Inconsistent 'remove' and 'delete' actions [example issue]

[AlicjaSuska]

Description

Major inconsistencies (UX Design Debt) in our product when it comes to 'delete' and 'remove' actions:

1. Naming: we use 'remove' and 'delete' interchangeably. Usability testing shows that users are confused. They unintentionally perform destructive actions and, in consequence, lose control over their data.

• dashboard: 'delete the chart' removes it from the dashboard, not deletes it entirely from the system;
• task list: 'remove item' deletes it forever from the list;
• calendar: 'delete event' is followed by the popup with available options of removing it from the user's calendar or canceling the meeting for all participants;
• admin member list: 'revoke access' deletes a member from the system forever. The label is not aligned with the action and should be revisited in this issue.

2. Presence and placement of the action

• contextual: deleting/removing an item is possible from the high-level view (dashboard, list, etc.) using action from the contextual menu (three dots menu) in the majority of cases. This functionality is missing only in the task list (no technical or UX reasoning to introduce this inconsistency).
• editing UI: deleting an item is generally possible in the editing flow except for the list items (no technical or UX reasoning to introduce this inconsistency). Action is usually located at the bottom of the page, together with other actions. In the calendar, the delete action is located in the header.

Type of Design Debt

• UX - inconsistent experiences throughout the product that negatively impacts the learnability and integrity of the flow
• Visual - focused on inconsistent graphical aspects of the interface like shapes, colors, etc.

Size

• M : medium-sized projects that usually involve 1–2 teams (or more teams in very small capacity) that may require simple research; they leverage an existing functionality or flow.

Product area(s)

• 4 key areas of the product are impacted: dashboard, task list, calendar, and admin area.

Dependencies

• This project will engage at least 5 teams responsible for the product areas listed above. Changes are relatively straightforward and can be done by one of the teams.

Impact

• high-impact  and (relatively) low-effort: improving consistency of 'delete' and 'remove' actions will positively impact the overall experience and prevent users from performing unintentional destructive actions.
• highly requested by the customers, low level of satisfaction with the current solution (30-50 support tickets a month). Changes will lower the number of requests for data recovery.

Urgency

• Medium :  moderated impact on the planned work. Consider taking care of the issue in the nearest future or together with associated development.

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Proposed solution (optional)

• review naming and correct the labels according to the following convention:
  • 'delete' for destructive action that deletes an item forever from the system. Introduce an additional confirmation popup to avoid errors.
  • 'remove' for non-destructive action that removes the item from the given list/space
  • for the member list in the admin area change the label to 'delete'
• add 'delete' action to all the editing flows. Place it consistently at the bottom of the page, together with other actions.

Processes (optional)

• UX writing, design of high-fidelity mockups, cross-team design review & approval.

Timeline (optional)

• Week 1: review the whole app to find any 'delete' and 'remove' actions not included in this issue. Gather all the examples in Figma file. Share with impacted teams for review.
• Week 2: The Design Lead for this project comes up with design high-fidelity mockups that showcase the proposed solutions, gathers feedback from Design Team members. Opens for review for respective teams.
• Week 3: Final approval. Plan with implementation engineering leaders.