Mapping—Why People Click the Wrong Thing

Ever try to save your work and accidentally delete it instead? That’s not a “you” problem. That’s a mapping problem. 🧭

Ever try to save your work and accidentally delete it instead? That’s not a “you” problem. That’s a mapping problem. 🧭

A teammate once meant to print a report… and exported the database instead. Another one tried to search… but hit log out. I once “saved” a record and somehow deleted it. 🫠

We blamed ourselves at first. But the truth is:

🧠 They’re #Mapping errors—a mismatch between what people expect and what actually happens. Bad mapping makes smart people feel clumsy.

As Don Norman explains in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, mapping is how well a control (like a button or icon) lines up with the result it triggers.

In the physical world: • 🚘 You turn the steering wheel right, the car goes right • 🍳 You feel the detents when turning a knob (like on a stove) • 🔄 The switch flips up for “on” and down for “off”

Easy, right?

But in software, we see stuff like:

• ❌ “Delete” right next to “Submit”

• 💾 A floppy disk icon in a world where no one under 30 has ever used one

• 🪟Popups that cover the button you need to click next

• 🧭 Menus that feel like a choose-your-own-adventure book from 1984

It’s no wonder people click the wrong thing.

Great software anticipates the user’s mental model 💡 It doesn’t force them to learn yours.

When mapping is #Intuitive:

• Users act with #Confidence

• Errors drop

• People stop calling IT to ask, “Um… is this supposed to happen?”

Ask yourself:

• Does the control match what it’s supposed to do? • Would someone guess the right thing without training?

• Does the layout feel like a logical map—or like a test?

Why This Matters to Business Leaders 🧭💼

Every time someone clicks the wrong thing:

• ⌛️ Work slows down

• 😠 Trust in the system erodes

• 📞 Support lines light up

Often, it’s not training—it’s mapping.

And fixing it pays off in:

• ✅ Fewer mistakes

• ✅ Fewer support tickets

• ✅ More time doing actual work

So before you ship it, #Prototype it. Before you train them, test it. And before you blame the user, check the map.

Next up: Error Recovery—People Will Make Mistakes. ↩️