error treatments

I don't know if any best practices type documentation out there, but I can
tell you that there is a chapter in my book, Designing the Obvious, that
discusses preventing and handling errors in web apps.

http://www.rhjr.net/dto

Read up on "poka-yoke" on Wikipedia and let your creativity do the rest. :)

Don't let users make mistakes in the first place (the ways to do this are
limitless and depend entirely on the app). If mistakes cannot be prevented,
handle them gracefully. Use informative messages that offer a next step,
explain how to perform a task correctly, etc. Read the HIG (
http://tinyurl.com/cpf5v), etc.

Do *not* use Javascript alerts. There's generally no compelling reason to
completely prevent someone from using other parts of an application just so
you can show an error that, let's face it, could likely have been prevented
in the first place had the design been better. There are all kinds of ways
to get people to do things correctly, so focus on those.

Basically, avoid creating a "culture of no" at all costs. You want people to
like using your app, and telling them they screwed up at every turn is the
wrong way to go. Create a culture of yes.

-r-

On 10/30/06, Anastasia Fischer <afischer at eemedia.com> wrote:
>
> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> material.]
>
> I am looking for examples of error treatments for web apps. Is there a
> best-in-class standard for this these days?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Anastasia
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> Anastasia Fischer
>
> Customer Experience Design & Consulting
>
> Tel: 207-596-5549
>
> Cell: 207-318-9482
>
> www.eemedia.com
>
>
>
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Good point - that was a great book. Obvious stuff, but obvious in that way
where it's good to keep it on your shelf as a reminder.

-r-

On 10/31/06, Michael Micheletti <michael.micheletti at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> material.]
>
> You might also want to take a look at the book "Defensive Design for the
> Web" from 37 Signals:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Defensive-Design-Web-improve-messages/dp/073571410X
>
> The book discusses error messaging for web applications at some length.
>
> Michael Micheletti
>
> On 10/30/06, Anastasia Fischer <afischer at eemedia.com> wrote:
> >
> > [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> > material.]
> >
> > I am looking for examples of error treatments for web apps. Is there a
> > best-in-class standard for this these days?
> >
> >
> ________________________________________________________________
> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
> To post to this list ....... discuss at ixda.org
> List Guidelines ............ http://listguide.ixda.org/
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