Itqualityassurance
Essentially, it involves alerting a user when they're making an error, with the intention to make it easy for them to do whatever it is they are doing without making a mistake. The main reason this principle of error prevention is important is that we humans are prone to- and will always make mistakes.
- What is an example of error prevention in Nielsen's Ten heuristics?
- What is recognition rather than recall?
- What are slips and mistakes?
- How should a system prevent users from making mistakes?
What is an example of error prevention in Nielsen's Ten heuristics?
5) Error prevention
This Nielsen heuristic proposes that a good design should always prevent problems from occurring. Think of a delete files button, for example. We must assume that users might accidentally click this button or that they can imagine a different result from it.
What is recognition rather than recall?
Recognition refers to our ability to “recognize” an event or piece of information as being familiar, while recall designates the retrieval of related details from memory.
What are slips and mistakes?
Errors can be classified as mistakes or slips. Mistakes are conscious errors—you make an intentional choice that turns out to be wrong. Slips are unconscious errors—you do something you didn't intend to do.
How should a system prevent users from making mistakes?
Prevent mistakes by helping the user to build a good mental model of your interface. Use design patterns that communicate how they work to users, encourage users to double-check their work (especially before deleting), and warn before mistakes are made.
