Lesson plan
Description error
A description error or selection error is an error, or more specifically a human error, that occurs when a person performs the correct action on the wrong object due to insufficient specification of an action which would have led to a desired result. This commonly happens when similar actions lead to different results. A typical example is a panel with rows of identical switches, where it is easy to carry out a correct action (flip a switch) on a wrong switch due to their insufficient differentiation. This error can be very disorienting and usually causes a brief loss of situation awareness or automation surprise if noticed right away. But much worse, if it goes unnoticed, it could cause more serious problems. So allowances such as clearly highlighting a selected item should be made in interaction design. Donald Norman describes the subject in his book The Design of Everyday Things. There he describes how user-centered design can help account for human limitations that can lead to errors like description errors. James Reason also covers the subject in his book Human Error.
Article summary
A description error or selection error is an error, or more specifically a human error, that occurs when a person performs the correct action on the wrong object due to insufficient specification of an action which would have led to a desired result. This commonly happens when similar actions lead to different results. A typical example is a panel with rows of identical switches, where it is easy to carry out a correct action (flip a switch) on a wrong switch due to their insufficient differentiation. This error can be very disorienting and usually causes a brief loss of situation awareness or automation surprise if noticed right away. But much worse, if it goes unnoticed, it could cause more serious problems. So allowances such as clearly highlighting a selected item should be made in interaction design. Donald Norman describes the subject in his book The Design of Everyday Things. There he describes how user-centered design can help account for human limitations that can lead to errors like description errors. James Reason also covers the subject in his book Human Error.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.