Reworked the “Empathy in the Workplace” community article for clearer flow, stronger messaging, and expanded guidance across sections like empathy types, cross-functional responsibilities, and the ISO 9241-210 loop. Updated wording, formatting, and examples throughout, and refreshed related image assets (hero, ISO, quote, and why-empathy), including adding a new top-level `why-empathy.png` file in the article folder.
My articles are mostly technical but this time I want to mention a soft-skill in workplaces. This is an emotional skill (EQ) which is important like IQ but without this skill people around you will think you are rude. That's empathy. Even though empathy comes with your character, if you realize you lack of it you can improve your empathy level.
My articles are mostly technical but this time I want to mention about a very important soft-skill in workplaces.
That's empathy! This is an emotional skill (EQ) which is important like IQ but without this skill you cannot have charisma at your workspace.
For those who don't know what's charisma at workspace check out my previous article section 👉 [whats-charisma-at-work](https://abp.io/community/articles/my-speakers-view-of-convex-summit-2026-3uk6ln1l#so-lets-think-whats-charisma-at-work).
Even though empathy comes out of the box with your character, if you realize you lack of it you can improve this level.
## What's Empathy?
## What's Empathy?
It's as a discipline which puts behaviors to human-centered practices. Why we do it? For understanding users’ goals, constraints, emotions, mentality and tradeoffs. Then using that understanding to improve what teams build, sell, market and support.
**It's a discipline which puts behaviors to human-centered practices.**
**Why we do it?** For understanding users’ goals, restrictions, emotions, mentality and tradeoffs. Then using that understanding to improve what teams build, sell, market and support.
**Why do we need it?** Simple! If you don't know other's mentality, you most probably go by chance.
**Empathy means making an effort to understand how another person sees a feature, message, workflow or pricing decision.**
**Empathy means making an effort to understand how another person sees a feature, message, workflow or pricing decision.**
> Great software is not created only with clean code, attractive designs, strong marketing campaigns or polished sales demos.
> Great software is not created only with clean code, attractive designs, marketing campaigns or polished sales demos.
It is created when teams understand the people behind the requirements:
It is created when teams understand the people behind the requirements:
@ -22,19 +27,17 @@ It is created when teams understand the people behind the requirements:
For a software company, empathy should not be treated only as a soft skill or company value. It should be a practical way to replace internal assumptions with real evidence about users, buyers, administrators, developers and other people affected by the product.
For a software company, empathy should not be treated only as a soft skill or company value. It should be a practical way to replace internal assumptions with real evidence about users, buyers, administrators, developers and other people affected by the product.
Empathy should also be a cross-functional responsibility. Developers, designers, product managers, sales, marketing, support and leadership all see different parts of the customer experience.
Empathy must be a cross-functional responsibility. Developers, designers, product managers, sales, marketing, support and leadership all see different parts of the customer experience.
When these teams bring their knowledge together, they can make better product and business decisions.
When these teams bring their knowledge together, they can make better product and business decisions.
## What Empathy Means in a Software Company
## What Empathy Means in a Software Company
Empathy has two main parts.
Empathy has two main parts.
**Affective empathy** means feeling or sharing another person’s emotions.
***Affective empathy**: Means sharing another person’s emotions.
**Cognitive empathy** means understanding another person’s point of view, goals, needs, concerns and limitations.
***Cognitive empathy**: Means understanding another person’s point of view, goals, needs, concerns and limitations.
Both are important. However, cognitive empathy is usually more useful when teams review a feature, workflow, message, onboarding process or pricing decision.
Both are important. However, cognitive empathy is usually more useful when teams review a feature, workflow, message, onboarding process or pricing decision.
@ -46,13 +49,13 @@ It encourages the team to ask what a specific person would understand and experi
> **It is:**
> **It is:**
> “Would this specific user, in this situation, with this knowledge and these limitations, understand the value and complete the task?”
> “Would this specific user, in this situation, with this knowledge and these limitations, understand the value and complete the task?”
This distinction is important because employees know much more about the product than customers do.
This difference is important because employees know much more about the product than customers do.
> A workflow that seems obvious to the software developer who implemented it, **may be confusing to a first-time user**. A message that sounds clear to an engineer may **sound like technical jargon to a buyer.** A feature that looks simple in a sales demo may still be **difficult to use in a real company**.
Affective empathy also matters because it helps people care about customers and make responsible decisions. However, emotion alone is not always a reliable evaluation method.
> A workflow that seems obvious to the software developer who implemented it, **may be confusing to a first-time user**.
> A message that sounds clear to an engineer may **sound like technical jargon to a buyer.**
> A feature that looks simple in a sales demo may still be **difficult to use in a real company**.
A strong customer story may receive too much attention, even when it does not represent most users. Emotional pressure can also lead to stress or biased decisions.
Affective empathy also matters because it helps people care about customers and make responsible decisions. However, emotion alone is not always a reliable evaluation method. A strong customer story may receive too much attention, even when it does not represent most users. Emotional pressure can also lead to stress or biased decisions.
A better approach is to combine emotional concern with structured questions:
A better approach is to combine emotional concern with structured questions:
@ -61,50 +64,59 @@ A better approach is to combine emotional concern with structured questions:
- What information can the user see?
- What information can the user see?
- What would the user reasonably understand?
- What would the user reasonably understand?
- What could stop the user from continuing?
- What could stop the user from continuing?
- What would make the user trust or doubt the product?
- What would make the user trust the product?
In simple terms:
In simple terms:
> Empathy means testing our assumptions and learning how real users actually think, feel and use the product / feature.
> Empathy means testing our assumptions and learning how real users actually think, feel and use the product or feature.
ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF:
ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF:
> **If I were using this feature / app, what would I criticize?**
> **If I were using this feature / app, what would I criticize?**
I know you can all find negative sides of your development, but we just don't care, ignore it... This leads the outputs are less usable of our work. This makes us far from being empathic.
I know *we can easily criticize other people's work* but when it comes to criticize our own work we just can't do it. Because you know the difficulties of your work and you don't know about other people's difficulties. That's why you cannot truly criticize yourself. But the real success comes after you improve your own critizing skills.
**Sit on the other side of the desk for a minute please!**
---
**Sit on the other side of the desk for a minute.**
---
## Empathy Is a Cross-Functional Responsibility
## Empathy Is a Cross-Functional Responsibility
Empathy should not belong only to the design or research team.
Each team member should see a different part of the customer reality.
Each team member sees a different part of the customer reality.
| Team | Ask your self this question | Inspect these things... |
| Team | Ask your self this question | Inspect these things... |
| Developers | Where would a first-time user fail, hesitate or misunderstand the system? | Defaults, errors, performance, learnability, edge cases and technical friction |
| Developers | Where would a first-time user fail, hesitate or misunderstand the system? If users wait on this screen so much, will they close the app? | Defaults, errors, performance, learnability, edge cases and technical friction |
| Designers | Does the interface match the user’s language, expectations, abilities and situation? | Navigation, accessibility, cognitive load, interaction flow and error recovery |
| Designers | Does the interface match the user’s language, expectations, abilities and situation? Is it understandable? | Navigation, accessibility, cognitive load, interaction flow and error recovery |
| Product managers | Are we solving a real and important user problem? | User goals, priorities, evidence, value and expected outcomes |
| Product managers | Are we solving a real and important user problem? | User goals, priorities, evidence, value and expected outcomes |
| Sales | What would make a buyer question the value, risk, effort or credibility? | Demo flow, objections, trust signals, implementation concerns and time to value |
| Sales | What would make a buyer question the value, risk, effort or credibility? | Demo flow, objections, trust signals, implementation concerns and time to value |
| Marketing | Would the intended customer recognize the problem and believe the promise? | Positioning, jargon, calls to action, expectation-setting and message-market fit |
| Marketing | Would the intended customer recognize the problem and believe the promise? | Positioning, jargon, calls to action, expectation-setting and message-market fit |
| Support | Where does the product repeatedly cause confusion or extra work? | Ticket themes, escalations, documentation gaps and common workarounds |
| Support | Where does the product repeatedly cause confusion or extra work? | Ticket themes, escalations, documentation gaps and common workarounds |
| Leaders | What in our process makes customer understanding difficult or optional? | Incentives, priorities, team structure, review habits, tech trends and psychological safety |
| Leaders | What in our process makes customer understanding difficult or optional? | Incentives, priorities, team structure, review habits, tech trends and psychological safety |
The goal is for each team to use the customer evidence available to them and bring it into product and business decisions.
---
## Empathy Loop a ISO Standard
## ISO Standard of Empathy Loop
And yes! Someone even created a standard for what I'm talking. It's called **ISO 9241-210 standard**.
And yes! Someone even created a standard for what I'm talking. It's called **ISO 9241-210** standard.
Its full title is *Ergonomics of human-system interaction*. Basically it deals with any system that has interactivity. So our screens, APIs are all included in this standard. The main idea is simple: teams should design software around real users, their goals and their working environment. Not only around technical requirements. These 6 steps about how to design a better system, puts customers in the center.
The full title is ***Ergonomics of human-system interaction***. Basically it deals with any system that has interactivity.
So our application screens, APIs are all included in this standard.
The main idea is simple: teams should design software around real users, their goals and their working environment.
Not only around technical requirements.
These 6 steps about how to design a better system, puts customers in the center.
Let me adjust these to a software developing team:
Let me adjust these to a software developing team:
1. Decide how user experience work will be managed, who is responsible and what risks or limitations exist. The below are the different areas to understand the feature/app/requirements:
1. Decide how user experience work will be managed, who is responsible and what risks or limitations exist.
The below are the different areas to understand the feature/app/requirements:
- User interviews
- User interviews
- Customer calls
- Customer calls
- Support quetions
- Support quetions
@ -115,7 +127,8 @@ Let me adjust these to a software developing team:
- Contextual observation
- Contextual observation
- Customer feedback
- Customer feedback
- Win-loss analysis
- Win-loss analysis
2. Learn who the users are, what they want to do, where they use the product and what problems they face. In this section you really do empathy. Understand your user’s:
2. Learn who the users are, what they want to do, where they use the product and what problems they face.
In this section you really do empathy. Understand your user’s:
- Goals
- Goals
- Concerns
- Concerns
- Knowledge level
- Knowledge level
@ -125,8 +138,11 @@ Let me adjust these to a software developing team:
- Work environment
- Work environment
- Emotional state
- Emotional state
3. Turn user needs into clear and testable requirements.
3. Turn user needs into clear and testable requirements.
- For example imagine there's a problem like Users don't use the reporting module. We need to report this as "New users can't easily find the information they need to prepare a weekly performance report."
- For example imagine there's a problem like Users don't use the reporting module.
4. Build ideas, wireframes, prototypes or simulations. It is better to test simple versions early before spending too much time on development. You can do the followings:
We need to open an issue for this as "*New users can't easily find the information they need to prepare a weekly performance report.*"
4. Build ideas, wireframes, prototypes or simulations.
It is better to test simple versions early before spending too much time on development.
You can do the followings:
- Prototypes
- Prototypes
- New workflows
- New workflows
- Updated copy
- Updated copy
@ -135,7 +151,8 @@ Let me adjust these to a software developing team:
- Improved documentation
- Improved documentation
- Pricing changes
- Pricing changes
- Sales and marketing materials
- Sales and marketing materials
5. Test the product with users or UX experts. Check whether it is easy to use and whether it meets user requirements. And be open to the discussions. You can test via the following methods:
5. Test the product with users or UX experts. Check whether it is easy to use and whether it meets user requirements. And be open to the discussions.
You can test via the following methods:
- Usability testing
- Usability testing
- Customer interviews
- Customer interviews
- Prototype testing
- Prototype testing
@ -143,7 +160,10 @@ Let me adjust these to a software developing team:
- Heuristic reviews
- Heuristic reviews
- A/B tests
- A/B tests
- Product analytics
- Product analytics
6. If there're still problems, improve the design and test again. The process ends when the important user needs are met. Empathy should not be a one-time workshop.
- Write feedback forms
6. If there're still problems, improve the design and test again.
The process ends when the important user needs are met.
Empathy should not be a one-time workshop.
---
---
@ -153,6 +173,8 @@ Let me adjust these to a software developing team:
Empathy is not simply about being nice. In a software company, it means building the right thing, for the right people, in the right way. It helps developers anticipate failure, designers reduce cognitive friction, sales teams understand buyer risk, marketers communicate in the customer’s language, and leaders create systems that reward learning rather than assumption.
It helps developers predict failure, designers reduce cognitive conflicts, sales teams understand buyer risk, marketers communicate in the customer's language, and leaders create systems that reward learning rather than assumptions.
**When teams consistently ask how their work will be understood, used, trusted and valued by the people on the other side of the screen, they build products they can be proud to use, recommend, and stand behind.**
When teams consistently ask how their work will be understood, used, trusted, and valued by the people on the other side of the screen, they build products they can be proud to use, recommend, and stand behind.t
Ebicoglu
2 weeks ago
