The Principle of Least Astonishment

Mar 21

The Principle of Least Astonishment

Principle of least astonishment: This is worth reading. It’s probably the core of usability theory. There’s a good example in the article.

the principle (or rule or law) of least astonishment (or surprise) states that, when two elements of an interface conflict, or are ambiguous, the behaviour should be that which will least surprise the human user or programmer at the time the conflict arises.


Comments

by Joseph Scott,   March 21, 2009 9:57 PM  

This is a really handy guideline to keep in mind, I've seen it brought up in everything from FreeBSD to WordPress.



Comments are Closed

Thanks to all who participated.

Want to advertise on this site? Contact FM.