Wizard
The Design Need:
The user needs step-by-step guidance on performing a certain task.
Design Examples:
Design Solution:
A wizard can guide users step by step through a certain task or procedure. You should start by cutting up the task or procedure into comprehensible steps. You should try to find a balance between the number of steps and the complexity of each step. If you have a good and complete set of steps you can start designing the wizard. Here are some tips and tricks:
- Set the right expectations: let the user know what the end goal is, how many steps need to be taken and if possible an estimation of the time needed
- Provide feedback on where the user is in the sequence
- Indicate which items are necessary to move to the next step
- Allow users to go back one (or more steps) to make changes
- Allow users to leave the wizard at any time. If this means that all previous entered information will be lost, warn the user
- At the end of the procedure or task:
- Provide an overview of what happened
- Give clear feedback on whether the task or procedure was completed successfully.
When to use:
You should only use a wizard if it is really necessary to constrain users to follow a certain path. There are some additional things to keep in mind when deciding whether to use a wizard:
- The majority of users are occasional or new to the task or procedure at hand. The user may not know what steps to take to reach the end goal
- It must be possible to cut the task or procedure into sub-sequential steps, with a decision to be taken or an action to be performed at each stage
- The task at hand is so complex that it is easier for the user to understand if it is divided into multiple steps
Why use this solution (rationale):
Wizards help to make complex tasks and procedures comprehensible to less experienced users. Since users are guided through each step of the process, they are able to carry out more complex tasks on their own.
However, using a wizard will prolong task completion time, since users need to navigate step by step. Wizards are therefore not the best solution for expert users. If there is a mixed audience a wizard can be offered next to the normal procedure.
