The following articles were found with tag applicationdesign:
Implement the Undo. Are you sure?
Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 06.52
In modern day application design there is _no_ excuse for implementing an archaic deletion functionality. Take notes on how deleting email in Gmail works. While Google's overall design--and here design means flashiness of the interface--may be lacking they definitely do not miss the mark in their application functionality design in terms of usability. If i were to delete 20 conversations from my Inbox I do not receive an "Are you sure you want to move these 20 conversations to the Trash?" message; the messages are moved into the trash and an unobtrusive yet visible yellow message box alerts me that "20 conversations have been moved to the Trash." and I am presented with the option of either a) learning more about the action or b) reversing the action I performed.
While I'm not saying that adding the functionality that allows a user to undo their previous action is a simple undertaking by any means, your users will praise your name by eliminating the obtrusive "Are you sure?" alerts or worse the complete accidental loss of data because neither the alert method nor the undo functionality are present. Over the course of time, unintentional delete actions will be performed. It's Murphy's law mixed in with a bit of Darwinian philosophy. People (read: users) will make mistakes. I've never made a mistake, but I hear it happens.
So take the few minutes, add the functionality, and gain a returning customer for years to come. I assure you there is nothing better than a happy customer. Or, rather, there is nothing worse than a disgruntled customer.
- Tagged:
- applicationdesign
- usability