Hi Jon, In this case, I'd say it doesn't depend. It used to be that we couldn't assume users had this basic understanding of how to use Web sites, but these days, this sort of "helpful" text really does nothing but increase visual noise, page complexity, and cognitive load by adding elements that the user has to ignore to complete their tasks. Links are for clicking, and users know this.
Beyond that, I tend to treat in-place instruction as a last resort, even when usability testing shows that users are having problems. The problem with in-place instruction is that users read it once (maybe), after which it's just persistent visual noise, muddying up the interface. A better solution is to make the interface itself communicate it's function so that the instructional text isn't needed. Cheers! Sylvania User Experience Designer TechSmith Corp. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jonathan Abbett Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 4:38 PM To: IxDA Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Retain "obvious" instructions? I've been working on a redesign of the web-based user interface for a personal health record platform, and I began to wonder -- do I need to retain the one-line instruction that seems to be on the top of every major data listing (medications, lab tests, immunizations, etc.): "Click any item in the list to see more detail" (or something similar to that effect) The title of each list item is hyperlinked with underlined, blue text. I guess the bigger questions are: Do I assume my users' basic browsing abilities at my own peril? Does even a basic task of web usage need to be field-tested? I'm already prepared for the "it depends" answers! ;) Thanks, Jon ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
