Ux tenets traps

UX Tenets and Traps

Use this skill whenever a design or app screen needs critique, triage, or a fix plan.

Tenets are the qualities to protect:

Tenet	Protects
Clarity	Hierarchy, labels, visible next action
Feedback	Loading, success, failure, progress, receipts
Control	Undo, cancel, confirmation, manual override
Consistency	Tokens, variants, layout rhythm, copy patterns
Accessibility	Keyboard, screen reader, contrast, labels, motion
Error Recovery	Specific errors, retry paths, preserved work
Progressive Disclosure	Complexity appears after intent
Workflow Fit	Density, grouping, cadence, responsive behavior
Trust	Evidence, permissions, consequences, audit trail
State Continuity	Context, drafts, navigation, background progress

Traps are the recurring failure modes to detect:

Trap	Typical fix
Ambiguous affordance	Clarify action hierarchy, states, labels, and focus behavior
Missing state	Add loading, empty, error, disabled, focus, selected, and success states
Silent system	Add progress, status copy, receipts, and failure reasons
Choice overload	Group choices and reveal advanced controls after intent
Layout instability	Add responsive constraints, stable dimensions, and overflow rules
Token drift	Promote one-off values into semantic tokens and component variants
Inaccessible interaction	Patch semantics, focus, labels, alternatives, contrast, and motion
Copy theater	Replace vague or decorative copy with task-specific language
Context leak	Preserve project, selection, permission, and history context
Destructive default	Guard risky actions and make consequence/recovery explicit

Workflow

1. Gather evidence from code, screenshot, Figma frame, review packet, or Studio artifact.
2. Score tenet coverage before proposing visual polish.
3. Map every finding to at least one tenet and one trap.
4. Recommend the smallest tweak that protects the tenet and removes the trap.
5. Verify with screenshot or code evidence after the tweak.

Output Shape

Return findings in this structure when possible:

{
  "ux": {
    "score": 82,
    "tenetCoverage": [],
    "trapRisks": [],
    "findings": [],
    "recommendedTweaks": []
  }
}

Use memi ux audit --json for a focused JSON report, or inspect the ux field in memi diagnose --json and memi fix plan --json.