Module 5 Lesson 2: Rejected documents & retry UI

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Rejected documents & retry UI

Five retry steps, six rejection patterns, four mechanics — 34 min · 6 sections

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Section 1

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OpeningThe difference between a recovery and a departure~2 min

When a user's document is rejected, two things happen simultaneously.

The first is visible: they see a failure message. The second is invisible: they make a decision about whether to try again or to leave. That decision is almost entirely determined by the quality of the retry experience your design provides.

In Lesson 5.1 we mapped what failure states are and why they happen. This lesson is about what happens next — the design of the retry journey from rejection to recovery, and the four mechanics that determine whether a user comes back or walks away.

The data on retry behaviour is clear: users who receive specific, actionable guidance after a rejection retry at a significantly higher rate than those who receive generic messages. And users who lose their data in a failure — who have to re-enter their name, date of birth, and address because the rejection wiped the form — abandon at much higher rates than users whose data is preserved. These are design decisions with measurable retention consequences.

Five steps of the retry journey. Six rejection patterns with specific retry mechanics. Four before/after comparisons on the highest-impact retry design decisions. And a 16-point checklist that covers the full retry flow.

Let's start with the journey.

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