Offer a simple alternative to dragging items

What to change

Ask the supplier to provide ordinary controls for important tasks otherwise done by dragging, with a clear indication of the final order or value.

A worked example

Illustrative example

A portal lets someone reorder preferred contact methods using Move up and Move down actions beside each item, as well as dragging.

Healthcare software workflow connecting task cards, a checklist and a database. — Map the work and the information it depends on.

Healthcare software testing with normal paths and a separate exception route. — Test the exceptions as well as the normal workflow.

Why this matters to your practice

Dragging can be convenient for some visitors and awkward for others. The task behind the gesture is what matters: choosing a value, arranging preferences or moving an item. Ask your supplier to name that task and show an ordinary button-based route to the same result. For a ranked list, Move up and Move down may be easier to understand. The alternative should preserve the same choices and show the final order clearly, rather than becoming a reduced version of the feature.

How to check the result

Accept when the essential outcome is achievable without dragging and the user can verify the final order or selected value.

A mistake to avoid

Providing an alternative that requires substantially more precision than dragging does not meaningfully remove the original interaction difficulty.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discussIdentify any sortable list, movable panel or range selector in the journey. Write down the actual task that dragging is intended to perform.Complete that task using only the alternative controls. Ask the supplier to demonstrate keyboard access and whether the resulting position or value is announced appropriately.Repeat near the first and last allowed positions. Check that unavailable moves are understandable and that the alternative does not silently produce a different result.

Your answers and notes

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

What happens next, and who will do it?

Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.

Related guides

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