Return

[lseeman]

SC Shortname: Return

Return: Users are provided with the ability to return to a previous point in their user journey after switching context or changing applications such that:

• A user can go back steps in a user journey via a clearly labelled action.
• The user is returned to the location they were at, prior to the change in context or application via a clearly labelled action, without unwanted loss of data.

Suggestion for Priority Level:

AA

Related Glossary additions or changes

None

What Principle and Guideline the SC falls within.

Principle 3, Guideline 3.3.3

Description

The intent of this success criteria is to allow users to easily retrace steps in a user journey at any point during the journey, returning to the point in the process where any change in context or application occurred.

This is especially important for people with learning and cognitive disability who may be more likely to become disorientated or confused during a complex user journey that involves changes in context and the applications being used. They may wish to return to a previous point in their user journey without having to significantly reoriented themselves or re-input data. For example, a working group member was booking a trip online using an application on a mobile device. After selecting a destination, they proceeded to access reviews of hotels in the area using a different application. Upon finding a suitable hotel they wished to return to the application that was being used to book the trip. If the user is not returned to the point at which they left off in the booking application, they may become disorientated and abandon the entire process.

For people who are prone to making mistakes it is vital that data has been entered correctly and that it is not deleted when returning to the process after a change in context or application. Each time the user has to re-enter data there is a new chance for mistakes to occur. For people with learning and cognitive disability repeated data entry can be a stressful and tiring activity. Therefore, if the user has to redo a form each time they return to the form, the likelihood of mistakes with data entry increases significantly and it may become impossible to submit all data correctly leading to the user being unable to complete the intended task

Benefits

Changing context or switching between applications can be disorientating. Allowing all users, but especially those with learning and cognitive disabilities, to return to previous points in their user journey without loss of data that has already been entered via a clearly labelled action will greatly simplify navigation and decrease the likelihood of incorrect data entry. Return can simplify actions and reduce fear of failure, and make it possible for users to complete their user journey or task.

The benefits of having data remaining intact, even if submitted in error, allows for correction where short term memory is poor and for those with learning disabilities.

It is part of the theme to prevent the user from making mistakes and make it easy to correct mistakes when they do occur.

Related Resources

• User needs Table Table 3: Entering data, error prevention & recovery
• Background research document.
• personalization semantics
• Issue paper: Online Payments
  
• COGA Techniques

See also

WAI Tutorials - Form Notifications

Testability

In a process which requires a user to change context, confirm that at every step all of the following are true:

1. A user can go back any given steps in a process or user journey via a clearly labelled action.
2. A user can return to the place they were prior to a change in context or change in application, via a clearly labelled action,
3. Previously inputted data is not lost and does not need to be replaced.

Techniques

• Clickable breadcrumbs are provided with clickable previous steps and no loss of data
• Providing back and undo features without unwanted data loss
• Using semantics and personalization to log the steps and return to a step in the process

working groups notes (optional)

We may be able to merge with the undo SC. This is a variation on the Undo SC with the emphasis being on navigation rather than data correction. Its primary function is to allow users to return to previous points on their user journey without becoming disorientated, especially where there have been changes in context or applications. The problem of disorientation is particularly prevalent when using mobile devices.

[patrickhlauke]

For completeness, adding my comments here from the November 2016 survey:

Does the SC allow for this "back" functionality to be covered by the user agent itself? i.e. if I can use my browser's "back" button, and the site doesn't break when doing so, does the site pass? If not, this would require every site to provide some form of "back" button, which would be superfluous in many cases. If yes, this needs to be clearly stated as a "mechanism is available" that includes the UA's own controls.

The SC would also need some exclusions for "journeys" or processes which are not (easily) reversible. for instance, if in step 1 of 10 i made a payment (which i then confirmed again in step 2 before proceeding to step 3), then if at step 9 i decide I want to go all the way back, this may not
be possible.

[joshueoconnor]

@NeilMilliken Can you give me a status update on this please?

[mbgower]

This is essentially Maintain Point of Regard. It's a great principle, but the devil is in the details.
First, there are some technical challenges in the wording, such as "or changing applications." On most desktop situations, you get that for free. But it's a lot harder to enforce in mobile, and to the degree it is, it's a user agent issue, I think (unless I'm not following what you are trying to capture).

The user is returned to the location they were at, prior to the change in context or application via a clearly labelled action, without unwanted loss of data.

Do you envision anything more than a Previous Step button in a process-driven application? Would you consider breadcrumbs an affordance? What exactly do you mean by "location"? Depending on the user modality or assistive technology involved, this could be a very different location from the object with focus. It also ignores situations where a user action causes a screen refresh, effectively wiping out record of past locations and actions.

[NeilMilliken]

I am working on the issues raised by Patrick and Mike above..

I'll revise over the next day or so.

I agree that there may possibly need to be exceptions for certain processes like the ones outlined by Patrick.

Mike There is a feature in IOS that does pretty much what I wanted to achieve. It flags up which application you were originally working on. and gives you the option to return to it.

[mbgower]

Mike There is a feature in IOS that does pretty much what I wanted to achieve. It flags up which application you were originally working on. and gives you the option to return to it.

User agent.