UX word of the day: speed-accuracy trade-off

Speed Accuracy Trade-Off | noun| speed • ae-cure-ussy • tray-d • off

1. : a phenomenon that refers to the drop in accuracy when speed is emphasized and a drop in speed when accuracy is emphasized.
2. : designers must make note of this phenomenon when designing interfaces or systems.

For example, safety-critical systems accuracy is every bit as important as speed so care must be taken to measure both in the testing stage. Moreover, this phenomenon is also important for experimental testing of interfaces as it can confound the results. If participants are told only to focus on speed, then their accuracy may inadvertently suffer. Similarly, an instruction to emphasize accuracy may slow them down. Therefore, instructions while testing should correspond to what is important in the field.

I find that I make mistakes such as typos or calculation errors more often when I strive to work fast. I wish there did not have to be a speed-accuracy trade-off, and I could work fast and accurately for all tasks.

Sometimes when we increase our typing speed we end up compromising accuracy and make typos