The perception of time in user Interfaces
summary
Defines three measurable waiting stages: 50 milliseconds (feels instant), 10 seconds (user patience max) and beyond (indeterminate). Recommends optimizing critical UI to under 50 ms, testing on the slowest device, and escalating feedback from subtle shimmer to progress indicators to explicit messages or entertainment for long loads. Describes a reusable Flutter widget and scene API that flips a flag, runs timers and animated stages, plus tactics like fake it until you make it, loading microgames, and showing size/speed when downloads are predictable.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (14)
- 0:00Time perception in UIs
- 2:19What waiting means
- 5:11Time perception in software
- 8:28Too long for patience
- 10:01Instant feedback rule
- 15:45Moment category explained
- 18:41Internet delays limit
- 21:32Entertaining during waits
- 24:25Download time category
- 27:14Waiting time categories
- 28:40Escalating user feedback
- 32:58Short waits matter
- 33:20Acquiring user patience
- 35:09Q&A
related talks
26mDesigning for speed and hacking users perception
37m"Psychology of Performance"
16mSpeed, Performance, and Human Perception
48mThe Rush of Speed — Actively Shaping User Perception
04mPerformance is about people, not metrics
26mFetching Data and the Perception of Speed
52mPPT – Psychological Performance Tuning
21mIn the Blink of an Eye