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PrincipleExpert heuristicFoundational

Discoverability

A capability that users cannot find does not exist, no matter how well it is built.

Definition

Norman's term for the degree to which a user can determine what actions are possible and how to perform them. It depends on signifiers, constraints, mappings and feedback working together.

Expert heuristic. A review criterion developed by practitioners. Useful and widely taught, but evaluated by judgement rather than measurement.

On this page
  1. Definition
  2. Where discoverability fails
  3. Making things findable
  4. In practice
  5. Sources
  6. Continue from here

Where discoverability fails

Gesture-only interactions are the most common failure. A swipe with no visible cue is invisible to anyone who has not been told about it, and there is no equivalent of hovering to find it.

Icon-only controls are the second. An icon without a label is a guess unless the metaphor is already a convention in that context.

The third is depth. A capability three levels into a menu tree exists but will only be found by people already looking for it.

Making things findable

  • Label controls with words. Icons support recognition; they rarely establish it.
  • Give gestures a visible alternative, always. Swipe to delete needs a visible delete somewhere.
  • Reveal partial content at a scroll boundary so the user knows there is more.
  • Use empty states to teach the primary action, since that is where a new user is looking anyway.
  • Surface capability contextually, at the moment it becomes relevant, rather than in a settings screen.
  • Make search cover features and settings, not only content.

In practice

Swipe actions with a visible fallback

Mobile lists

Swipe to archive is fast for people who know it. Pairing it with a visible action in the row's detail view means the capability is available to everyone, and the gesture becomes an accelerator rather than the only route.

Empty states that teach

New accounts

An empty project list showing the create action prominently, with a one-line explanation of what a project is for, teaches at the moment of need without a tour.

Sources

Where a source establishes something narrower than the popular reading of it, the note says so.

  • The Design of Everyday Things

    D. A. Norman, Basic Books, 1988, revised 2013

Continue from here

Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.

Why this works

The reasoning this entry rests on.

Applied through

Where this shows up as a concrete interface decision.

Check your work

Review passes that test whether this was done properly.

Short definition

The one-paragraph version, for when that is all you need.

Related concept

Connected closely enough to change how you apply this.