Product & design · Operations & workflows

User control and freedom.

Giving people clear ways to leave unwanted states and reverse actions when they change their minds.

Useful when a simple mistake would otherwise trap someone in a workflow.

“Preserve user control and freedom: let people cancel the draft and undo an accidental dismissal.”

A closer look

People explore, make mistakes, and reconsider choices. A visible exit or undo can support confident use without surrounding every routine action with a confirmation. Make the scope and limits of reversal accurate; an interface cannot retract an email merely by hiding it.

Put it to work

“Let users restore a hidden item from history without starting their collection again.”

A useful distinction

Undo must reverse the actual change within its stated scope, not only change the visible screen.

Further reading

10 Usability Heuristics · Nielsen Norman Group
Revision 1 · EN