There is no single methodology for creating the perfect product—but you can increase your odds. One of the best ways is to understand users’ reasons for doing things. Mental Models gives you the tools to help you grasp, and design for, those reasons. Adaptive Path co-founder Indi Young has written a roll-up-your-sleeves book for designers, managers, and anyone else interested in making design strategic, and successful. Mental Models is available in full-color paperback and digital (PDF) versions.

An interview with the author just got published on Boxes and Arrows. It covers the origins and evolution of the mental model, how the mental model is a way of visualizing nearly any research data, what shortcuts you can use to get started on a mental model with minimal time investment, why “combing” an interview is like riding a bicycle, and how Webvan failed because it ignore the mental model of its customers.