6 ms·

I've been "arguing" with people here as to what a better interface would look like, and it's interesting at how much disagreement there is. A lot (like too many

I've been "arguing" with people here as to what a better interface would look like, and it's interesting at how much disagreement there is. A lot (like too many) seem to think adding a yes/no dialog box would make things better, but it's well known users don't read dialog boxes. My preference would be a mcDonald's menu style UI, showing the text that will be sent in a 6x5 grid of buttons. Easy to press; easy to see what you're sending; no funky "are you sure" messages that'll be auto-clicked.

johnchristopher 9y ago
I vote for a single big red button in a translucent plastic case hung on the wall.
barsonme 9y ago
ISTM there should be a phrase they have to type in that's specific to each option. Those "are you sure? [y] [n]", "are you _really_ sure? [y] [n]" dialog boxes are easy to blindly click through. Typing is a physical action. Or, even better—have it require _two_ employees.
kemitche 9y ago
It doesn't even need that. It should start by grouping the options by severity - separate the real alerts from the test alerts via section headers and you solve 99% of the problem.
- jamessb 9y ago
  Indeed - something like this [1]. There's scope for further improvements, but this alone would be a vast improvement. Given the cost of a mis-click, I'd also implement a Github-style confirmation box that can't just be subconciously clicked-through ("To confirm that you wish to send a PACOM Alert, type 'pacom alert'"). [1]: https://twitter.com/iamlucamilan/status/953201356545974272 https://twitter.com/iamlucamilan/status/953201356545974272
- HarrietJones 9y ago
  My concern with severity groups is you have users and managers deciding which messages go in which severity groups. That ignores the impact of politics and short termism on the decision making process. (e.g. How severe is a missing child?). Before you know it, everything will be in severe, and your users will be asking for a "really, really severe" category.
  - james-mcelwain 9y ago
    Makes sense, but I would hope even the most inept manager could recognize that "AMBER Alert" and "Nuclear Annihilation Imminent" are different degrees of severity.
  - 2-4-Flinching 9y ago
    I think kemitche was saying was they would have two groups. One would be "Test Alerts" and the other would be "Real Alerts" not that we needed to have a philosophical break down of alerts by severity. severity may have not been the best word but He did explain his definition in the next few words.
Ajedi32 9y ago
I would argue for a menu like this: https://twitter.com/iamlucamilan/status/953201356545974272 https://twitter.com/iamlucamilan/status/953201356545974272 Combined with a confirmation dialog like this: https://twitter.com/Ajedi32/status/953303114995597312 https://twitter.com/Ajedi32/status/953303114995597312
- eitland 9y ago
  Very much agree with the redesign of the page. Simple, much better. The confirmation box however might be dangerous: If employee panics they might easily fail to get that right resulting in a failure to warn in time.
  - Shank 9y ago
    > If employee panics they might easily fail to get that right resulting in a failure to warn in time. It's not like the box goes away. You have plenty of time to fix your typing. Not only that, but bad UI is a bad UI problem. Not being able to operate a system correctly under stress is a problem often solved with a combination of tactics, including UI, but also stress management, response, etc. People who operate ballistic missile systems, defense systems, etc. on a daily basis are pretty well versed with how to handle the situation from a stress level. Anyone sitting behind an Iron Dome console is probably pretty cool under high stress in this exact situation.
    - eitland 9y ago
      > You have plenty of time to fix your typing. By the time you are aware of an incoming icbm I guess every second matter to save as many lives as possible. > Not being able to operate a system correctly under stress is a problem often solved with a combination of tactics, including UI... I think we actually agree. I'm not saying training isn't really important. I'm just saying that reading more than one paragraph then typing (including case sensitive text) might be hard when you fear an actual icbm.
  - binthere 9y ago
    I don't agree, for critical actions such as this it needs some level of protection that can be handled by trained professionals. e.g. You do not want to make it easy to send a nuclear bomb, but you also need to make sure that if there's ever a need for it, it can be done quickly by trained professionals.
xxxdarrenxxx 9y ago
Test and real scenario's shouldn't be in the same menu in the first place, and surely not mixed randomly together. - What if someone wants to click the link, but a colleague walks in and taps his shoulder to ask for something, moving his mouse in that instant to a different link - What if at the moment he clicks the link, he lifts his mouse slowly cause human, and the cursor off the mouse jumps to another link whilst in the clicking. - What if he simply clicks the wrong one, because he had an argument with his wife and his head is not quite there. There is absolutely no reason to let this depend on human interpretation skill, if you have a frigging computer + basic markup. __________________________________________________________ Prefix 1 menu with 2 BUTTONS __________________________________________________________ < test > (Test scenario's) < REAL > SHIT IS GOING DOWN TAKE COVER WAS NICE KNOWING YOU (press this only in case off real emergency) __________________________________________________________ You start with the smallest and clearest option off choice that is OBJECTIVELY POSSIBLE which is the choice off 2. If you click the wrong button due to spasms you can still go back. Even better is make the resulting list for "REAL" have a BLOOD RED BACKGROUND COLOR. Colours have proven a billion times over to work for traffic/brake lights, and the chance you do not notice bright red staring in your face is VERY UNLIKELY. I specifically say red, because if your an adult in the west, this specific memory " red is danger/alert " is strongly ingrained. Alzheimer might not even be able to touch it.
yoz-y 9y ago
The problem in this particular case is that almost anything would be better. Probably the only thing to make this worse would be to also mislabel things. Which is why there are plenty ideas for a better design.
ClintEhrlich 9y ago
The major problem with the UI is that various types of tests and actual alerts are displayed together on one list. The system should start with two options: test vs. real alert, which open up separate menus. Those menus should be visually distinct (e.g., different color background, options for former all end in (TEST)".
Doxin 9y ago
Personally I'd go for a radiobutton list, with a submit button. That way there's time to double-check your selection. Furthermore the real alert should probably pop up a bright red page with flashing warning lights and siren sounds indicating that the user is entering a serious situation. This all is assuming that falsely sending a test alert is no big deal.

johnchristopher 9y ago

I vote for a single big red button in a translucent plastic case hung on the wall.

barsonme 9y ago

ISTM there should be a phrase they have to type in that's specific to each option. Those "are you sure? [y] [n]", "are you _really_ sure? [y] [n]" dialog boxes are easy to blindly click through. Typing is a physical action. Or, even better—have it require _two_ employees.

kemitche 9y ago

It doesn't even need that. It should start by grouping the options by severity - separate the real alerts from the test alerts via section headers and you solve 99% of the problem.

jamessb 9y ago
Indeed - something like this [1]. There's scope for further improvements, but this alone would be a vast improvement. Given the cost of a mis-click, I'd also implement a Github-style confirmation box that can't just be subconciously clicked-through ("To confirm that you wish to send a PACOM Alert, type 'pacom alert'"). [1]: https://twitter.com/iamlucamilan/status/953201356545974272 https://twitter.com/iamlucamilan/status/953201356545974272
HarrietJones 9y ago
My concern with severity groups is you have users and managers deciding which messages go in which severity groups. That ignores the impact of politics and short termism on the decision making process. (e.g. How severe is a missing child?). Before you know it, everything will be in severe, and your users will be asking for a "really, really severe" category.
- james-mcelwain 9y ago
  Makes sense, but I would hope even the most inept manager could recognize that "AMBER Alert" and "Nuclear Annihilation Imminent" are different degrees of severity.
- 2-4-Flinching 9y ago
  I think kemitche was saying was they would have two groups. One would be "Test Alerts" and the other would be "Real Alerts" not that we needed to have a philosophical break down of alerts by severity. severity may have not been the best word but He did explain his definition in the next few words.

Ajedi32 9y ago

I would argue for a menu like this: https://twitter.com/iamlucamilan/status/953201356545974272 https://twitter.com/iamlucamilan/status/953201356545974272 Combined with a confirmation dialog like this: https://twitter.com/Ajedi32/status/953303114995597312 https://twitter.com/Ajedi32/status/953303114995597312

eitland 9y ago
Very much agree with the redesign of the page. Simple, much better. The confirmation box however might be dangerous: If employee panics they might easily fail to get that right resulting in a failure to warn in time.
- Shank 9y ago
  > If employee panics they might easily fail to get that right resulting in a failure to warn in time. It's not like the box goes away. You have plenty of time to fix your typing. Not only that, but bad UI is a bad UI problem. Not being able to operate a system correctly under stress is a problem often solved with a combination of tactics, including UI, but also stress management, response, etc. People who operate ballistic missile systems, defense systems, etc. on a daily basis are pretty well versed with how to handle the situation from a stress level. Anyone sitting behind an Iron Dome console is probably pretty cool under high stress in this exact situation.
  - eitland 9y ago
    > You have plenty of time to fix your typing. By the time you are aware of an incoming icbm I guess every second matter to save as many lives as possible. > Not being able to operate a system correctly under stress is a problem often solved with a combination of tactics, including UI... I think we actually agree. I'm not saying training isn't really important. I'm just saying that reading more than one paragraph then typing (including case sensitive text) might be hard when you fear an actual icbm.
- binthere 9y ago
  I don't agree, for critical actions such as this it needs some level of protection that can be handled by trained professionals. e.g. You do not want to make it easy to send a nuclear bomb, but you also need to make sure that if there's ever a need for it, it can be done quickly by trained professionals.

xxxdarrenxxx 9y ago

Test and real scenario's shouldn't be in the same menu in the first place, and surely not mixed randomly together. - What if someone wants to click the link, but a colleague walks in and taps his shoulder to ask for something, moving his mouse in that instant to a different link - What if at the moment he clicks the link, he lifts his mouse slowly cause human, and the cursor off the mouse jumps to another link whilst in the clicking. - What if he simply clicks the wrong one, because he had an argument with his wife and his head is not quite there. There is absolutely no reason to let this depend on human interpretation skill, if you have a frigging computer + basic markup. __________________________________________________________ Prefix 1 menu with 2 BUTTONS __________________________________________________________ < test > (Test scenario's) < REAL > SHIT IS GOING DOWN TAKE COVER WAS NICE KNOWING YOU (press this only in case off real emergency) __________________________________________________________ You start with the smallest and clearest option off choice that is OBJECTIVELY POSSIBLE which is the choice off 2. If you click the wrong button due to spasms you can still go back. Even better is make the resulting list for "REAL" have a BLOOD RED BACKGROUND COLOR. Colours have proven a billion times over to work for traffic/brake lights, and the chance you do not notice bright red staring in your face is VERY UNLIKELY. I specifically say red, because if your an adult in the west, this specific memory " red is danger/alert " is strongly ingrained. Alzheimer might not even be able to touch it.

yoz-y 9y ago

The problem in this particular case is that almost anything would be better. Probably the only thing to make this worse would be to also mislabel things. Which is why there are plenty ideas for a better design.

ClintEhrlich 9y ago

The major problem with the UI is that various types of tests and actual alerts are displayed together on one list. The system should start with two options: test vs. real alert, which open up separate menus. Those menus should be visually distinct (e.g., different color background, options for former all end in (TEST)".

Doxin 9y ago

Personally I'd go for a radiobutton list, with a submit button. That way there's time to double-check your selection. Furthermore the real alert should probably pop up a bright red page with flashing warning lights and siren sounds indicating that the user is entering a serious situation. This all is assuming that falsely sending a test alert is no big deal.