Years ago I had a college professor tell me, “…the most successful people are those that communicate effectively under conflict.” I’ve held this mantra with me over the years, and feel strongly that this phrase applies just as much to developing Web applications as it does when talking to a hostile client or handling those potential PR catastrophes. Many companies put contingency plans in place in the event that something goes wrong, allowing them to explore and prepare for any eventuality of worst-case scenarios.
You will read a lot of information about how to communicate your product and branding message on the Web through successful marketing copy, sales promotions, and advertising campaigns. But what about when something goes wrong? What happens when a visitor to your site, or a user of your application reaches a dead-end? Do you just sit back and trust that they have the patience to figure out what went wrong? You are likely going to need a lot more then just a smiling face and a call to action button; you need to get them back on track, and do it quickly. The technique is called “Contingency Design” and it involves thinking a bit pessimistically when theorizing that your user will immediately get from “Point A” to “Point B” without running into an issue.
For years even the largest corporations such as Microsoft, Federal Express, Target, Amtrak, Ticketmaster, and Sony have had issues in dealing with online customers when conflicts arise. Historically, managers and decision makers have pushed off the responsibility of communicating error scenarios to programmers. An endeavor I’ve always compared to asking a gun manufacturer to handle a hostage negotiation. They may have built the tools… but in the end someone is going to get hurt. That being said, whether you are a business professional or a Web application developer it’s time to think about contingency design when working on your projects, and here are a few tips to get you started on the basics.
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