Feedback is a signal that something has occurred after an interaction with an object, and sends information back to the user about what action has been done and what result was accomplished. It communicates the effects of an action, and in order for it to be effective, it has to be immediate. Even a minuscule delay can be disorienting to the user and lead to incorrect interactions. It should also convey appropriate information so as not to cause confusion. Feedback is critical in directing behavior and communicating success or failure.
Source: Don Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things
Example from original source:
Example from different source:
Source: UX Planet, Dialog Design
Real life example:
Cindy, I like the way you phrased this concept entirely on the first sentence. Your examples are really good and real examples we deal with every day.
One example of bad feedback is when you have to find other ways to inform the user of a system’s feedback. In the example below, there is parking pay machine that has a sign informing the user that it may take 30 seconds to process the payment and also that the customer needs the ticket to exit the parking. The system in this case is not providing the user with proper feedback, so it required additional information (the paper sign) in order to avoid confusion, frustration and people getting stuck at the parking garage:
http://sites.uci.edu/in4matx282f17/files/2017/10/Feedback_Design-Example.jpg
Thank you, Francis, and thanks for your contribution! I really appreciate that you provided an example of bad feedback illuminating the importance of principle at hand. A system should be responsive to user action so it’s definitely a problem when a paper print-out sign needs to be tacked onto a digital product to avoid confusion, especially when their system already has a digital interface screen. Hope this isn’t something that you have to deal with on a daily basis! Thirty seconds to process payment is quite a long time when there’s a long row of cars exiting a parking garage, and I can imagine the confusion and frustration one would have to endure if there weren’t instructions taped on.
Feedback is key in design, especially with technology nowadays. The microwave is a great example, the auditory beep is a great way for many devices to let the user know that their input has been processed. Especially with new technology that don’t require a traditional physical input an audio feedback is a great way to let the user know it is working. Another example is the touch keyboard on the phone. While you are typing the phone gives an audio and physical (vibration) feedback as you touch the screen.
Yes, it’s definitely important to note that feedback comes in various forms, whether it’s auditory or haptic technology, and sometimes it’s a combination of the two. Great example with the touch keyboard on a smartphone, Calvin! On mine (I use an iPhone), there’s also another layer of feedback in the form of visual confirmation: tapping a key highlights it and extends the letter in a bubble visibly above the finger press, which is especially useful if sound is turned off.
The faucet is a great example because it is not readily apparent which direction is hot or cold without some visible feedback, which the more modern designs tend to lack. But you’ll quickly figure it out and solve the issue. This strategy reminds me of something Gillian mentioned during the intensive. Some pedestrian push-to-walk buttons provide feedback (light up/make noise/flash), but they actually do nothing more than make the pedestrian feel like they did something. Placebo effect.
Thanks, Paul! Good point regarding the pedestrian push-to-walk buttons. It signals to the user that their action has been processed even if it doesn’t do anything but merely promote an illusion of control that in reality do not work. I know when I was a child walking home from school, I would constantly push those buttons at a crosswalk, thinking that the more I pressed them, the faster the request would be processed, since at the time, they didn’t provide any feedback. However, there does seem to be hope after all! There may be evidence that these buttons do work, although it depends on one’s location:
https://www.citylab.com/life/2015/09/ask-citylab-do-walk-buttons-actually-do-anything/400760/
Your post made me think of the feedback we receive when using a public transit system. We walk up to a turnstile and we can read whether we can enter it or not. When we determine that we can, indeed, enter, we insert or tap our transit card against the controls and, usually, an audible sound is triggered. Then the gate opens or it doesn’t, depending on the status of our transit card. At each step, there is some form of feedback.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C6nCOyXWwAAq7xR.jpg
That’s a really good example of feedback at multiple steps of a transaction, Michelle! I don’t get the opportunity to use public transport on a daily basis, but this does seem to convey appropriate information at each step of the process so as not to cause confusion. Thanks for sharing!