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Technique G13:Describing what will happen before a change to a form control that causes a change of context to occur is made

About this Technique

This technique relates to:

This technique applies to all technologies.

Description

The objective of this technique is to provide information to users about what will happen when a change to a form control results in a change of context. Because changing the value of a form control does not typically result in a change of context, it is important that authors provide instructions that make the user aware of the behavior in advance. Where possible, it is a good idea to programmatically associate the instructions describing the change with the form control itself.

The following are some examples of how to provide the instruction in different situations.

  • Provide instruction on the Web page with reading order that precedes the user interface element that causes change of context by change of setting.
  • For a multi-step process where users must complete particular steps in order to reach the user interface element where changes of setting would cause a change of context, provide the instruction as part of the process prior to the step where they would encounter the change of context.
  • In the case of an intranet where user training is required prior to the use of a Web application where user interface elements that cause changes of context when settings are changed, instruction is provided as part of the training.

Examples

  • A series of radio buttons at the top of a page include options for German, French and Spanish. Instructions precede the buttons that instruct the user that the language will be changed upon selecting an option.
  • A 50 question online survey displays one question at a time. Instructions appear at the beginning of the survey that explain that users will be taken to the next question of the survey upon selecting an answer to each question.

Tests

Procedure

  • Locate content where changing the setting of a form control results in a change of context
  • Check to see that an explanation of what will happen when the control is changed is available prior to the controls activation

Expected Results

  • Check #2 is true.
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