ux-design

UX design

A feature that works can still confuse people. This pass decides what things are called, how a person moves through the feature, where it opens, and what it says, before any code exists.

Run it once per story that adds a screen, an action, or words. The output is a UX: block in the story in docs/STORIES.md, plus new terms in docs/GLOSSARY.md. To review a built screen, run the same steps against its snapshot and list what fails, most serious first.

0. Read

Read docs/BRIEF.md, docs/GLOSSARY.md (create it if missing), the story, and its reference screenshots.

1. Name it

Every thing in the app has exactly one name, and every name lives in the glossary.

| Term | Means | Not |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Task | One thing to do, with an optional due date | to-do, item, entry |
| Complete | Mark a task done; it leaves the list | check, finish, close |

• Name the things first (the nouns in the brief), then the actions on them.
• Use the user's words, not the code's: "Task", not "TaskEntity" or "record".
• Use Apple's words for system actions: Settings, Quit, Close, Undo, Move to Trash (when it can come back), Delete (when it cannot).
• One word per idea across buttons, menus, titles, tooltips, and errors.
• Name a feature for what it does for the person, not the technology. A toggle gets a verb phrase that says what and for whom ("Enhance Dialogue", not "Isolate Vocals"). Say the name in a sentence out loud. Method: writing.md.

Check: every noun and verb the story puts on screen is in the glossary, and no glossary term has a second name anywhere.

2. Map the flow

Write the flow as one line, from every way in to a clear end.

Command-N, toolbar +, File > New Task -> title field has focus -> Return saves, row appears -> focus stays for the next task

• List every entry point: menu command, shortcut, toolbar, context menu, drag and drop.
• Cut steps: fill in good defaults, ask only for what you cannot guess.
• Every step has a way back: Escape cancels, Command-Z undoes.
• The end is visible: the new row, a checkmark, the window closing.

Check: the flow fits on one line, and each step names its way back.

3. Pick the surface

Go down this list and use the first one that fits. Lighter is better.

The feature	Use
Changes one value on something already on screen	Inline (field, toggle, menu in the row)
Shows details of the selection while people keep working	Inspector
A few related choices tied to one control	Popover
Input people repeat while they watch the result, or a tool kept open beside the work	Panel
One short task that must finish or cancel before going on	Sheet
A long or self-contained task, or one people keep open beside the main window	New window
A place people come back to, like a list or a collection	Sidebar page
A rare action that destroys data and cannot be undone	Confirmation dialog
A problem people must act on right now	Alert

• Show one modal at a time. Never open a popover from a popover, or a sheet from a sheet.
• A modal's title names its task: "Rename Project", not "Edit".
• Return confirms, Escape cancels, and the confirm button names the action.
• Ask before closing only when people would lose what they typed.
• Information that needs no action goes inline, never in an alert.

Details and SwiftUI code for each surface: presentation.md.

Check: the UX: block names the surface and the table row that picked it.

4. Cover the states

Every view the story touches has words and a look for each state:

• Empty: what it is for, plus the first action as a button.
• Loading: only when it can take longer than half a second. Show cached content first. A bar when the length is known, with words for what is happening ("Importing 12 photos"), and Cancel when it is safe.
• Error: inline, next to the problem, with the fix.
• Too much: long names truncate with the full text in a tooltip; a thousand rows still scroll smoothly.
• Done: visible feedback in the same frame, and Undo where it applies.

Check: each state has a snapshot page or seed data that shows it.

5. Write the words

• Buttons and menu items start with a verb: "Add Task", "Export…".
• Add an ellipsis when the command asks for more input before it acts.
• Title case for buttons, menu items, and window titles. Sentence case for labels, descriptions, and messages.
• Errors say what happened and how to fix it, without blame. Write "Unable to load tasks", never "We're having trouble".
• Confirmations repeat the action: "Delete 3 Tasks?" with buttons "Delete" and "Cancel", never "Yes" and "No".

Patterns and before and after examples: writing.md.

A feature that uses AI (a summary, generated text, a model's suggestion) also follows ai-features.md.

Check: read every string aloud. Each one is short, uses glossary terms only, and a new user could say what each button does.

6. Add hover help

• Every icon-only button gets .help("Add a task to this list (⌘N)"): what it does, starting with a verb, then its shortcut. Not its name again. Rules: writing.md.
• Hover can reveal secondary actions on a row. The same actions are also in the context menu and on the keyboard.
• Hover feedback shows at once and never shifts the layout.
• Information people need is always visible. Hover only adds detail.

Check: hover every icon-only control on the snapshot build. Each one shows a tooltip.

7. Check accessibility

• The whole flow works with the keyboard alone, in a logical focus order.
• VoiceOver reads every control with the same words as the screen.
• Meaning never rests on color alone: add an icon or a word.
• Text is 10 pt or larger and readable in Increase Contrast.
• Reduce Motion replaces slides and bounces with fades.
• Every custom control has a label, a value, actions, and feedback.

The audit steps and SwiftUI modifiers: accessibility.md.

Check: you ran the flow keyboard-only and with VoiceOver, and the Accessibility Inspector audit shows no issues for the new views.

8. Write the UX block

Add the result under the story's acceptance lines:

UX:
- Flow: Command-N, toolbar +, File > New Task -> title field -> Return saves -> focus stays
- Surface: inline row at the top of the list (changes one value on screen)
- States: empty "No Tasks" with "Add Task"; error "Give the task a title." under the field
- Words: "Add Task", tooltip "Add a task to this list (⌘N)", "Undo Add Task"
- Access: Return saves, Escape cancels; VoiceOver "New task title"

Done when the story has a UX: block, every term it uses is in docs/GLOSSARY.md, and steps 1 to 7 pass on its snapshots.