Nielsen Error Prevention
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place.…
$ aoe install @community/principle-nielsen-error-preventionProjection
Always in _index.xml · the agent never has to ask for this.
NielsenErrorPrevention [principle] v1.0.0
Nielsen Heuristic 5: careful design that prevents problems from occurring is better than good error messages; eliminate error-prone conditions or present confirmation before commitment.
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.
Loaded when retrieval picks the atom as adjacent / supporting.
NielsenErrorPrevention [principle] v1.0.0
Nielsen Heuristic 5: careful design that prevents problems from occurring is better than good error messages; eliminate error-prone conditions or present confirmation before commitment.
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.
Meta
- License: LicenseRef-Citation-Only AND Apache-2.0
- License Provenance: package-authorship-claim
Attributed To
Jakob Nielsen, 1994
Applies To
- form validation: inline constraints shown before submission
- destructive actions: confirmation gates for irreversible operations
- date/time input: constrained pickers rather than free-text fields
- file operations: warnings before overwriting existing files
- data entry: input masking, character limits, and format hints visible upfront
- navigation: warning before leaving a page with unsaved changes
Counter Examples
- A 'Delete All' button placed adjacent to 'Save All' with the same visual weight — no spacing, color, or confirmation separating a safe from a catastrophic action.
- A form that accepts any date string in a free-text field and only surfaces a parse error after submission.
- An admin panel where bulk-sending emails is a single click with no preview or confirmation step — wrong audience selections can't be recalled.
Loaded when retrieval picks the atom as a focal / direct hit.
NielsenErrorPrevention [principle] v1.0.0
Nielsen Heuristic 5: careful design that prevents problems from occurring is better than good error messages; eliminate error-prone conditions or present confirmation before commitment.
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.
Meta
- License: LicenseRef-Citation-Only AND Apache-2.0
- License Provenance: package-authorship-claim
Attributed To
Jakob Nielsen, 1994
Applies To
- form validation: inline constraints shown before submission
- destructive actions: confirmation gates for irreversible operations
- date/time input: constrained pickers rather than free-text fields
- file operations: warnings before overwriting existing files
- data entry: input masking, character limits, and format hints visible upfront
- navigation: warning before leaving a page with unsaved changes
Counter Examples
- A 'Delete All' button placed adjacent to 'Save All' with the same visual weight — no spacing, color, or confirmation separating a safe from a catastrophic action.
- A form that accepts any date string in a free-text field and only surfaces a parse error after submission.
- An admin panel where bulk-sending emails is a single click with no preview or confirmation step — wrong audience selections can't be recalled.
Sources
Examples
- Google Forms disables the Submit button and highlights incomplete required fields in real time — users see what is missing before attempting submission.
- GitHub's repository delete flow requires typing the repository name to confirm — the friction is proportional to the severity of the irreversible action.
- Figma's date/time fields use constrained pickers, not free-text, eliminating the entire class of format-parsing errors.
Relations
related: [@community/principle-nielsen-error-recovery, @community/principle-nielsen-user-control, @community/fact-error-prevention, @community/fact-gestalt-figure-ground, @community/anti-pattern-clear-form-on-failure, @community/example-stripe-checkout, @community/example-plaid-connect, @community/rule-form-validation-inline]
Source
- Jakob Nielsen, 'Heuristic Evaluation', in Nielsen & Mack (eds.), Usability Inspection Methods (1994)
- https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
Source
aoe-engine/examples/frontend-design/primes/compiled/@community/principle-nielsen-error-prevention/atom.yaml