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Norman's seven stages of action 0:29
A 29-second explainer of Norman's seven stages of action, narrated over the same demo you can try yourself.
Try the interactive Norman's seven stages of action demo
What this video covers
Norman's seven stages of action break down a single interaction into the mental steps you actually go through: set a goal, plan, specify and carry out the action, then perceive, interpret and compare the result. They turn the two gulfs - execution and evaluation - into a cycle, giving designers a clear checklist of seven distinct points where an interface can help or fail.
Walk one tiny action - "turn the music up" - through all seven stages and you can feel how much invisible work a single button-press really is: a goal, a plan, picking the control, doing it, noticing the change, reading it, judging whether it matched. Each step is a chance for the design to help or trip you - which is exactly why "just press the button" so often isn't simple at all.
