The paradox of the guided user: assistance can be counter-effective
Came across a very interesting thesis written by Christof van Nimwegen on providing assistance in user interfaces.
To get to the point: If you help the user too much they won´t learn and remember. If you let him learn by himself with minimal clues he will be able to work faster, with interruptions and will remember how to use for a longer period of time.
Makes sense: driving a car needs quite something to learn, you hardly forget and you can do it while singing along the radio. Imagine a car with instructions on the steering wheel, the pedals and the gear stick.
So what can be a solution: At an initial stage teach people how to use it or give them easy access to instructions, and during normal/repetitive use give the minimal necessary feedback so they can work fast.
Filed under: Interaction Design, Interaction Designer, SaaS User Interface Design, User Experience, User Interface | 1 Comment
Tags: Interaction Designer, interface design, SaaS User Interface Design, User Experience, user interface design
One Response to “The paradox of the guided user: assistance can be counter-effective”