Empathy driven designs

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Discussed article can be viewed here
 
This article is an op-ed piece that we were also assigned to read in NMD 102 last year.  The first time I read it last year it was extremely challenging.  This time through it is still a challenging read due to the writing style, but I have discovered that part of my struggle last year was that I was not familiar with any of the language used in the UX field.  

The ideas presented in the article are supporting the importance of an empathy driven design process, something also stressed by one of the guest speakers for NMD 442, Stephen Crowley.  Both claim that good design is not possible if a) the designer's bias is not removed as much as possible, and b) the design is not focused on solving a specific user problem.  

I think it is easier to focus less on maximizing empathy and focus more on removing one's bias and focusing the product towards a specific problem.  A large part of this is that I find empathy challenging.  I can sympathize, but empathy is often extremely hard if not impossible.  A strategy  I often end up utilizing to overcome that shortcoming is creating a rudimentary persona to build as.  The persona has their own specific limitations and needs, and that drives an iteration of the design.  

Discussion Questions

Is it possible to achieve good designs with low levels of empathy?

At what point does the designer have to use their own experiences and opinions? Does that point exist?

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