What makes a good error message?

A discussion about error messages prompted by a tweet about an error message in software. David & Andrew look at error message design guidelines by the Nielson Norman group - leaders in the field of User Experience Design (UX). They talk about what makes an ideal error message.

Nielson Norman guidelines: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/erro...
Article about error messages: https://uxplanet.org/error-message-gu...

An ideal software error message includes:
Human readable language
Polite phrasing that doesn't blame the user
Precise descriptions of the problems
Constructive advice on how to fix the problem

The Unusable podcast is presented by Andrew Waite & David Ball, who discuss the importance of user experience (UX) in technology & the world around us, & talk about great design that just works - or moan about it when it doesn't. Listen to our latest podcast on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts.

Music is by Gold5472: https://gold5472.newgrounds.com/

You can listen to our latest podcast on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2uFEwKP...