Principle of least astonishment

"Least surprise" redirects here. For the principle of least surprise in the Bayesian brain hypothesis, see free energy principle and Bayesian approaches to brain function.

In user interface design and software design,[1] the principle of least astonishment (POLA), also known as principle of least surprise,[a] proposes that a component of a system should behave in a way that most users will expect it to behave, and therefore not astonish or surprise users. The following is a corollary of the principle: "If a necessary feature has a high astonishment factor, it may be necessary to redesign the feature."[4]

The principle has been in use in relation to computer interaction since at least the 1970s. Although first formalized in the field of computer technology, the principle can be applied broadly in other fields. For example, in writing, a cross-reference to another part of the work or a hyperlink should be phrased in a way that accurately tells the reader what to expect.

  1. ^ Seebach, Peter (2001-08-01). "The Principle of Least Astonishment". The cranky user. IBM DeveloperWorks. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  2. ^ Raymond, Eric Steven (2003). "Applying the Rule of Least Surprise". The Art of Unix Programming. faqs.org. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-13-142901-7. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  3. ^ James, Geoffrey (1987). The Tao of Programming. InfoBooks. 4.1. ISBN 0-931137-07-1. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference rexx was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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