Descriptive label names in a desktop application

Question

I have an application that displays a dialog when the user needs to enter information. The reason for this, is to keep the main form readonly, and only when you need to add/edit data will a dialog appear.

The problem I'm wrestling with is what to display for the label names in the dialog. The application is a WPF desktop app and traditionally desktop apps are very short on label names (usually one or two words). I want to make the dialog user friendly and be more descriptive about the information that is required. Web developers seem to be catching on to this and are much more descriptive with their label names, but most of the forms I've looked at are forms that are only filled in once, whereas I will have data that can be edited.

An example: If I had a label that asked a user if an employee smoked, in most a destop apps the label would normally be something like 'Smokes?' with a checkbox, whereas I want something like 'Does the employee smoke?'. My issue with this is, that the first time you come across this dialog and enter the data, then it seems OK, but what about when you are editing data that is already there. Does this label now make any sense. Past tense and present tense seem to be getting in my way and I was interested in what people think or ways they have approached this. The application I'm writing is a WPF app and I feel that traditional label names are a bit old in the tooth now.

Another example would be entering contact details for a person. Do I just have labels that say Phone, Fax, Email or something more descriptive. i.e. a label that appears before the textboxes stating 'Enter the contact details below' and then the single word labels?

Maybe I'm just being pedantic about all this, but I would like to take a step forward so that my application contains more than single word labels that are sometimes unclear to the user about what is required.

Answer 1

Why not make use of the concise labels and use Tool tips for a longer explanation.

The longer explanation is only required when a user is unfamiliar with the application anyway.

Also, you could re-word a label to make it sound more like a question such as "Is a Smoker?"

Since you are using Stack Overflow, take note of their use of tooltips, I think Jeff Attwood has a blog post or comments in a podcast about the use of tooltips in SO. I can't remember where I heard / read it.

Answer 2

Have you thought about creating a "quickstart" flow or wizard for entering data for the first time? This would give you the opportunity to guide the user through the process, using labels with descriptions, so that they learn to associate the description with the label you've chosen (hopefully something succinct but intuitive). Then when they need to edit data, they have learned the application taxonomy.

If you are running into issues with tenses, steer clear of using verbs or only use the present tense. I would try using nouns - "smoker?" instead of "smokes?"

When you're asking for common data like phone numbers, email addresses, you can probably assume that the user will understand what you mean. Just be clear as to whose contact information you are asking for - using a title for the field set that is explicit is a good idea ("Employee Contact Details"), adding a short description above the field set will help too.

Of course, you should always do some level of usability testing on your application before you launch it to uncover any issues with the interface.