Jakob Nielsen’s third usability heuristic for user interface design
User control and freedom.
Great products are dependent upon great user experiences. To ensure the best experience for users, a heuristic evaluation is preformed to help identify issues within a digital product. One of the most popular sets of principles used to evaluate a system are Jakob Nielsen’s 10 general principles for interaction design. This article will focus on the third one of these principles which is User Control and Freedom. If you missed the second one, please click here.
Principle #3 User Control and Freedom
“Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked “emergency exit” to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.”
Users must be given a sense of freedom and control when interacting with a system. Mistakes are inevitable and users need to be given a straightforward way to undo and redo system function choices. A common example would be the back and forward buttons on every web browser. If no backward and forward buttons existed, users would need to be 100% completely sure of every action taken on a website since there would be no easy way to get back to where they were. This would not translate into a feeling of freedom or control.
Users need to feel in control of their mobile devices as well. Accidental taps are common on touchscreens. For this reason, clearly marked undo or cancel options are very important for these devices so that users can feel free and not be afraid of making a mistake. If a user is editing a photo, for example, she knows that she can just click the undo button if she is unhappy with the result. This is a perfect example of freedom and control. The user has the freedom to play around with different editing options and have the control to undo or redo any changes that were made. The user does not need to be afraid that she will get stuck with the results of a bad edit.
Instagram and Gmail feature excellent examples of giving their users the control and freedom they deserve. It’s happened to all of us. You send an email or message and immediately or later regret it. With these systems it is possible to send a message or email and reverse the action of sending it. With Gmail, the user is given the option to set the send cancellation period to between 5 and 30 seconds. Instagram allows its users to delete a message from both sides of the conversation at any given time. These actions give the user confidence in using the product and greatly augment the user experience.
Users shouldn’t have to worry or panic about entering the wrong data into a field. Users should have the control and freedom to edit text that was previously submitted. This can be seen with status updates on social media sites like Facebook. If a user detects and error or changes his mind about a post, he can easily edit what was written. Users are also given the freedom to change shipping addresses on sites like Amazon. If a user wants to send a gift to their friend, but accidentally inputs the wrong zip code, for example, he has the control to easily edit it.
Users must be given a way to fix mistakes they make while interacting with a system. They need to have the flexibility to edit or undo actions. Everyone likes to feel in control and free. When a product gives its users freedom and control of the system, it builds confidence in the brand and creates loyal users.
Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts about this topic in the comments.
