{"id":1131,"date":"2010-09-11T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-11T21:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1131"},"modified":"2010-09-11T16:15:00","modified_gmt":"2010-09-11T21:15:00","slug":"user-experience-failure-please-check-the-log-for-more-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1131","title":{"rendered":"User Experience Failure: “Please check the Log For More Information.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asking your users, especially new users<\/strong>, to check a \u201clog\u201d for more information about a problem, especially an installation problem, is like slapping them in the face. Why do developers do it? <\/p>\n

I understand that there are unexpected problems with software. But, asking an end user to look at the file is putting the burden of doing software support on them, rather than the software producer. Sure, there are some basic things a user might troubleshoot. <\/p>\n

If so, put them in the UI. Not in some crappy log file they\u2019ll need to sift through. Expose the errors as actions and things to try. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a great example of this going wrong; it is a double slap in this case:<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The image says:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHi, we have released an update to Seesmic Desktop 2. Version 1.0.0.1296. Release Date: 9\/9\/2010.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe application could not be updated. Please check the log for more information.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Dang, bad on two accounts:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. They\u2019re asking me to look at a log to try to troubleshoot a problem with their software. It\u2019s not likely to be helpful, otherwise they should have surfaced the information directly into the UI.<\/li>\n
  2. It doesn\u2019t tell me where the log file might be located. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I took a different approach to solving the problem. I right clicked on the application, and this menu was shown:<\/p>\n

    \"image\"<\/p>\n

    I selected Remove this application. <\/p>\n

    As I was curious about the new version, I went to http:\/\/d.seesmic.com\/sdp\/install.html<\/a> and selected to start the installation. Seesmic Desktop 2 worked. Many users aren\u2019t that patient. <\/p>\n

    As developers and user experience designers, etc., we can do better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Asking your users, especially new users, to check a \u201clog\u201d for more information about a problem, especially an installation problem, is like slapping them in the face. Why do developers do it? I understand that there are unexpected problems with software. But, asking an end user to look at the file is putting the burden […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd5QIe-if","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1749,"url":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1749","url_meta":{"origin":1131,"position":0},"title":"Nest Update #12: Software at 3.0 with New Features","date":"October 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As the blogosphere exploded yesterday with news of a second generation Nest thermostat and a new major version of the software (for the thermostats and the controllers such as the web site and various SmartPhones), I wondered what impact the new software and hardware would have on average users, like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recommendations"","img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0630","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_0630.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1482,"url":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1482","url_meta":{"origin":1131,"position":1},"title":"Nest Thermostat Review, Update #8","date":"January 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary\/Index A few new things have occurred since I last posted. January 11, 2012: Nest Labs updated the firmware of the thermostat to version 1.0.6. There isn\u2019t any publically available information about what was updated however other than \u201cbug fixes.\u201d Thanks to GregN for pointing it out. Here\u2019s a link\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"nestrounding","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/nestrounding_thumb.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1382,"url":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1382","url_meta":{"origin":1131,"position":2},"title":"Nest Thermostat Review, Update #4","date":"January 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Update #6, Update #5, Update #4, Update #3, Update #2, Update #1, Install A bit more about my Nest thermostat experiences. 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Details There's a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Photo-Jul-23-7-23-26-PM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":175,"url":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/175","url_meta":{"origin":1131,"position":5},"title":"What’s the perfect API?","date":"May 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I was skimming a rant by someone on arstechnica about how badly messed up Win32 APIs are and how superior everything else is, when this paragraph grabbed my attention: The reason must be that no one in Microsoft actually gives a damn. 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