What are the best practices for providing feedback and error messages in GUIs?

Effective GUI feedback involves clear, concise, and user-friendly messages. Use plain language to explain errors, guiding users toward solutions. Provide actionable feedback with specific instructions, avoiding technical jargon. Ensure visibility and use color-coding judiciously for accessibility. Incorporate descriptive icons for quick recognition. Implement real-time validation to catch errors early. Prioritize user experience with informative messages, fostering a positive interaction with the interface while assisting users in resolving issues efficiently.

It's usually a good idea to have two different sets of error messages for two different groups of people: - Log error messages are targeted to the engineer and need to be verbose and detailed enough to save the engineer time during incident investigations. - UI-faced error messages are targeted to the final user and need to be laconic, and clear and should include links to documentation for more detailed information. Ideally, the documentation should include directions and tips for problem resolution and a link to a support channel. I like the idea of usage of AI-based chatbots as a tear 0 of technical support.

Try avoiding verbosity in feedback and error alerts in your UI. Your message should be brief, straight-to-point, clear and easy to understand, allowing the user to remove the message when they're done reading. If you want to explain more, include a link to help docs or other resources within your alerts that cover the reason behind the feedback/error.

The feedback should be immediate and contextual, ensuring that users receive prompt responses to their actions. This prevents confusion and allows users to understand the outcome of their interactions in real-time. The system should communicate information that is meaningful and specific to the user's current context, guiding them effectively. For instance, if an error occurs during form submission, the feedback should clearly articulate the issue, such as missing required fields, rather than presenting a generic error message.

It's important that your feedback or error alerts/popups do not obstruct essential parts of your pages without the user being able to remove them, even when they have visibility time limits. Once the user is done reading, they should be able to get them out of sight. (There are obvious exceptions, such as when they are meant to prevent the user from taking further actions on parts of your pages.)

Accommodate diverse users by allowing customization of feedback preferences when possible. Error messages should avoid technical jargon and instead use user-friendly language to guide users in resolving issues. Additionally, feedback should be provided in real-time or near real-time to minimize user confusion and frustration. Visual cues, such as highlighting the specific field or element causing an error, can further assist users in quickly identifying and rectifying the problem.

One of the things that I found helpfull is to test the application error messages and notifications with real life users. Someone, who is not a stakeholder, should give us a feekback in order to get more valid information regarding the error messages and error handling process.

Early in my career, a poorly-worded error message led to user frustration. Reflecting on this, I realized the importance of clear language. Additionally, a project taught me that feedback isn't just about speed but relevance; users appreciate immediate, context-aware responses. Lastly, the position and format of feedback can't be underestimated. A personal experience dealing with confusing pop-ups emphasized the need for thoughtful design that aligns with user workflows, a lesson ingrained in my approach to GUIs.