DRAFT New Pattern: Optimistic Actions

[vanux]

When the user performs a task to take an action, the system should respond back to the user in a reasonable time that their action is successful.

ISSUE
Achieving a reasonable response time can be challenging since the system must process the response on the backend, which can take time depending on the complexity and other technical factors. As a result, the user may need to wait longer than they expect, resulting in a negative user experience.

SOLUTION
When the user sends a request, the system creates a placeholder response that the action is successful even though the request still needs to be processed. This response happens quickly so that the user feels that there is no delay. The system continues to work on processing the request behind the scenes. Once completed, the task is finished - no need to alert the user since their perception is that the task is already finished.

WHAT IS A REASONABLE RESPONSE TIME?
Per Google's RAIL Model, a response time of between 50ms and 1000ms is reasonable to make the user feel the response is instant.

https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/performance/rail

CONSIDERATIONS

1. What tasks warrant this action?

• Repetitive tasks such as clipping a coupon - a repetitive task that takes longer to complete can become more frustrating when a user has to wait for a longer period of time.

2. What should happen if the action is not successful? How is the user notified.

3. IS the system being too optimistic? What is the user's perception of the response time? While fast is always thought of as good, perhaps the user may benefit from a longer length of time. User research should be considered to address this.

RESOURCES
https://dev.to/tiagodcosta/being-optimistic-in-ui-511k