To err is human; to forgive, divine. – Alexander Pope, “An Essay on Criticism”
People make mistakes. It’s a fact of life. As UX designers, we have a responsibility to minimize the impact of these inevitable errors. There are two primary approaches:
- **Prevention:** Implement measures to prevent errors from occurring in the first place.
- **Recovery:** Provide clear and helpful guidance to users on how to recover from errors.
We see numerous examples of error prevention in e-commerce and form design. Inactive buttons until required fields are filled, automated email address validation, and pop-ups warning of cart abandonment are all designed to guide users towards successful completion.
Anticipating mistakes often proves less frustrating for users than dealing with the consequences after the fact. This is because error prevention measures act as safeguards, preventing users from reaching a point of frustration before they experience the satisfaction of completing a task.
However, even the best-designed systems can’t entirely eliminate the possibility of user error. This is where effective error messaging becomes crucial. When an error occurs, the message should:
- **Clearly explain the problem:** For example, “You said you were born on Mars, which humans haven’t colonised. Yet.”
- **Provide a clear solution:** For example, “Please enter a birthplace here on Earth.”
This principle of anticipating and mitigating user errors is known as “Poka-yoke,” a Japanese term that translates to “mistake-proofing.” Poka-yoke principles can be applied beyond error messages. For instance, if a user deletes an item, provide a clear message indicating that the item can be restored from the Trash.
I’ll delve deeper into the fascinating world of Poka-yoke in future posts. For now, I must return to my studies.
