A Product Manager's Opinion on "User Error"
An article we liked from Thought Leader Olivia Belitsky:
Frustrated Users? Their Errors Are Your Fault.
Here’s how to create intuitive user experiences.
For two years, I started every workday by watching session recordings from the day before. This exercise let me see my product through my user’s eyes. I began with the highest-friction sessions, taking notes of bugs and areas of improvement.
4 WAYS TO CREATE AN INTUITIVE USER EXPERIENCE
Review and reduce the length of blocks of text on your pages.
In a multi-step flow, chunk your experience into distinct steps.
Use clear and direct error messages.
Ensure your experience meets accessibility requirements.
But I fell into a terrible habit. Often, I would see users struggle with minor inconveniences, like typing a “%” in a text field that was already formatted for percentages, and chalk it off to “user error.” I wouldn’t even put these issues in the backlog because they seemed too minor to be worth addressing.
What I missed is that excellent user experiences hinge on a frictionless experience, and even minor errors pull the user out of the flow of a great experience. Even worse, I put the blame on my…
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