User control
- Definition
- The user should have complete control over their data
The user needs to be in control of their data. This means that they should be able to perform any action they need and receive feedback on their actions.
How does it work?
User control has the following aspects:
- Efficiency: Common things should be easy. Complex things should be possible.
- User centricity: the application should be built to best (most efficiently) serve the user, rather than reflect the database structure
- Context: The application should be adapted to the device it runs on in a way that best serves the user
- Undo / redo: whenever possible, allow a user to reverse an action (mistake) they made. Provide a "Cancel" button and an "Exit" button on a dialog
- Feed-forward / feedback: it should be clear what consequence each action will have (feed-forward) and it should be clear what the effect of each action has been (feedback)
- Introduce shortcuts for power users that work intensively with your application