Re: [IxDA Discuss] Progressive Disclosure and Forms
Progressive disclosure is a great idea fraught with implementation issues. For starters, you usually need client side scripting to do it, which reduces its accessibility. The other big problem is what you've touched on - user attention. On the one hand, you need to avoid people missing the 'new' questions but on the other hand you might have users being 'surprised'. One way to overcome all these problems is to use pagination. If you ask 'set up' questions on your first screen, you can then provide the appropriate (conditional) questions on the next and later screens. No scripting needed, no surprises, no chance of missing relevant questions. One of the main /disadvantages/ of this approach is that the form may not lend itself neatly to pagination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=25866 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
[IxDA Discuss] Progressive Disclosure and Forms
I'd like to get some opinions on the subject of dynamically displaying form elements depending on user selection. For example assume I have an HTML form to enter a contest, and I can fill out this form on my behalf or someone else's. For this scenario the form might have a field labeled something along the lines of This entry is for: and the radio buttons labeled myself and someone else Now if a user selects someone else the form needs to collect the name of the someone. So should that additional field be displayed when the form initially loads, or should it be dynamically displayed only when a user selects the someone else radio button. I've done some initial tests and found that a slight majority of the individuals prefer it always be displayed. They were almost surprised when it suddenly appeared after selecting someone else. Also, younger, more web savvy individuals didn't mind the dynamic display. As usual the decision to do this would need to be case by case. For example if there are many fields that need this behavior it may not be suitable, or if the need for whole fieldsets are determined by user input this probably wouldn't be optimal (may want to go with a more wizard-esque approach there). But for simple, smaller forms where only one or two fields might be able to use this, what do you guys think? Display the additional fields from the get-go, or only show them when necessary? -adam 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Progressive Disclosure and Forms
On 13 Feb 2008, at 16:19, Adam Connor wrote: [snip] I've done some initial tests and found that a slight majority of the individuals prefer it always be displayed. [snip] I'm wondering: a) how many of your total users ever need the optional fields, and so know that progressive disclosure will actually happen b) whether those folk prefer a smaller form My guess is that (a) are in the vast majority, and that (b) is true.. so I'd tend o progressively disclose since the folk who dislike it are in a small minority, and the overall improvements are worth it. I might do some bucket testing to make sure... Cheers, Adrian 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Progressive Disclosure and Forms
snip As usual the decision to do this would need to be case by case. For example if there are many fields that need this behavior it may not be suitable, or if the need for whole fieldsets are determined by user input this probably wouldn't be optimal (may want to go with a more wizard-esque approach there). But for simple, smaller forms where only one or two fields might be able to use this, what do you guys think? Display the additional fields from the get-go, or only show them when necessary? -adam /snip Of the only true answer is it depends. But here are some guidelines I follow when faced with the same decision: 1. If it's only one field, and the dependency is direct, show but disable the dependent field. A good example of this is Other with an accompanying text box in a radio button group. 2. For e-commerce payment methods, hide and do not save values. If a person selects Credit Card, display the text boxes for card number, name, etc. You can show them by default in most cases, as CC is still the most common form of online payment, or you can hide all fields until an explicit selection is made (especially if you are trying to push a particular payment method, like PayPal). If the customer then switches from CC to some other payment method, like PayPal, hide the CC fields and discard their values. 3. For long enrollment-type forms, start with a static, single-page form and analyze the branches, skips, and recursions. This will give you insight on how to structure your form; then you can decide whether to use pagination or progressive disclosure as your presentation medium. I remember that someone posted a link to a very jumpy insurance form that used too much PD; the targets kept darting away from the mouse, it was like a game of whack-a-mole. Don't do that. HTH, Dante Dante Murphy | Director of Information Architecture | D I G I T A S H E A L T H 229 South 18th Street | Rittenhouse Square | Philadelphia, PA 19103 | USA Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.digitashealth.com 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Progressive Disclosure and Forms
I think it's important to be both internally consistent and to have a good rationale for choosing one way over the other. Sorry if that's stating the obvious. The dynamic method seems better to me because it advances the process in a logical way, opens a door as you approach but keeps it closed if you don't. It's also important to hear what users are telling you beyond yes and no. What other feedback, pro and con, argues for one method over the other? How strongly do people feel about it? Some people equate digital forms with their counterparts in paper documents, and are reassured by static elements. Others appreciate and quickly accept the guided experience as an intuitive benefit. Is age a factor among the intended users? Older users may be more surprised at the dynamic behavior, but my experience tells me that's not necessarily a bad thing. Once they get it, some actually giggle with delight at the cleverness and usefulness of that feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=25866 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Progressive Disclosure and Forms
Adam, I've done some initial tests and found that a slight majority of the individuals prefer it always be displayed. They were almost surprised when it suddenly appeared after selecting someone else. Also, younger, more web savvy individuals didn't mind the dynamic display. The decision is literally being made for you, it will depend on who your users are. In projects that I've worked on, where we've implemented progressive disclosure and our audience has a wide range, we try to at least make the different elements remain in the same place and whatever is affected, to be below the user's view (so as not to distract them). This can be accomplished by gathering initial data and moving optional fields below them. Hope this made sense. Eduardo 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Progressive Disclosure and Forms
I'm a huge fan of progressive disclosure for several reasons. First, as a former content manager, as sad as it makes me, I know that users read very little of the instructional text I would so lovingly craft for them. (We actually used multi-variant testing to show that applications had higher conversion rates when the text was removed.) They like to jump in and start completing form fields. I've personally completed the wrong fields myself before, because the fields that were not relevant to me were in the way of the ones that were. The other reason is that forms can be overwhelming. If a user doesn't have their senses assaulted by the entire collection of fields, some of which are not applicable to their situation, it can be less daunting. And lastly, it can help you solve for a host of design challenges, such as space constraints or disparate experiences for separate but related tasks. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Adam Connor Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:20 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Progressive Disclosure and Forms I'd like to get some opinions on the subject of dynamically displaying form elements depending on user selection. 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
