# Description error

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{{Short description|Human error due to insufficient information}}A '''description error''' or '''selection error''' is an [error](/source/error), or more specifically a [human error](/source/human_error), that occurs when a person performs the correct action on the wrong object due to insufficient specification of an action which would have led to a desired result. This commonly happens when similar actions lead to different results. A typical example is a panel with rows of identical switches, where it is easy to carry out a correct action (flip a switch) on a wrong switch due to their insufficient differentiation.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/doc/10.1.1.128.7084|journal=Communications of the ACM|volume=26|issue=4|date=April 1983 | title = Design Rules Based on Analysis of Human Error | first = Donald | last = Norman |pages=254–258 |doi=10.1145/2163.358092 |citeseerx=10.1.1.128.7084 }}</ref>

This error can be very disorienting and usually causes a brief loss of [situation awareness](/source/situation_awareness) or [automation surprise](/source/automation_surprise) if noticed right away. But much worse, if it goes unnoticed, it could cause more serious problems. So allowances such as clearly highlighting a selected item should be made in [interaction design](/source/interaction_design).

[Donald Norman](/source/Donald_Norman) describes the subject in his book ''[The Design of Everyday Things](/source/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things)''. There he describes how [user-centered design](/source/user-centered_design) can help account for human limitations that can lead to errors like description errors. [James Reason](/source/James_Reason) also covers the subject in his book ''Human Error''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://hms.health.uq.edu.au/vislab/publications/reprints/apperg10.pdf Reducing control selection errors associated with underground bolting equipment]

Category:Human behavior

{{design-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Description error](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Description_error) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Description_error?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.