I had an interesting experience the other day. I was over at my neighbors where there was a little darts tournament in session.
Midway through the game, one player, a non-computer using mason, was mentioning properties he had seen recently for sale that he was interested in.
Me, being a builder of many real estate websites, was certain that my user-friendly web talents would come to the rescue. We popped onto the latest property search site I've made. He new the property type. He knew the town. He didn't know the price, address or mls number.
You'd think that information would be enough to quickly find the property on my site.
It wasn't. My system completely failed him.
Was it because he was not computer savvy? No.
It was because I incorrectly assumed how the typical human mind works. Our mason lives in the area. He thinks of the property as "that place over on Whatever Road by the thing...". Searching by town, by property type, my price, by beds and baths. None of these normal searches match the way a local mind works. The actual mind that is curious about properties. The actual mind the software I've made is SUPPOSED to be designed for.
That said I'll be returning to the drawing board to add search features that think that way - a more human way, a more real way.