. I couldn't wait to learn about this adult secret in this university lecture hall!

He wrote on the whiteboard...

"User = Idiot"

Everyone started giggling.

He explained that users don't know anything, and you have to guide them gently through your user experience.

He then tried to wipe it off the board before he "got in trouble."

It was a permanent marker. It wouldn't come off.

Everyone burst into laughter.

It's a core memory I have.

He was right.

You need to assume your users don't know anything. You have to assume they need maximum help. You have to gently guide your user through every screen and flow. You need to spend painstaking hours designing and implementing pixel-level details and animations to help gently and subtly guide the user to moments of success and joy.

As Johny Ive says, people can intuitively feel when the creators of a product truly care about you. It's obvious in every design decision.

This is one of the most essential jobs of product management and product design. To care. To sweat the details. To make things worth using. To make things that are USEFUL.

It can take longer than you ever thought necessary.

It can feel completely unnecessary and excessive.

But it is critical to the success of any great product that hopes to scale.