In apps, providing feedback to users after they complete an action is important to ensure a satisfying experience. Toast notifications is one of the method (and used in Nusawork) and commonly used almost in any apps. But somehow we discover the effectiveness can vary depending on the context and user demographic, especially for elderly user.
Problem
The current problem with our default toast notifications in our system are:
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It didn't catch so many attentions to some of the users
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Brings frustration to users because they don't know whether the action is successful or not
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The message only lasts for a short time
Process
We had a lot of discussions with the dev and product team. We discovered that a lot of users especially elderly admins frustrate a lot after doing certain tasks, especially when doing an action that's very crucial (like making changes, saving items). So we decided to set an objective:
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Enough to put attention to users
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Deliver a clear message
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Need the user to interact and acknowledge that the action is succeed
We gradually shipped the UI changes. The initial iteration was a toast that has a button to dismiss the toast.
After we gathered the feedback we acknowledge that user still didn't see the message. The user said they didn't pay much attention, or it's too small to look at.
Based on Everett N McKay's book UI is Communication, intuitive UI should have an appropriate combination of several things, in this context are Discoverability and Responsive Feedback. Meaning users can easily find the objective and is visible, also the UI has to be clear whether the action was successful or unsuccessful and providing specific details when needed.
Pop Up Dialog
Since we discovered that Discoverability and Responsive Feedback is crucial in intuitive interface. So we decided to use the alternative, pop up.
Before the modern apps where screens are not as big as they are now, pop up dialog were mainly used in cellphones and computer softwares. They may sometimes intrusive because it demand the user's attention, requiring them to acknowledge the message before continuing with other tasks.
But screens are getting larger and we can put a lot of items there. Users can also distracted with a lot of items shown, especially elderly users. We assume by using pop up dialog rather than toast notifications will minimize the risk of confusion, enhances user confidence, and ensures that these users receive clear, unavoidable feedback that they can acknowledge at their own pace especially for elderly users.
We provided grayed out background for less distractions, big and concise message, also a button to click.
The Impacts
After the UX changes, we discovered that:
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It has been proven to eliminate user frustration, and issues related to confusion after taking certain actions have decreased (based on report from Customer Service)
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Pop-up dialogs are not as intrusive as we previously thought; we haven't received any complaints about current behavior since making the change