Mode (user interface): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:19, 17 August 2020

Revision as of 06:00, 30 December 2020

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== Assessment ==

Modes are intended to grab the user's full attention and to cause them to acknowledge the content present in them, in particular when critical confirmation from the user is required.<ref name="context">{{cite web|url=http://quince.infragistics.com/Patterns/Modal%20Panel.aspx#Context|title=Modal Panel - Context|author=[http://infragistics.com Infragistics.com]|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506101851/http://quince.infragistics.com/Patterns/Modal%20Panel.aspx#Context|archivedatearchive-date=2013-05-06|df=}}</ref> This later use is criticised as ineffective for its intended use (protection against errors in destructive actions) due to [[habituation]]. Actually making the action reversible (providing an "undo" option) is recommended instead.<ref>[[Aza Raskin]], A List Apart: [http://www.alistapart.com/articles/neveruseawarning Never Use a Warning When you Mean Undo]</ref> Though modes can be successful in particular usages to restrict dangerous or undesired operations, especially when the mode is actively maintained by a user as a ''quasimode''.

Modes are sometimes used to represent information pertinent to the task that doesn’t fit well into the main visual flow.<ref name="context"/> Modes can also work as well-understood conventions, such as painting tools.<ref name="glossary"/>

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===Avoid when possible===

[[Image:Arret.jpg|thumb|Small signs make explicit the mappings from signal to roads]]

Alternatives to modes such as the [[undo]] command and the [[Recycle bin (computing)|recycle bin]] are recommended when possible.<ref name="Implementation">{{cite web|url=http://quince.infragistics.com/Patterns/Modal%20Panel.aspx#Implementation|title=Modal Panel - Implementation|author=[http://infragistics.com Infragistics.com]|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506101851/http://quince.infragistics.com/Patterns/Modal%20Panel.aspx#Implementation|archivedatearchive-date=2013-05-06|df=}}</ref> HCI researcher [[Donald Norman]] argues that the best way to avoid mode errors, in addition to clear indications of state, is helping the users to construct an accurate [[mental model]] of the system which will allow them to predict the mode accurately.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=358092|title=Design rules based on analyses of human error}}</ref>

This is demonstrated, for example, by some [[stop sign]]s at road intersections. A driver may be [[Operant conditioning|conditioned]] by a [[four-way stop]] [[sign]] near his or her home to assume that similar intersections will also be four way stops. If it happens to be only two way, the driver could proceed through if he or she sees no other cars. Especially if there is an obstructed view, a car could come though and hit the first car broadside. An improved design alleviates the problem by including a small diagram showing which of the directions have a stop sign and which don't, thus improving the [[situational awareness]] of drivers.