Do you understand that customers may know more about your system than you?
You do? okay then. You know that to make your system better, you need to tap that thought.
They go about the system in ways you wouldn't, they know the ins, outs, feelings and nuances. There are small problems and irritations, tiny frustrations and maybe a big problem or two. You're going to tap that right? or you already do; you know how to ask those open questions that allow people to talk about their day and how they dip into your product. You know how to elicit those passionate feelings. You know how to find out what they make of it all and discover the pain points. You then know how to take that away, think about what it really means and how to interpret those thoughts.
So then you've really understood, shown empathy and your next iteration will rock, and I salute you.
