Too often as designers we stitch together ideas that are from common UX Patterns… but did you stop and listen to your stakeholder first so that you can tailor the UX Pattern to the needs of the stakeholder?  Did you walk a mile in their shoes and really experience their pain?  Did you take off your shoes first and feel how painful their shoes are?

Empathy Is not walking in another’s shoes.  First you must remove your own. – Scott Cook, founder Intuit

If you find yourself caught up with the process/ methodology of designing a great experience… take a step back and simply feel what the stakeholders are feeling… perform their job for a day… then exhale and tailor the experience towards the stakeholders.

Here’s a few articles that will help you exercise the empathetic part of your wiring:

• http://uxmag.com/articles/what-is-empathy
• http://uxmag.com/articles/how-to-use-persona-empathy-mapping
• http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/realizing-empathy-part-1-art/
• http://www.tadpull.com/usability-tools/how-to-use-empathy-map-for-user-experience-mapping
• http://www.slideshare.net/jmacanufo/empathy-map-template-v1?redirected_from=save_on_embed