Give users “Break in case of emergency” features

While our goal as UX designers are to create solutions to user pain points by making the complex simple. Is there a possibility that we are making interfaces too simplistic that it harms the user in the long run because it can overlook basic human factors? What I mean by this is, are we eliminating the user having multiple options to accomplish their goal, if the main option suddenly becomes unavailable? What if by limiting options, their lives are more at risk. This may be a cause of overlooking to factor in how an interface can be navigated when users are in a state of panic. We’ve seen a “Break in case of emergency” glass case in stairwells but I think it may be time to incorporate them in other ways.

Imagine yourself being stuck in an elevator with very little cell phone signal, the alarm blaring loudly leaving your ears ringing, the emergency intercom /phone not working, knowing that the elevator brakes could possibly break, and the risk of no one being on the other side of the doors to hear the alarm or you yelling to get help. Did you feel a sense of panic? Could you picture how you would react? Now imagine this scenario but you’re able to see an emergency lever that allows you to force the doors and locks open. Did you feel more relieved?

After being able to reflect on experiencing this myself, it led me to question if we should think about designing easy to see, multiple avenues for users in case one fails.
Some potentially immediate benefits of incorporating multiple avenues for users are:
- It allows them to accomplish their goals without being completely at the mercy of waiting for someone’s assistance or a system to correct itself.
- It allows them to calm down from being frustrated. They are able to regain their sense of autonomy and rationality.
- It allows for them to have more accessibility focused options.
While no interface is ever 100% perfect and at times human behavior can be unpredictable, there are some ways that we can make them more human friendly. By considering human factors during times of stress and panic, we can rest assure that giving users emergency options, we are trying to make their day to day tasks safer.