Completeness meter
The Design Need:
Users need guidance on how far they are from a certain goal.
Design Examples:
Design Solution:
Offer visual feedback on the progress made and guidance on how to reach the end goal.
Provide visual feedback on how close the user is to the end goal. This stimulates the user to try to reach it. Feedback such as “80% of your profile is complete”, encourages the user to take action to reach 100%.
Provide extensive guidance on how to reach the end goal. Give tips and tricks on what users can do to reach the end goal.
When to use:
Typically used in situations where users can create profiles. You could use it in all instances when you want to stimulate users to reach a certain end goal.
A completeness meter is not suitable for guiding users in a process of sequential steps or to reach critical goals. It is best used in situations where reaching an end goal is satisfying.
Why use this solution (rationale):
If not creating a full profile or achieving higher status as an online group member does not limit users’ daily use, they are often not tempted to reach that goal. A completeness meter can motivate them to do it anyway.
More info elsewhere:
- “Profile completeness meter” on http://champions.groupsite.com
- Completeness meter design pattern on www.ui-patterns.com
