Your Users’ Mental Models
So, how do we solve this dilly of a pickle? Let’s start with what we know. Users must have a mental model of computers; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to use them at all. However, the scope of this mental model covers, say, user interface widgets and probably some landmark- or list-based navigation. The problem, the thing that makes computers different from cars, is that computers interact differently based on context or conditions outside of our control. Much of this context may not be understood by the user, or may have never been explained. Cars are pretty old technology, and children learn about them in school. By the time we first learn to drive a car, we are expected to have a basic understanding of how it works, however generalized that model is. The same is not true for computers. Computer users are often actively discouraged from learning the underlying principles of what they are doing, and told to focus on the specifics of the interface.
A great example of how this leads to the breakdown of users’ mental models is interaction with the Web. The Web is probably one of the least benign environments for a user on his computer, and yet it is arguably the most successful computing platform. When using the Web, there are numerous contextual or circumstantial errors than can occur, but the majority of users have no mental model with which to understand and recover from them. We looked at four possible causes of the gas pedal not accelerating a car, and yet a web page failing to load can have upward of a dozen causes. Since users lack a mental model, the best plan of action is to try and self-diagnose the error and educate the user. The distinction is important. Although it may seem sufficient to tell users that something went wrong and what they can do next, they eventually are going to get into the same state again with the same confusion. Instead, if there was a problem with the DNS, tell them so, and help them understand what DNS is. Maybe you have to use an analogy of a phone book for website numbers that their computer dials, or maybe you can convey the information in a more straight-up way. However you do it, don’t just let your users keep failing and becoming frustrated. Instead, give them a mental model that will last them a lifetime as a satisfied customer.
-Tom Hughes Croucher
Yahoo! Developer Network Evangelist
From the book Designing Social Interfaces
