Desire Paths: What users really want
This blog shares some learnings curated from a webinar by Product People ft. Stephan Putzke and some research on how to infuse this thinking into your Product DNA.
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Desire paths reveal that “The design does not meet the desire” and there are gaps that feature(s) or design revamp can fill.
As product managers, we strive to build experiences that anticipate users’ needs and guide them effortlessly toward their goals. But sometimes, our meticulously crafted paths don’t quite align with user reality. We pour over data, conduct surveys, and run user tests, yet unexpected “desire paths” emerge — shortcuts, workarounds, and unintended uses that reveal hidden insights about how users truly interact with our product.
Desire paths are informal shortcuts created by the repeated passage of people or animals. They are often found in parks, on campuses, and in other areas where people have to walk. Desire paths can be seen as a form of user-generated design, as they show how people actually use space, rather than how it was designed to be used.
A desire path in a product reveals the difference between ‘Someone who is designing’ vs ‘Someone who is NOT using that path consciously’. As a user, it is super annoying to follow the trail, but a shortcut is always much more pleasing. The users are consistently fixated on creating the most seamless product experience and rightly so.
How to make use of the transparency created by Desire paths?
As a Product manager, once you discover them, making them official might be a good idea.
Why are Desire Paths Valuable?
These seemingly “wrong” paths hold a treasure trove of insights:
- Uncovering hidden needs: They expose user motivations and behaviors we might not have observed through traditional methods.
- Identifying usability issues: They expose friction points and confusing features that users are actively trying to bypass.
- Sparking innovation: They can inspire new features and functionalities that directly address user needs and desires.
How to Find Desire Paths:
- User research: Observe real users interacting with your product, focusing not just on the intended journey but also on deviations and workarounds.
- User reviews and forums: Pay attention to how users describe their experiences, looking for recurring language and themes related to workarounds and frustrations.
- Analytics: Analyze usage patterns, paying attention to spikes in unexpected areas or features that are being used in unintended ways.
Incorporating Desire Paths:
Don’t just ignore these paths! Consider them valuable feedback and use them to:
- Prioritize improvements: Address usability issues revealed by the desire paths to make the intended journey smoother.
- Develop new features: Formalize workarounds that are valuable to a significant number of users, turning them into official features.
- Refine your product vision: Use the insights to understand your users’ deeper needs and desires, potentially prompting a shift in your product vision.
Example: Instagram
Originally, the platform only allowed square photos, mimicking the Polaroid format. However, users yearned for more creative freedom. The desire path: countless workarounds involving cropping, editing, and third-party apps to achieve different photo sizes emerged
Instead of ignoring this trend, Instagram embraced the desire path. In 2015, they rolled out support for portrait and landscape photos, a decision directly influenced by user behavior. This seemingly simple change fueled IG’s explosive growth and solidified its position as the visual storytelling powerhouse it is today.
(Source: Instagram Blog: Introducing Landscape and Portrait Photos)
Remember: Desire paths are a gift, not a problem. They offer a window into the unarticulated needs and desires of your users, empowering you to build a product that resonates deeply and guides them effortlessly toward their goals. So, keep your eyes peeled for those well-trodden shortcuts, and listen to the stories they tell!
We do upfront design for all product launches, and we do the first draft but we always have to be open to more convenient paths that may be revealed by the users.
Case study
- 160 users
- This was a part of the ecosystem that produced 50M euros but was a legacy design.
They used super cryptic notes. They put in the full-text notes, the column for the notes was very narrow, so they started using abbreviations. A perfect starting point to conduct user interviews and understand the need better.
You showed how designers in the physical space used Desire Path analysis at different stages. Do you have a recommendation of when to use for digital products?
Give some freedom to the users and you can observe them using it. Users were working on a super complicated tariff system. Asking a subset of
- Must steer clear of the Power-user pitfall is a challenge
- Use some indicators of how the users are using the product
Methods:
- Some inputs from the helpdesk tickets, but only angry users call them. So vetting the requirements is a method.
- In the mobility area, Just to open the map view, and see the bikers in their area was super difficult.
- Analytics, observing the funnels, and seeing how the users are interacting with different features is a goldmine.
Who is responsible for discovering the desire path?
- All stakeholders must have an eye for the desire paths
How to set the limit of new paths observation and adjustments to not end up paving all the ground?
- If you leave it too open, the product loses its purpose
How do you get users to “confess” to using not-designed-for or even unwanted workarounds?
- Be on the lookout for their natural tendency actions during user interviews/other discovery methods.
Do you have examples of desire paths in your own product experience? Share them in the comments below!
