Reflection · · 1 min read
Design for the moment, too
The same person can need different things in different situations.
A person using an app on a quiet afternoon is not in the same situation as that person using it while carrying bags and looking for an address. Their knowledge may be unchanged. Their attention and available time are different.
That is why I find it useful to describe the moment of use alongside the person. “Someone booking a ticket” leaves a lot open. Are they comparing options in advance or trying to leave in ten minutes? Are they travelling alone? Can they stop to read?
These details give design questions somewhere concrete to go. A long explanation might help during planning and get in the way during an urgent action. A confirmation might provide reassurance when the consequence is difficult to reverse.
I would not assume I know how everyone behaves in those moments. Imagining a situation helps form questions; observing people helps check the answers.
Even without a dramatic setting, ordinary interruptions matter. Someone might leave halfway through a form, return the next day, or forget what they had selected. The experience needs to make sense when attention breaks.
When reviewing a flow, I like asking what happens between its carefully arranged screens. What if the person pauses? What if they arrive through a link? What if they need to go back?
The design file shows the sequence I have prepared. The person using it will bring the rest of their day.