Arriving at the grocery store without your list. Starting an order online and leaving your credit card in the other room. Trying to complete a form but realizing you need your Driver's License. 

It's frustrating to attempt a task and realize you don't have the information you need.

This weekend, I vacationed at an Airbnb in nearby Fredericksburg, TX, with a couple of good friends. When I woke up on Saturday morning and grabbed a coffee mug, my designer soul was deeply delighted by the label on the front of the shelf.

Maybe you see where this is going. I grabbed my mug, popped it under the Keurig, and pressed the "10 oz" button. This lovely homeowner recognized that visitors would need to select a mug size to brew a cup of joe in this unfamiliar environment. They provided the exact information guests needed, at the exact time we needed it!

Error prevention is one of the usability heuristics that usability consultants Rolf Molich and Jakob Nielsen developed way back in 1990, and it holds up just as well today as it did back then.

When users don't have what they need, they may:

• Guess → I try to shop without a shopping list.

• Delay→ I get up to get my Driver's License, and the next thing I know I'm folding laundry.

• Abandon → Instead of standing up to go find my credit card, I start thinking about how I've spent too much lately anyway.

This friction is ripe for design innovation. ​​What information do your users need to be successful with your product, as designed? How can you ensure they have this information at hand? Cloud-based grocery list apps, saved payment methods, and labels on coffee mug shelves... all innovations that target this friction.

Our team can help you find opportunities like this one with our UX Audit services. But you can also find them yourself by reviewing your user experience with this heuristic in mind.