Ensure that users always know what is happening

Rationale

Users need to know the current system status and progress of system activities, such as retrieving content or updating. If the system is doing something but there is no indication of this, some users may become confused.

Directions and techniques

Display information about the system status

During system processes, information about the current status should be displayed on screen as a message, e.g. Downloading update. For long processes, lasting 10 seconds or more, this can be accompanied by a progress indicator in the form of a progress bar and/or a percentage complete figure.