Forgiveness

No plan Bs

What is it?

When users take action, make a decision, or complete a workflow, they sometimes face unexpected outcomes. When this happens, users may feel surprised, disappointed, and confused about what to do next. These negative feelings can be mitigated by offering suggestions about actions users can take next or paths they can follow to reach an alternative or second-best outcome.

Examples

No suggestions when a search returns no results

Limited shortcuts for adding images to a table

Underlying principles

Guiding questions

What questions arise for users when outcomes don't match their expectations?

What questions arise for users when outcomes don't match their expectations?

What questions arise for users when outcomes don't match their expectations?

What should users do if a task doesn't yield the expected outcome?

What should users do if a task doesn't yield the expected outcome?

What should users do if a task doesn't yield the expected outcome?