Thursday, May 22, 2008

NN/g Conference Notes #4: Don’t break the Flow

Don’t break the FLOW

Installing software interrupts the flow, opening new window’s interrupts flow – people use the back feature and feel lost

Don’t have the user open a new window unless you want them to close it after completing a task

Too many choices, lowers satisfaction

Cascading menus is not a good idea (expand and collapse instead)

Save the user brain cells – predict the users next steps (give the user what they need when they need it)

Limiting clicks is less important than making each click productive



Give Signposts, Context & Feedback

The more links on a page = more likely that people will click the wrong link

People use bread crumbs (if you use them don’t let it drop –it’s a ‘signpost’)

Get feedback while waiting for something to load (don’t’ show the % progress – just a moving bar OR like http://www.kayak.com/)

User shouldn’t have to guess ‘what’s clickable’ – make it consistent

Confirm events (give feedback)

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