135
votes
Why is it important to focus on user needs as opposed to requests?
Users are bad at asking for what they need and great at asking for what they want.
Anecdotal evidence from my own recent experience:
We have a department that asked for a button that would generate ...
- 8,848
120
votes
Accepted
Should users be allowed to use any special character they want when creating a password?
If the user can type it then it should be allowed in their password.
Telling someone what they can and can't use in their password always feels wrong to the user. Passwords are currently the most ...
- 15.8k
120
votes
Why is it important to focus on user needs as opposed to requests?
Here are two examples, one online and one offline
1. Train arrivals
Subway passengers frustrated with waiting for trains routinely ask for more trains on the track. For metropolitan transit ...
- 40.4k
75
votes
Accepted
Is it OK to autocorrect users when they have mistyped parts of their email address?
I would recommend against an auto-correct as domain name extensions are about to change drastically, to the point where an email ending with "sitename.anything" will be valid.
Consider an inline ...
- 936
71
votes
Why is it important to focus on user needs as opposed to requests?
If you've seen The Simpsons episode "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou," you should remember what happened when Homer's half-brother gave him free reign over designing a car "for the average schmuck." The ...
- 2,640
59
votes
Accepted
Is it ok to use arrows to indicate money movement in & out of an account?
This is perhaps perilously close to an off-topic icon discussion, but I think you could modify the arrow icons to make the outgoing versus incoming direction clearer. Essentially, you need to give ...
- 14.2k
41
votes
Why is it important to focus on user needs as opposed to requests?
Let's start with an old one from the Ford's founder:
(Although there isn't actually any evidence Ford ever said it. Thanks to user Evil Closet Monkey for the disclaimer.)
The UX Designer View
...
- 10.4k
38
votes
When requesting a donation, is it better to have a prefilled button or enter their own value?
Based on work by Sam Ham with the Galapagos Conservation Fund and elsewhere, and my own unjustified opinion, I'd estimate that you'd take more money from suggested amounts rather than a pick-your-own-...
- 1,431
36
votes
Number keyboard UX
Phonewords
Phonewords are mnemonic phrases represented as alphanumeric equivalents of a telephone number.2 In many countries, the digits on the telephone keypad also have letters assigned. By ...
- 16.1k
35
votes
Should users be allowed to use any special character they want when creating a password?
If a site requires that passwords only contain certain character codes, then a user will be able to enter the password into almost any device which is capable of producing those characters. If the ...
- 3,245
33
votes
Why is it important to focus on user needs as opposed to requests?
There are two issues that make focusing on user requests at face value problematic.
The first is known as
The Einstellung Effect
This is a negative effect of pattern-following on finding optimal ...
- 457
30
votes
Accepted
What is the best way to end a call between two parties (timer involved) in a non-disruptive way?
I personally feel the Second approach is a lot better.
This ensures that the party doesn't get to extend a call each time. Think of how many Consultants might extend time if you give them the control. ...
- 6,315
22
votes
Should we ask users what they want?
I feel like this question can be answered in 2 ways, regarding asking users in general and your current specific problem/image.
Asking users in general
Asking the user for an opinion can, in some ...
- 1,020
21
votes
What is your UX strategy when your users want opposite things?
Try to distinguish between what users want and how they want it done.
Taking your example above, users wanting one vs. two input boxes is all about the how. The what is being able to paste comma-...
- 411
20
votes
Should users be allowed to use any special character they want when creating a password?
I would like to add to DaveAlger's point. I, like many people, create algorithms in order to better remember passwords. I've spoken to many people (in an informal manner) about passwords and I have ...
- 6,611
20
votes
Is it ok to use arrows to indicate money movement in & out of an account?
I've found that arrows without words tend to cause confusion amongst users, especially those that have a color blindness. If you use multiple indicators such as the arrow, color, words, and/or +/- ...
- 10k
20
votes
Is it ok to use arrows to indicate money movement in & out of an account?
could arrow icons still be used as a quick visual reference to
indicate movement of funds without actually misguiding users?
I think the way you've presented them might be confusing but using them ...
- 10.4k
18
votes
Accepted
The design and implementation of the purely theoretical "self destruct" button
What is the business goal of the Self-Destruct button? UX is all about balancing business needs with user goals. So, let's say the business goal is to sell more computers. The user goal is to disable ...
- 3,024
17
votes
Accepted
Can UX without research really be called UX?
It is, of course, possible to produce a UI without involved the users. So yes, in a purely technical sense, you can create some kind of UX without directly involving the people who will actually use ...
- 10.3k
17
votes
Why is it important to focus on user needs as opposed to requests?
My anecdote:
We were bulding a new version of a computerized machine. One requirement was to boot it in 30 seconds. We failed it by orders of magnitude. It created a big outcry. We asked why and heard ...
- 171
17
votes
Alert colors are really user-friendly to color-blind users?
Quick Answer
In your case that color scheme is NOT safe for colorblind people. First of all don't forget that there are different types of color vision deficiency. Let's summarize why your image is ...
- 5,013
16
votes
Accepted
What is your UX strategy when your users want opposite things?
You can't please everyone
Most changes or additions will leave some people behind. They may catch up later, they may hate you forever. Shoot for net gain in the experience. If you avoid negative ...
- 21.1k
16
votes
Accepted
Label for input type email in a form
I definitely recommend that you use the word "Email" together with a simple general placeholder like "email@example.com".
Email ID:
The ID part sounds confusing. It will probably confuse the user ...
16
votes
Keyboard shortcut keys for Tabs?
Most IDEs, Web Browsers, and other TDI software use CtrlTab for switching tabs no matter which UI element currently has focus.
References:
Chrome keyboard shortcuts
Mozilla Keyboard shortcuts
...
- 1,089
15
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between human factors and UX design?
Short answer: They are meaningless corporate titles applied to people with similar (apparent) skills. They're the same.
Long answer:
1- How do human factor specialists and user experience ...
- 17.5k
14
votes
Accepted
What is a reason for using both autocomplete and suggestion features?
Autocomplete and suggestion features serve different, though similar, purposes.
Autocomplete
Autocomplete is there to make it faster for you to complete your search. If you for example want to search ...
- 67.6k
14
votes
When requesting a donation, is it better to have a prefilled button or enter their own value?
As a potential donor, it always annoys me if I cannot change the suggested amount to my own preference. Don't try to tell me what my charitable donation should be.
I don't mind the suggested donation ...
- 2,092
14
votes
What is the best way to end a call between two parties (timer involved) in a non-disruptive way?
I find this question also to consider the business model, not a pure UX question.
I mean, from the point of view of the user, for sure, the first, less disruptive, approach is better: "Hey, I can ...
- 1,542
14
votes
Accepted
Is it possible for a web application to be *too* fast?
If the system responds so quickly to a user-initiated action that there's no indication that the application has completed a task, this can be detrimental to the user experience.
The usability ...
- 2,489
14
votes
Accepted
Number keyboard UX
Here's why:
Current Scenario
Such keyboards appear in two cases:
Number keyboard - Such keyboards ONLY appear when you need to dial-in a phone number or search for a contact. The need of having the ...
- 6,727
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible