The user problem
Near the start of a declaration journey, after five to seven questions, users reach a point of no return. Beyond that point, they cannot amend the information they have already confirmed. The moment needed to be unmistakable. It wasn’t.
- Round 1: A simple paragraph with a heading. Six out of six users completely missed it.
- Round 2: Warning text in bold with an exclamation icon. Five out of six users still missed it.
- Round 3: An important notification banner. One hundred percent task completion.
Focusing on the macro interaction, the framing of the moment, not the micro-copy, allowed the team to find the solution.
The iterations
Iteration 1: paragraph and heading
Iteration 2: warning text
Iteration 3: notification banner
What this teaches
When six people miss something six times, that’s not six inattentive users. That’s a design that failed to communicate. The instinct to add more explanation is tempting. The right instinct is to change the design, the structure, the visual weight, the moment itself. Whatever users do is information. Their mental model is the one that matters.