Users should not have to seek out status information. Principle: Keep status information up to date and within easy view Status mechanisms are vital to supplying the information necessary for users to respond appropriately to changing conditions. No autonomy can exist in the absence of control, and control cannot be exerted in the absence of sufficient information. Principle: Use status mechanisms to keep users aware and informed Touch users need the same thing for link timing. We learned 30 years ago that users needed access to a slider for mouse double-clicking. That is an irresponsible application of control. They then offer the user no way to alter that threshold, so many users find themselves triggering links to unwanted pages many, many times per day. They also set an arbitrary timing and movement threshold for determining whether a user is or is not pressing a link on purpose, rather than her just pausing for an instant at the start of an upward swipe for scroll, for example. They offer editing schemes that require the user to use their fat finger to place the text cursor with pixel-precision accuracy just to avoid adding the necessary arrow keys to their aesthetically perfect, but functionally crippled, keyboard. However, some developers today are not only taking excessive control, but making huge HCI errors in the process, like restricting text to fonts and sizes that people with ordinary eyesight can’t read. Users should not be given so much rope they hang themselves. On the contrary, developers must exercise necessary control. When developers take that kind of control away, users can be left frustrated and angry.Īllowing users latitude does not mean developers should abandon all control. Principle: Enable users to make their own decisions, even ones aesthetically poor or behaviorally less efficientĪutonomy means users get to decide what keyboard they want to use, how they want their desktops to look (even if they like clutter), and what kind of apps they want to run. Adults, too, feel most comfortable in an environment that is neither confining nor infinite, an environment explorable, but not hazardous. A little child will cry equally when confined in too small a space or left to wander in a large and empty warehouse. Users learn quickly and gain a fast sense of mastery when they are placed “in charge.” Paradoxically, however, people do not feel free in the absence of all boundaries (Yallum, 1980). Principle: The computer, interface, and task environment all “belong” to the user, but user-autonomy doesn’t mean we abandon rules Even if you do have a captive user, you probably don’t have a captive client, and if the client’s employees are wasting time trying to find required resources, your competitors will have a good story to tell when it is time to make their next pitch. Those users will probably never return from their search. The penalty for failing to anticipate is often swift and permanent, particularly if you do not have a captive user, as is the case with public websites and apps, for example. It also requires sufficient usability testing to ensure the goal has been met: If a tool or source for information is there on the screen, but users can’t find it, it may as well not even be present. Information must be in place and necessary tools present and visible.Īnticipation requires that designer’s have a deep understanding of both the task domain and the users in order to predict what will be needed. Do not expect users to leave the current screen to search for and collect necessary information. Software and hardware systems should attempt to anticipate the user’s wants and needs. Principle: Bring to the user all the information and tools needed for each step of the process
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