zero·style

Dictionary entry

feedforward

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UI / UXCurated · verified

Information that tells users what will happen before they act, so the result of an action is predictable. Where feedback confirms what just happened, feedforward previews what an action will do.

Synonyms

  • action preview

Related terms

In plain words

  • a preview of what a button will do
  • telling people the outcome before they click

Usage example

A tooltip reading 'This permanently deletes your account' is feedforward that warns of the consequence before the click.

Don't confuse with…

  • feedbackFeedforward comes before an action to predict its result; feedback comes after to confirm what occurred.

Categories

  • Usability principles

Related-term graph

Two hops from feedforward — click a term to open its entry, or re-center the graph on it

Focus term

Directly related

Two hops away

  • Relatedfeedforward related of affordance
  • Relatedfeedforward related of error prevention
  • Relatedfeedforward related of feedback
  • Relatedfeedforward related of signifier
  • Relatedfeedback related of affordance
  • Relatedsignifier related of affordance
  • Relatedsignifier related of call to action
  • Relatedaffordance related of call to action
  • Relatederror prevention related of confirmation dialog
  • Relatedaffordance related of discoverability
  • Relatedsignifier related of discoverability
  • Relatederror prevention related of error message
  • Relatederror prevention related of forgiveness
  • Relatedsignifier related of iconography
  • Relatedfeedback related of loading indicator
  • Relatedaffordance related of mental model
  • Relatedaffordance related of signifier
  • Relatedfeedback related of visibility of system status

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