Forum Discussion
Instruction Overload or No?
Hey Friends!
I'm writing to vent but maybe I'm in the wrong here. I created an activity for a medical course. There's a question, an image to review to get the answer, and then a submit button at the bottom. I got a comment from the reviewer that they don't think the learners "will know what to do". I keep getting comments like this when I think that it's obvious what the learner needs to do. What do you think? I attached a picture below (blurred for client privacy).
Thank you!
KK
I try not to give any instructions beyond what should be obvious, my mantra is if you cannot use a back and forward button you shouldn't be allowed loose on the Internet.
Try and follow web conventions and then less instructions should be needed.
LOL, Phil! I'm feeling pretty validated. I was made to add instructions about using the forward and back buttons in a Rise interaction. Again, I started to second guess if I was just used to working with courses and was taking the instruction for granted.
It seems pretty straightforward to me. Here is one possible tweak:
- Move the "Type your answer here" entry field below the image, with the Submit button right next to it.
(BTW, if a person can't figure out what to do on that slide, I don't want them as my healthcare professional. 🤣 )
Judy!
I said the same %^$#@ thing in my head! I could literally send you a ton of these comments for similar interactions.
Thank you!
KK
I like Judy's version that moves the text entry field closer to the Submit button. That does feel like an improvement for usability.
The other tweak you could make is changing the color of the text entry field from yellow to white or gray with a thin border around it. Right now, the formatting of the text entry box just looks like a yellow rectangle. It doesn't have the affordances that make it look more like a text entry box and signal "hey, this is a UI element you've seen before and know how to use." Even though you have the text within the box, the formatting might still improve it.
There are some more tips for improving the usability of text fields in this article that you might want to review. https://medium.com/@orazberdisaparov/how-to-ux-text-field-best-practices-6188bfe9ae5b
Should they be able to figure it out with the current version? Sure, and most people will. But if you can improve the UX a little to make it require less thought, you can make a few little changes to do so.
Well said. That reminds me of a book I read years ago: "Don't Make Me Think," by Steve Krug. It was about simplifying websites, but the title advice applies more broadly. The more someone has to think about how to navigate or what a design element means, the less they can think about the actual content.
Hi Christy!
Oh, I didn't think of that about the text box color. Thank you so much; that's great feedback! I also appreciate the link.
I hope you are doing well!
Kandice
I doesn't really matter what you or any reviewer think. What matters is if the real audience can figure out what to do, and that should be fairly easy to figure out by having a small group of people from the intended audience testing it.
