Error Messages: You failed, stupid!

I once got into a 5 minute debate (which was 4 minutes and 30 seconds too long) about error messages. The other person felt that error messages should make the user feel good about themselves. In other words, never tell the user that they have failed nor use negative imagery, such as, the color red. Their example was, "how would you feel if you failed a medical test?" I could not disagree more. Most people are not insulted by machinery. People are more likely to be insulted by poorly designed products and confusing instructions. A well written error message includes two things: 1. A general statement defining the error condition. 2. Specific instructions on how to fix the problem. The user doesn't need to know exactly what went wrong. If you get on the wrong freeway in your rental car, do you want your GPS to give you updated directions or tell you that you made the wrong turn on Albuquerque Street? Exactly. Who cares what the street was? You need to get to your conference in 10 minutes, not you don't need a lesson in modern city planning. Error message should be short, but informative. If your message takes more than two sentences, you should break the information into two or more error conditions. And as always, protect the user experience.

The first lesson

The first lesson of usability is protect the user experience. When creating a website, every group in involved has request and concerns. Even when legitimate, these demands often conflict with the user experience. For example, users are wary of giving more information than absolutely necessary. Users are also wary of being spammed. With this in mind, does the account sign up flow in your website require a fax number? For arguments sake, let's say that there is a legitimate reason for requiring a fax number from users. Does the fax number have to be required during sign up? Most likely, it is better to ask for a fax number when the user want to send or receive a fax. Protecting the user experience means that every interaction must be as simple as possible. If you don't agree, think of it this way... The next time you sign up for a checking account, library card, or other online account, imagine being required to enter the names and ages of your three closest relatives. Not a very good experience is it?