UX Hint #47 – Don’t Interrupt the User’s Cognitive Flow

One of the fundamental aspects of effective user experience (UX) design is respecting the user’s cognitive flow— their thread of concentration.

Users engage with interfaces in a state of cognitive flow, a mental state where they are fully immersed in an activity. When a user’s concentration is broken, it disrupts this cognitive flow, increasing the risk of frustration and error, and decreasing the chances of a successful interaction. Any interruption, no matter how minor, can create a moment of disorientation, forcing the user to recalibrate and refocus, a process that is both taxing and frustrating.

An excellent illustration of such an interruption is when an asynchronous modal dialogue box is displayed while the user is picking an option from a dropdown list. A common scenario might involve a user navigating a long dropdown list to select their country of residence during a sign-up process. If a modal box suddenly pops up— maybe a session time-out warning or an update notification— the dropdown list might close or lose focus. The user is then forced to start over, which interrupts their flow and creates frustration.

Such interruptions, while often unintentional on the part of the designer, can significantly deteriorate the overall user experience. Users value efficiency and smooth interactions, and being disrupted can give them a negative perception of the product. Therefore, UX designers can choose to carefully manage the timing and context of interruptions to avoid breaking the user’s thread of concentration, ensuring a more enjoyable, efficient, and productive experience.