Consistency of word use and information architecture are the initial win or lose items in your software or on your web site. A win means you’ve successfully provided relevant and effective breadcrumbs to the information your users need to get done what they are attempting to accomplish. A lose means you’ve been inconsistent or confusing in your word use and structural flow. You fail because you’ve introduced fear, uncertainty,and doubt (FUD) and forced the user to make a best guess. Whether they guess correctly or not, even correctly more often than not, is not the point. The point is to create a path to information that is direct and sensible and keeps guessing to an absolute minimum.
