DescribeByContents

Also known as: ChocolateBoxSyndrome

Human beings put things in categories, we can't help it, but categories are also where lots
of problems arise. For example, imagine that a web site, like life, was a box of chocolates
and categorized thus...

• Soft centres
• Hard centres
• Ones that nobody likes

I wouldn't want to choose which category to click, but in general I have a very clear idea of
which type of chocolate I'd like.

Whether or not you should categorize chocolates like this or not is something you'd need
to test using card-sorting techniques with your customers but the usability of these catego-
ries can be significantly improved by showing some of the items in it.
So, the above example might be changed to look like this...

• Soft centres (23)
• Hard centres (4)
• Ones that nobody likes(5)

..which at least gives us some clue as to what the arbitrary categories contain in terms of
numbers. But it may be better served by showing it's contents with a fuller description, like
this...

• Soft centres: dark chocolate orange creme, strawberry creme, coffee truffle, more...
• Hard centres: butterscotch toffee, hazelnut crunch, caramel, more...
• Ones that nobody likes: turkish delight, crystallized ginger, praline, more...

Given that I prefer dark chocolate over milk, I am able to be encouraged into clicking,
maybe going straight to the item I'd like and not wonder if the caramel is one of those nice gooey ones. When a category, such as "Soft Centre" reveals some of its contents, it helps us to better understand the parameters of the category.

And given, in most cases, we'd like to know what we are going to get before we get it, because a category (or link) reveals some of it's contents we are more likely to be tempted into clicking it.

Now visit your site and assess whether the categories you use "reveal their contents" or
not.

See: CardSorting

Describe By Contents is the polar opposite of what's known in the usability world as a MysteryMeat interface.