85: People Will Always Make Mistakes; There is No Fail-Safe Product

#85: People Will Aways Make Mistakes; There is No Fail-Safe Product

• Assume That Something Will Go Wrong
• The reality is that something always goes wrong. Everyone makes mistakes.
• It's very difficult to create a system that is free of all errors, and that guarantees that people won't make mistakes.
• The more costly errors there are, the more you need to avoid them.
• The more you need to avoid them, the more expensive it is to design the system.
• If it's critical that people are not making mistakes, then be prepared.
• You'll have to test two or three times more than usual, and you'll have to train two or three times longer.
• It's expensive to design a fail-safe system. And you will never fully succeed.
• The Best Error Message Is Not Error Message
• Error messages is the part of a device or software program that gets the least amount of time and energy, and that might be appropriate.
• The best error messages are no error messages.
• But when something goes wrong, it's important that people know what to do about it.
• Own your mistakes | Cristel Carrisi | TEDxZagreb (Einbetten)
• Bildunterschrift: Video on making mistakes and how to own them

How to Write an Error Message

• Use the following steps to write a message to people who needs error-correcting:
• Tell the person what he or she did
• Explain the problem
• Instruct the person how to correct it
• Is written in plain language using active, no passive, voice
• She an example

Takeaway

• Think ahead to what the likely mistakes will be. Figure out as much as you can about the kinds of mistakes people are going to make when they use what you've designed. And then change your design before it goes out so that those mistakes won't be made.
• Create a prototype of your design and get people to use it so you can see what the error are likely to be.
• When doing this, make sure the people who are testing the prototype are the same people who will be using it.
• Write error messages in plain language and follow the guidelines above for clear error messages.