054Usability heuristic
Visibility of system status
The design should always keep users informed about what is going on through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
Why it matters
When people cannot tell whether an action worked, how long it will take, or what the system is doing, they lose confidence and often repeat inputs, abandon tasks, or distrust the product. Clear, timely feedback turns uncertainty into orientation.
What to inspect
- After primary actions (submit, pay, save), is progress or success visible within the Doherty threshold where possible?
- Do loading, processing, and background states use explicit copy or indicators—not silent spinners with no context?
- Are errors and empty states explained with next steps, not generic failure?
- Do asynchronous flows (email sent, export ready) confirm state and where to look next?
Common anti-patterns
- Infinite spinners with no ETA or cancel path.
- Success toasts that disappear before users can verify what changed.
- Silent failures that look like success until the user discovers data loss later.
Critique prompts
- Where would a user doubt whether their last action registered?
- What on this screen answers “what is happening right now?”
- If this action takes 10 seconds, what feedback prevents duplicate submits?