What is this thing doing?
This becomes a common expression if your user interface lacks clear information and feedback principle. Feedback in a UI needs to be immediate and synchronized with user action. It should echo what user action has been performed; the state/status of it.
We have observed some points and examples on the following principles of user interfaces: structure, simplicity, and visibility – so far. Feedback principle is all about providing “good” feedback for a user’s actions. What makes a feedback good or bad? Following are the ingredients of a good feedback:
- Timeliness of the feedback
- Mode of feedback – appropriate with the type of action/user
- Message/content of feedback – appropriate with the type of action/user
- Feedback with good exit
Bad feedback is anything outside of the above characteristics, including NO feedback! A typical user will tolerate only a few seconds of an unresponsive interface; so it’s very critical to focus on feedback mechanisms in your websites and applications.
Examples of feedback in software world:
- Sound alerts
- Pop-up windows with action buttons
- Status bar messages
- Changes in mouse pointer
- Progress bar indicators
- Notification bubbles
- Color/highlight changes
- State changes of click-able controls
- Text/Message changes
Use the above responsibly and well, to make your user interface communicate better. You may also take hints from real-world feedback cases such as the following random cases:
Provide good feedback!
Cheers.
Vishal Mehta is a usability professional who loves to play chess and has a strong eye for details. He’s also the CEO of IDYeah Creations, a UX practice in Pune, India. Vishal is also a guest blogger on UXBooth, Technorati, BlogCritics, and SAP Community Network.
Related posts:
- Tolerance Principle in User Interfaces
- Structure Principle in User Interfaces
- Reuse Principle in User Interfaces
- Visibility Principle in User Interfaces
- Simplicity Principle in User Interfaces
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I’ve been going through your articles on usability and the principles. They have really helped me with my university dissertation. Thanks
Hey Mark, thanks for your feedback. I’m glad my articles were of some use to you.
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