Phrase for the opposite of “foolproof”





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}







1















Is there a concise way to describe something that is poorly designed, such that users are likely to accidentally make errors when using it? I'm looking for pretty much an exact antonym for "foolproof".



As an example, suppose there's a UI for job management that allows jobs to be canceled. When the "Cancel" button is clicked, a dialog appears saying "Canceling will lose job progress. Do you want to let the job finish? [Yes] / [No]" Clicking "No" will actually abort the job. The UI is working as designed, but since many users will not read the full message and assume that the opposite question is being asked, they are likely to use it incorrectly and mistakenly choose the wrong option. The UI itself works as intended and is not directly failing or causing the error, but its design is causing others to make mistakes.



I'd like a concise yet generalizable way to say, "This UI is [likely to be the cause of frequent user error]." So far the best word that I have is "confusing" but I'd like something stronger and more specific.



"Error-prone" is close, but I feel like that more strongly means "liable to make mistakes" instead of "cause mistakes to be made."



I'm not satisfied with the following words, because they suggest a defect of implementation (that it can fail even if used "correctly") and don't sufficiently convey an error-causing design: "defective", "faulty", "flawed", "imperfect", "undependable", "unreliable", "fallible"



I would also like to avoid direct or implicit criticism of the creator, so I don't want to say "poorly designed."










share|improve this question

























  • Not what you're looking for, I'm sure, but I can't resist suggesting "foolhardy".

    – Hot Licks
    5 hours ago











  • This UI is a disaster waiting to happen

    – Jim
    5 hours ago











  • I think I would go with your own phrase: "This UI is [confusing and] likely to be the cause of frequent user error."

    – James Random
    3 hours ago











  • The designer has left ample room for improvement.

    – Jim
    17 mins ago


















1















Is there a concise way to describe something that is poorly designed, such that users are likely to accidentally make errors when using it? I'm looking for pretty much an exact antonym for "foolproof".



As an example, suppose there's a UI for job management that allows jobs to be canceled. When the "Cancel" button is clicked, a dialog appears saying "Canceling will lose job progress. Do you want to let the job finish? [Yes] / [No]" Clicking "No" will actually abort the job. The UI is working as designed, but since many users will not read the full message and assume that the opposite question is being asked, they are likely to use it incorrectly and mistakenly choose the wrong option. The UI itself works as intended and is not directly failing or causing the error, but its design is causing others to make mistakes.



I'd like a concise yet generalizable way to say, "This UI is [likely to be the cause of frequent user error]." So far the best word that I have is "confusing" but I'd like something stronger and more specific.



"Error-prone" is close, but I feel like that more strongly means "liable to make mistakes" instead of "cause mistakes to be made."



I'm not satisfied with the following words, because they suggest a defect of implementation (that it can fail even if used "correctly") and don't sufficiently convey an error-causing design: "defective", "faulty", "flawed", "imperfect", "undependable", "unreliable", "fallible"



I would also like to avoid direct or implicit criticism of the creator, so I don't want to say "poorly designed."










share|improve this question

























  • Not what you're looking for, I'm sure, but I can't resist suggesting "foolhardy".

    – Hot Licks
    5 hours ago











  • This UI is a disaster waiting to happen

    – Jim
    5 hours ago











  • I think I would go with your own phrase: "This UI is [confusing and] likely to be the cause of frequent user error."

    – James Random
    3 hours ago











  • The designer has left ample room for improvement.

    – Jim
    17 mins ago














1












1








1








Is there a concise way to describe something that is poorly designed, such that users are likely to accidentally make errors when using it? I'm looking for pretty much an exact antonym for "foolproof".



As an example, suppose there's a UI for job management that allows jobs to be canceled. When the "Cancel" button is clicked, a dialog appears saying "Canceling will lose job progress. Do you want to let the job finish? [Yes] / [No]" Clicking "No" will actually abort the job. The UI is working as designed, but since many users will not read the full message and assume that the opposite question is being asked, they are likely to use it incorrectly and mistakenly choose the wrong option. The UI itself works as intended and is not directly failing or causing the error, but its design is causing others to make mistakes.



I'd like a concise yet generalizable way to say, "This UI is [likely to be the cause of frequent user error]." So far the best word that I have is "confusing" but I'd like something stronger and more specific.



"Error-prone" is close, but I feel like that more strongly means "liable to make mistakes" instead of "cause mistakes to be made."



I'm not satisfied with the following words, because they suggest a defect of implementation (that it can fail even if used "correctly") and don't sufficiently convey an error-causing design: "defective", "faulty", "flawed", "imperfect", "undependable", "unreliable", "fallible"



I would also like to avoid direct or implicit criticism of the creator, so I don't want to say "poorly designed."










share|improve this question
















Is there a concise way to describe something that is poorly designed, such that users are likely to accidentally make errors when using it? I'm looking for pretty much an exact antonym for "foolproof".



As an example, suppose there's a UI for job management that allows jobs to be canceled. When the "Cancel" button is clicked, a dialog appears saying "Canceling will lose job progress. Do you want to let the job finish? [Yes] / [No]" Clicking "No" will actually abort the job. The UI is working as designed, but since many users will not read the full message and assume that the opposite question is being asked, they are likely to use it incorrectly and mistakenly choose the wrong option. The UI itself works as intended and is not directly failing or causing the error, but its design is causing others to make mistakes.



I'd like a concise yet generalizable way to say, "This UI is [likely to be the cause of frequent user error]." So far the best word that I have is "confusing" but I'd like something stronger and more specific.



"Error-prone" is close, but I feel like that more strongly means "liable to make mistakes" instead of "cause mistakes to be made."



I'm not satisfied with the following words, because they suggest a defect of implementation (that it can fail even if used "correctly") and don't sufficiently convey an error-causing design: "defective", "faulty", "flawed", "imperfect", "undependable", "unreliable", "fallible"



I would also like to avoid direct or implicit criticism of the creator, so I don't want to say "poorly designed."







phrase-requests






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 4 hours ago









MikeJRamsey56

2,249315




2,249315










asked 5 hours ago









MilesMiles

66046




66046













  • Not what you're looking for, I'm sure, but I can't resist suggesting "foolhardy".

    – Hot Licks
    5 hours ago











  • This UI is a disaster waiting to happen

    – Jim
    5 hours ago











  • I think I would go with your own phrase: "This UI is [confusing and] likely to be the cause of frequent user error."

    – James Random
    3 hours ago











  • The designer has left ample room for improvement.

    – Jim
    17 mins ago



















  • Not what you're looking for, I'm sure, but I can't resist suggesting "foolhardy".

    – Hot Licks
    5 hours ago











  • This UI is a disaster waiting to happen

    – Jim
    5 hours ago











  • I think I would go with your own phrase: "This UI is [confusing and] likely to be the cause of frequent user error."

    – James Random
    3 hours ago











  • The designer has left ample room for improvement.

    – Jim
    17 mins ago

















Not what you're looking for, I'm sure, but I can't resist suggesting "foolhardy".

– Hot Licks
5 hours ago





Not what you're looking for, I'm sure, but I can't resist suggesting "foolhardy".

– Hot Licks
5 hours ago













This UI is a disaster waiting to happen

– Jim
5 hours ago





This UI is a disaster waiting to happen

– Jim
5 hours ago













I think I would go with your own phrase: "This UI is [confusing and] likely to be the cause of frequent user error."

– James Random
3 hours ago





I think I would go with your own phrase: "This UI is [confusing and] likely to be the cause of frequent user error."

– James Random
3 hours ago













The designer has left ample room for improvement.

– Jim
17 mins ago





The designer has left ample room for improvement.

– Jim
17 mins ago










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















2














This UI is:

- Nonobvious = Not easily discovered, seen, or understood

- Unclear = not clear

- Counterintuitive = contrary to what one would intuitively expect

- Illogical = not observing the principles of logic



It is difficult to correct someone without risking direct or implicit criticism.






share|improve this answer
























  • "Counter-intuitive" would seem to be a very good fit.

    – Cascabel
    4 hours ago



















1














inherently flawed




Inherent literally refers to something that is "stuck in" something else so firmly that they can't be separated. A plan may have an inherent flaw that will cause it to fail; a person may have inherent virtues that everyone admires. Since the flaw and the virtues can't be removed, the plan may simply have to be thrown out and the person will remain virtuous forever.




-Merriam Webster



So if the UI is inherently flawed it refers to the design and not the designer.






share|improve this answer


























  • I know the OP said that "flawed" was not adequate for their purpose, I think when accompanied by "inherently" it can work.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago











  • The term does refer to the design, but I disagree that this option makes no judgement of the designer. Whoever designed an inherently flawed UI did a damn poor job.

    – Nuclear Wang
    5 hours ago











  • @NuclearWang ...of course that would be inferred...but not actually implied.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago





















0














I read the title of the question and immediately thought of error prone—before reading the rest of the question. I personally don't think there is a better phrase than that. It's open to interpretation and context what the reason is behind the possible errors.





Having said that, another possible word is fallible:




1 : liable to be erroneous

// a fallible generalization
2 : capable of making a mistake

// we're all fallible




In short:




The UI is fallible.







share|improve this answer
























  • Isn't it more a case that the UI leads the user to be more fallible? Error prone may be better.

    – James Random
    3 hours ago






  • 1





    @JamesRandom I did say that error prone seems like the best choice. ;) But the problem with the question comes from the source of the error. If the question doesn't want to admit poor design or user error (of any kind), it's not clear what the opposite of foolproof could possibly be—because something has to produce an error of some kind . . .

    – Jason Bassford
    2 hours ago





















0















Misleading




Giving the wrong idea or impression - OOD



A confirmation pop-up is expected to ask if the user wants to continue. When it asks the negation of what is expected many people can be expected to answer incorrectly.






share|improve this answer
























  • ISN’T IT CONFUSING? YES, IT ISN’T.

    – MikeJRamsey56
    4 hours ago












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4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes








4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









2














This UI is:

- Nonobvious = Not easily discovered, seen, or understood

- Unclear = not clear

- Counterintuitive = contrary to what one would intuitively expect

- Illogical = not observing the principles of logic



It is difficult to correct someone without risking direct or implicit criticism.






share|improve this answer
























  • "Counter-intuitive" would seem to be a very good fit.

    – Cascabel
    4 hours ago
















2














This UI is:

- Nonobvious = Not easily discovered, seen, or understood

- Unclear = not clear

- Counterintuitive = contrary to what one would intuitively expect

- Illogical = not observing the principles of logic



It is difficult to correct someone without risking direct or implicit criticism.






share|improve this answer
























  • "Counter-intuitive" would seem to be a very good fit.

    – Cascabel
    4 hours ago














2












2








2







This UI is:

- Nonobvious = Not easily discovered, seen, or understood

- Unclear = not clear

- Counterintuitive = contrary to what one would intuitively expect

- Illogical = not observing the principles of logic



It is difficult to correct someone without risking direct or implicit criticism.






share|improve this answer













This UI is:

- Nonobvious = Not easily discovered, seen, or understood

- Unclear = not clear

- Counterintuitive = contrary to what one would intuitively expect

- Illogical = not observing the principles of logic



It is difficult to correct someone without risking direct or implicit criticism.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 5 hours ago









David DDavid D

4124




4124













  • "Counter-intuitive" would seem to be a very good fit.

    – Cascabel
    4 hours ago



















  • "Counter-intuitive" would seem to be a very good fit.

    – Cascabel
    4 hours ago

















"Counter-intuitive" would seem to be a very good fit.

– Cascabel
4 hours ago





"Counter-intuitive" would seem to be a very good fit.

– Cascabel
4 hours ago













1














inherently flawed




Inherent literally refers to something that is "stuck in" something else so firmly that they can't be separated. A plan may have an inherent flaw that will cause it to fail; a person may have inherent virtues that everyone admires. Since the flaw and the virtues can't be removed, the plan may simply have to be thrown out and the person will remain virtuous forever.




-Merriam Webster



So if the UI is inherently flawed it refers to the design and not the designer.






share|improve this answer


























  • I know the OP said that "flawed" was not adequate for their purpose, I think when accompanied by "inherently" it can work.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago











  • The term does refer to the design, but I disagree that this option makes no judgement of the designer. Whoever designed an inherently flawed UI did a damn poor job.

    – Nuclear Wang
    5 hours ago











  • @NuclearWang ...of course that would be inferred...but not actually implied.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago


















1














inherently flawed




Inherent literally refers to something that is "stuck in" something else so firmly that they can't be separated. A plan may have an inherent flaw that will cause it to fail; a person may have inherent virtues that everyone admires. Since the flaw and the virtues can't be removed, the plan may simply have to be thrown out and the person will remain virtuous forever.




-Merriam Webster



So if the UI is inherently flawed it refers to the design and not the designer.






share|improve this answer


























  • I know the OP said that "flawed" was not adequate for their purpose, I think when accompanied by "inherently" it can work.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago











  • The term does refer to the design, but I disagree that this option makes no judgement of the designer. Whoever designed an inherently flawed UI did a damn poor job.

    – Nuclear Wang
    5 hours ago











  • @NuclearWang ...of course that would be inferred...but not actually implied.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago
















1












1








1







inherently flawed




Inherent literally refers to something that is "stuck in" something else so firmly that they can't be separated. A plan may have an inherent flaw that will cause it to fail; a person may have inherent virtues that everyone admires. Since the flaw and the virtues can't be removed, the plan may simply have to be thrown out and the person will remain virtuous forever.




-Merriam Webster



So if the UI is inherently flawed it refers to the design and not the designer.






share|improve this answer















inherently flawed




Inherent literally refers to something that is "stuck in" something else so firmly that they can't be separated. A plan may have an inherent flaw that will cause it to fail; a person may have inherent virtues that everyone admires. Since the flaw and the virtues can't be removed, the plan may simply have to be thrown out and the person will remain virtuous forever.




-Merriam Webster



So if the UI is inherently flawed it refers to the design and not the designer.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 5 hours ago

























answered 5 hours ago









CascabelCascabel

8,27662957




8,27662957













  • I know the OP said that "flawed" was not adequate for their purpose, I think when accompanied by "inherently" it can work.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago











  • The term does refer to the design, but I disagree that this option makes no judgement of the designer. Whoever designed an inherently flawed UI did a damn poor job.

    – Nuclear Wang
    5 hours ago











  • @NuclearWang ...of course that would be inferred...but not actually implied.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago





















  • I know the OP said that "flawed" was not adequate for their purpose, I think when accompanied by "inherently" it can work.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago











  • The term does refer to the design, but I disagree that this option makes no judgement of the designer. Whoever designed an inherently flawed UI did a damn poor job.

    – Nuclear Wang
    5 hours ago











  • @NuclearWang ...of course that would be inferred...but not actually implied.

    – Cascabel
    5 hours ago



















I know the OP said that "flawed" was not adequate for their purpose, I think when accompanied by "inherently" it can work.

– Cascabel
5 hours ago





I know the OP said that "flawed" was not adequate for their purpose, I think when accompanied by "inherently" it can work.

– Cascabel
5 hours ago













The term does refer to the design, but I disagree that this option makes no judgement of the designer. Whoever designed an inherently flawed UI did a damn poor job.

– Nuclear Wang
5 hours ago





The term does refer to the design, but I disagree that this option makes no judgement of the designer. Whoever designed an inherently flawed UI did a damn poor job.

– Nuclear Wang
5 hours ago













@NuclearWang ...of course that would be inferred...but not actually implied.

– Cascabel
5 hours ago







@NuclearWang ...of course that would be inferred...but not actually implied.

– Cascabel
5 hours ago













0














I read the title of the question and immediately thought of error prone—before reading the rest of the question. I personally don't think there is a better phrase than that. It's open to interpretation and context what the reason is behind the possible errors.





Having said that, another possible word is fallible:




1 : liable to be erroneous

// a fallible generalization
2 : capable of making a mistake

// we're all fallible




In short:




The UI is fallible.







share|improve this answer
























  • Isn't it more a case that the UI leads the user to be more fallible? Error prone may be better.

    – James Random
    3 hours ago






  • 1





    @JamesRandom I did say that error prone seems like the best choice. ;) But the problem with the question comes from the source of the error. If the question doesn't want to admit poor design or user error (of any kind), it's not clear what the opposite of foolproof could possibly be—because something has to produce an error of some kind . . .

    – Jason Bassford
    2 hours ago


















0














I read the title of the question and immediately thought of error prone—before reading the rest of the question. I personally don't think there is a better phrase than that. It's open to interpretation and context what the reason is behind the possible errors.





Having said that, another possible word is fallible:




1 : liable to be erroneous

// a fallible generalization
2 : capable of making a mistake

// we're all fallible




In short:




The UI is fallible.







share|improve this answer
























  • Isn't it more a case that the UI leads the user to be more fallible? Error prone may be better.

    – James Random
    3 hours ago






  • 1





    @JamesRandom I did say that error prone seems like the best choice. ;) But the problem with the question comes from the source of the error. If the question doesn't want to admit poor design or user error (of any kind), it's not clear what the opposite of foolproof could possibly be—because something has to produce an error of some kind . . .

    – Jason Bassford
    2 hours ago
















0












0








0







I read the title of the question and immediately thought of error prone—before reading the rest of the question. I personally don't think there is a better phrase than that. It's open to interpretation and context what the reason is behind the possible errors.





Having said that, another possible word is fallible:




1 : liable to be erroneous

// a fallible generalization
2 : capable of making a mistake

// we're all fallible




In short:




The UI is fallible.







share|improve this answer













I read the title of the question and immediately thought of error prone—before reading the rest of the question. I personally don't think there is a better phrase than that. It's open to interpretation and context what the reason is behind the possible errors.





Having said that, another possible word is fallible:




1 : liable to be erroneous

// a fallible generalization
2 : capable of making a mistake

// we're all fallible




In short:




The UI is fallible.








share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 5 hours ago









Jason BassfordJason Bassford

21.5k32753




21.5k32753













  • Isn't it more a case that the UI leads the user to be more fallible? Error prone may be better.

    – James Random
    3 hours ago






  • 1





    @JamesRandom I did say that error prone seems like the best choice. ;) But the problem with the question comes from the source of the error. If the question doesn't want to admit poor design or user error (of any kind), it's not clear what the opposite of foolproof could possibly be—because something has to produce an error of some kind . . .

    – Jason Bassford
    2 hours ago





















  • Isn't it more a case that the UI leads the user to be more fallible? Error prone may be better.

    – James Random
    3 hours ago






  • 1





    @JamesRandom I did say that error prone seems like the best choice. ;) But the problem with the question comes from the source of the error. If the question doesn't want to admit poor design or user error (of any kind), it's not clear what the opposite of foolproof could possibly be—because something has to produce an error of some kind . . .

    – Jason Bassford
    2 hours ago



















Isn't it more a case that the UI leads the user to be more fallible? Error prone may be better.

– James Random
3 hours ago





Isn't it more a case that the UI leads the user to be more fallible? Error prone may be better.

– James Random
3 hours ago




1




1





@JamesRandom I did say that error prone seems like the best choice. ;) But the problem with the question comes from the source of the error. If the question doesn't want to admit poor design or user error (of any kind), it's not clear what the opposite of foolproof could possibly be—because something has to produce an error of some kind . . .

– Jason Bassford
2 hours ago







@JamesRandom I did say that error prone seems like the best choice. ;) But the problem with the question comes from the source of the error. If the question doesn't want to admit poor design or user error (of any kind), it's not clear what the opposite of foolproof could possibly be—because something has to produce an error of some kind . . .

– Jason Bassford
2 hours ago













0















Misleading




Giving the wrong idea or impression - OOD



A confirmation pop-up is expected to ask if the user wants to continue. When it asks the negation of what is expected many people can be expected to answer incorrectly.






share|improve this answer
























  • ISN’T IT CONFUSING? YES, IT ISN’T.

    – MikeJRamsey56
    4 hours ago
















0















Misleading




Giving the wrong idea or impression - OOD



A confirmation pop-up is expected to ask if the user wants to continue. When it asks the negation of what is expected many people can be expected to answer incorrectly.






share|improve this answer
























  • ISN’T IT CONFUSING? YES, IT ISN’T.

    – MikeJRamsey56
    4 hours ago














0












0








0








Misleading




Giving the wrong idea or impression - OOD



A confirmation pop-up is expected to ask if the user wants to continue. When it asks the negation of what is expected many people can be expected to answer incorrectly.






share|improve this answer














Misleading




Giving the wrong idea or impression - OOD



A confirmation pop-up is expected to ask if the user wants to continue. When it asks the negation of what is expected many people can be expected to answer incorrectly.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 4 hours ago









MikeJRamsey56MikeJRamsey56

2,249315




2,249315













  • ISN’T IT CONFUSING? YES, IT ISN’T.

    – MikeJRamsey56
    4 hours ago



















  • ISN’T IT CONFUSING? YES, IT ISN’T.

    – MikeJRamsey56
    4 hours ago

















ISN’T IT CONFUSING? YES, IT ISN’T.

– MikeJRamsey56
4 hours ago





ISN’T IT CONFUSING? YES, IT ISN’T.

– MikeJRamsey56
4 hours ago


















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