One of my favorite professors in grad school used to almost always end her lectures about usability and user research with, “It’s not rocket science.” And in a lot of ways, she’s right. Doing the right thing for a user isn’t that complicated to figure out. And with some training, a lot of people could run usability studies. At the same time, my field sort of is its own brand of rocket science. There are a lot of factors that go into creating a good user experience. Sure, it may not be rocket science but it does require proper training, years of experience, and the right mindset to achieve. If it weren’t sort of like rocket science, you wouldn’t see so many products with poor usability.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about Judy’s “not rocket science” comment in the context of losing weight. Like user research, losing weight isn’t rocket science - just eat less and exercise more. I hate that oversimplification of weight loss but on the surface it is true. At the same time, actually learning to eat less and exercise more is sort of its own brand of rocket science. At the root of losing weight is behavior modification, which is actually rather complicated and difficult. And I think what makes it even more complicated is that it is so different for every single person. There is no black and white reason why every person eats out of emotion or a magic bullet that can get everyone excited about exercise. For me, it has taken a long time, a lot of tries, and really just coming up with my own formula. My formula includes a lot of little things like wearing a pedometer, finding water bottles that I like, learning to cook, getting involved in fitness activities that I find challenging and exciting, identifying the factors that derail my progress, and changing the way I perceive myself and my lifestyle. But all those little things may not be the same for everyone. And all those little things are far more complicated than “eat less, exercise more.” That’s where the rocket science part comes in . . . sort of. ;)