Designed for Use, 2nd Edition

Chapter 20 Discoverability

Designers use Discoverability to mean whether users will be able to find and use a feature. Discoverability is important—from the user’s point of view, there’s no difference between a feature she can’t find or can’t use and one that doesn’t exist.

This concept seems simple enough, but there’s more to it than just making things visible to the user. There’s limited space on a screen, and not every feature needs the same kind of exposure, so the first question is one of priority: what do you need to show to the user? Another important consideration is that the user’s intentions matter. Depending on what the user is trying ...