The first of Jakob Nielsen’s ten usability heuristics is Visibility of System Status.
This heuristic refers to how well the state of a system is conveyed to its users.
Systems should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate
feedback within a reasonable time.
Imagine waiting for an elevator: you press the call button, and expect it to light up
to reflect that the system knows you’re waiting and will send an elevator soon.
You might even be able to see what floor that elevator is currently at, so you can gauge
how long you’ll need to wait.
That knowledge is power: open communication between the system and the user not only allows you
to understand what is happening, but also empowers you to make decisions based on that information.
Consider what information about a system the user needs to know,
and present that to them in a timely manner.
This system status could be persistent — or always visible — like a battery life or
Wi-Fi connection indicator; or it can be feedback that is only shown after the user has done something.
Just like when pressing that elevator button, feedback is critical to let people know their
interactions with a system were acknowledged and successful.
On a website or app, we expect visual feedback when we click an element — which can be
as simple as changing the button color and, where appropriate, displaying a progress indicator.
People should feel confident that their click was recognized, and that the system is now
working on the request.
Understanding a system’s current state is all about allowing users to feel in control.
That said, providing visibility into the system does NOT mean you need to tell the user absolutely
everything the system is doing!
Don’t provide system status updates if the user can’t do anything with that feedback anyway.
Too much information is distracting, so focus on only those key pieces of information that
will truly be helpful or provide reassurance to the user.
The Visibility of System Status heuristic highlights the importance of open and continuous
communication, which is fundamental to ALL relationships, whether with people or with our devices.
It’s the key to making a system feel reliable and predictable, which in turn creates trust.