Guidelines are based on scientific sources.
| Name | Guidelines used to redesign warnings |
| Sources | (Bravo-Lillo et al., 2011) |
| Synonyms | None |
| Context | Computer Security Dialogues |
| Item 1 | Follow a visually consistent layout “Use one icon; do not use a close button; use command links for options; use a primary text to explain the risk; describe the consequences of each option below each button.” [Principle] Clarity [Principle] Consistent Controls and Placement |
| Item 2 | Comprehensively describe the risk “Describe the risk; describe consequences of not complying; provide instructions on how to avoid the risk.” [Principle] Clarity [Pattern] Conveying Threats & Consequences |
| Item 3 | Be concise, accurate and encouraging “Be brief; avoid technical jargon; provide specific names, locations and values for the objects involved in the risk; do not use strong terms (e.g., abort, kill, fatal)” [Principle] Conditioning |
| Item 4 | Offer meaningful options “Provide enough information to allow the user to make a decision; option labels should be answers to explicit question asked to the user; if only one option is available, do not show the warning; the safest option should be the default.” [Principle] Understandability |
| Item 5 | Present relevant contextual and auditing information “If the warning was triggered by a known application, describe the application; identify agents involved in the communication by name; if user’s information is about to be exposed to risk, describe what information and how it will be exposed.” |
| Examples | None |
| Related Guidelines | Recommendations for improving the design of phishing indicators Warning Design Guidelines |
| Tags | warnings |
| Log history | [01/30/2019]: Added to repository |
Bravo-Lillo, C., Cranor, L.F., Downs, J., Komanduri, S., Sleeper, M., 2011. Improving Computer Security Dialogs, in: Hutchison, D., Kanade, T., Kittler, J., Kleinberg, J.M., Mattern, F., Mitchell, J.C., Naor, M., Nierstrasz, O., Pandu Rangan, C., Steffen, B., Sudan, M., Terzopoulos, D., Tygar, D., Vardi, M.Y., Weikum, G., Campos, P., Graham, N., Jorge, J., Nunes, N., Palanque, P., Winckler, M. (Eds.), Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2011. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 18–35. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-23768-3_2