User Control and Freedom
One of the heuristics law we know which gives users the whole control and sense of freedom while using the product.
A thought…
It is really interesting to see a company coming up with a product for global audience with a particular vision in mind and users using the product for something else or in some other ways.
We know a heuristic law which says “USER CONTROL AND FREEDOM”. You will some day realise that taking action is not just submitting something by mistake and undoing it. It is more what user actually takes action on but does not undo because they have that freedom. This is lack of understanding the power of users where user has the control and freedom TO DO IT OR NOT DO IT.
Where do we most see it?
We can see this law creating mishaps often on social media apps where user has full control and freedom to take actions.
- Shaming anyone
- Talk about anything without any facts
- Post any content
- Put rough or harsh comments on any post
- Record anything
- Upload anything
and so on….
Ways given to fix it…
This type of content can create any chaos and lead to any unfortunate events. To avoid these mistakes this law says we should have:
- Undo/Redo buttons
- Cancel buttons
- Delete buttons
- Remove buttons
These actions help users correct their mistakes.
But, do the user always wants to fix it?
No. Because some content and some actions user takes are deliberate. It’s because the product companies gave user the freedom to create and control. It is meant to be that way.
“Instagram or Twitter did not intend to launch the product with scenario that user will post something irrelevant and become viral or hurt someone. They know the consequences hence all the provisions are given to undo the bad state.”
“Linkedin did not intend to come in market for users to post memes. It’s a pure job portal, place where you connect with like minded people and build your professional network.”
Similarly, whenever we design for any product, think about the freedom and control given to the users. Think all the ways it can go bad and provide solutions to undo the state wherever required. We often think about all happy scenarios while designing but negative scenarios help us be prepared for the failures, analyse the scalability of the product and give a holistic view of the vision.
