In his latest post Cal Evans reminds us, as software developers, that our jobs aren't always about making the things we create about the best code or most tech. It's also about having empathy for users of the software you're building.

I learned something very important in all of [the troubles I had with traveling to Amsterdam], I learned that we as software developers and designers need to have a great deal of empathy for the people using what we build. It is not enough to put yourself in your user’s shoes, you have to put yourself in their mindset. You have to design every user interaction with an understanding of not only who is using your software, but why they are using it.

He focuses the rest of the post on his experience post-delay, trying to get an update on where in the world his luggage might be via a URL given to him by the lost luggage group. He comments on the terseness of the message he was given on the page ("Delivery Initiated") but points out that it's not overly user-friendly and really doesn't give much information. He suggests that the developers of the tool didn't actually think about end users, just that they should share a status and that's all.

It is not enough to create personas and figure out who is using your software. You need to understand why they are using it, and what their mindset will be when they are using it. You need to have empathy for your users.