TemplateCraft6 min read
What it is for
Check that no angle of a feature was forgotten before development.
The questions it helps settle
Where in the design cycle
Twenty-five points to review before considering a feature designed, preceded by three questions without which I do not start.
Not every point applies to every feature. The list is there to check that no angle was forgotten, and to name what we choose not to address. I read it at two moments: at framing, to ask the questions, and before handing off to development, to check the answers.
What is the user need we are designing a solution for? A need reported by a real user, ideally.
How do we plan to answer it?
For what result, what outcome?
What is the user’s goal when using this feature?
Does this feature share traits with other applications? For example: managing a list of items, adding an item, sorting or filtering a list, selecting, multi-selecting.
For a list-type feature, the questions to ask:
Does a similar feature exist elsewhere, and does it share the same approach to the solution? Are there metaphors, in real life or in the users’ lives, that could resemble the solution? If the concept is new, can we describe it in generic terms?
What other tools do our audiences use? Are they experts in those tools? Does that influence how they understand how an import function works, for example? Are they more used to autosave than to clicking a “Save” button?
What level of expertise does this feature require? Is it an action used from the first login, or reserved for experts? To delete an email, swipe to delete is hidden but known to advanced users. Do we want to guide the user to learn this action, or hide it to avoid accidental use by beginners?
What is the context of use of this feature? Can the user’s environment influence how they understand the information or interact with the interface? For example, a teacher sharing content from a computer, in a noisy classroom, with distracted students.
What is the user doing right before using the feature? From which parts of the application do they arrive? Plan a clear and reassuring path to let them go back if they made a mistake.
What triggers the use of the feature? When and why does the need arise? The trigger can be:
If the user needs to be notified, how do we make sure the notification is not intrusive? How do we calibrate the application so that it does not create stress through too frequent notifications?
Does the user need to configure settings before using the feature? Does the system remember that configuration for next time (yes, preferably)? Does the user know where to change those settings if needed?
Is a prerequisite needed to access the feature? How do we communicate it to the user? For example, access to the phone camera to scan a barcode.
Does the user need to know certain information to make choices before starting the journey? What do they need to see or know to choose correctly? If they are taken to an external page, how do we tell them? For example, a dashboard viewed on another site.
Do some operations take time? How do we handle the wait? Should a long loading time be expected for some information or to initialise a process? How do we show loading so that the user feels in control? Can they continue their tasks in the meantime, or must changes be prevented?
If an operation takes more than five seconds, allow cancelling it. Where does the user land after cancelling? Does the system return to the previous state?
How are users told that an operation succeeded? Is the feedback informative, reassuring? Is it unobtrusive yet clear enough?
Which errors are likely to happen? If there are several levels of severity, how does the system represent them? What do we offer the user to resolve them? Access to a help section, or a shortcut to information in context?
How often will this feature be used? Ten times a day, once a month, once ever? How many clicks, taps or swipes does it take? Do keyboard shortcuts or bulk actions remove the extra clicks?
How is accessibility handled in the feature? Is it a condition of its use? Is the feature usable with a screen reader? Is there a specific way of using it with the mouse? Are contrasts and text sizes correct?
If several roles exist in the system, what are the levels of access to the feature? Does it involve information reserved for some users? Can the people without access be told, and know under which conditions they could get it? For example, a paid tier, or admin access to request from a manager.
What will the user’s experience be at first login? How do we bring them on board? How do we make them understand the goal and the value of the feature? How do we offer enough guidance at the start, without being intrusive?
Three situations produce an empty state:
Each one is an opportunity: to educate and enrich the understanding of the service, to bring a smile when reading a piece of information, to clarify the value proposition and offer an action.
How does the feature behave with no data to display? What is shown to help the user understand and act? Which actions avoid hesitation and loss of bearings? How do we guide the user to fill the empty state?
Does the application still work correctly on slow machines? Does the equipment have performance gaps? Can network access be an issue? Can we offer a degraded mode so that the feature is reachable in as many contexts as possible? Resource-hungry games, for example, let players lower graphics quality on weak phones.
Does this feature need a new interaction pattern, such as a search with autocomplete? Does a component already exist in the design system? Should a specific one be created for this need?
Can the designed solution be simplified? Is the new feature consistent with the rest of the application?
What is it called? Find a name at the start of the work, and clarify it with everyone involved, so that everybody talks about the same thing.
How will users learn that the feature exists? Through a newsletter, an app update, an in-app notification? What will they expect? Will they know the value of the update right away, or will they need to try it to understand all the possibilities? How do we align the promotional message with the experience felt in the app?
How can users give their opinion on the new feature? How many users are concerned?
