An exception is a message from the system to the user about something that the program can not handle. There are a couple of main categories of exceptions: environmental and program logic. They warrant quite different treatment. Read the rest of this entry »
We all struggle with the correct wording for error messages. It is not easy. But I ran across an example today that should help understanding Read the rest of this entry »
I try to keep track of real-life situations where poor error messages appear. That happened again today. This message was displayed to the user: Read the rest of this entry »
This post is about a real error message I received and puzzled through. Luckily, because I was working with open source code, I was able to see a copy of the source, and only then did I understand what the message meant. An error message should not require you to know and understand the source, in order to understand the message, and I think this is the root of the mistake that many programmers make. Read the rest of this entry »
The image of being forced to jump through hoops is one of being required to take arbitrary actions in arbitrary orders just to satisfy some goals that are either unseen or at least not in the interest of the user. Some software is like that. You have to perform functions that you don’t want to do, that you know you are going to get rid of, in order to satisfy some internal constraint of the software. Read the rest of this entry »
In the last post, I clarified the Purpose of Error Reporting is to give user/administrators information to solve the problem that they have encountered. This post outlines a way to gather the best information together for that error message. Read the rest of this entry »
Error messages are part of every user experience, but too often these messages are poor, cryptic, and insulting. Too often programmers do a half-hearted attempt at writing error messages, mostly because they mistakenly assume that users will never see them. Too often programmers misunderstand the potential that results from writing correct error message. Error messages can be the key to usability. Error messages can help train users, and guide administrator. All you have to do is understand the purpose of error reporting. Read the rest of this entry »
