Numeric values

[jrbarnes9]

Use this place to discuss the numeric values pattern in the ONS Design System

[saedwards]

@will-madebymoon Symbols for different numeric value types in the pattern library aren't clickable. Is this expected? When you click the field, the focus surrounds the symbol as well as the field. We could make this clickable, which would really help on mobiles & tablets.

[armstrongb]

I don't think that this has been confirmed as an issue.
Suggest that if we want to check if clicking on the 'symbols' is an issue for users that we gather metrics via GTM for clicks on the <abbr> element.

[jrbarnes9]

Issue #1680 raised

[jrbarnes9]

The description on an input with suffix/prefix prevents the title being read out on Mac VoiceOver

So the user does not hear the units required for the input.

[jrbarnes9]

Issue #1581 raised

[jrbarnes9]

We should add guidance around using unit prefix/suffixes to ensure uncommon unit abbreviations are spelled out in the question or input label. Also, update all the examples to ensure the unit is spelt out in the label.

[jrbarnes9]

Issue #1604 raised

[jrbarnes9]

How can we improve financial numeric input to avoid surveys feeling like they need to put all this kind of instruction in the hint text?

[armstrongb]

Part of the historical problem is that on paper these businesses were asked to enter 56 for 56,000 as the the 000 was pre-filled values on the form. On some forms that collect larger values 000,000 was printed meaning 12 was written for £12,000,000.

The original solution for this was to ensure that all values were shown in full on the summary screen, including pence, to make clear the true value being submitted. That way anyone entering 56 as they had habitually entered rounded thousands would be shown £56.00 and given an opportunity to correct it to £56,000.

[Al-Davies]

User Research findings from 27.9.22 (eQ team)

• Where users are asked to provide % breakdowns, they would expect an error, they would expect validation to kick in after pressing the save and continue button
• Users don't necessarily expect to be told how much they have entered i.e. 102%, they would expect to have to work that out themselves

[jrbarnes9]

[jrbarnes9]

I think these findings should feed into the publication of a new pattern 'How to ask for... Percentages' as it's quite a specific case where you're asking the user to provide multiple answers to complete a total figure.

Would be worth exploring this further to see if there's anything else we could do to make the process simpler e.g. sliders, auto-filling the final percentage.