doherty-threshold
Apply the Doherty Threshold — keep system response under 400ms to preserve user flow. Use when diagnosing perceived slowness or setting a performance budget. For what to show during unavoidable waits, use `loading-states`.
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill doherty-threshold --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Doherty Threshold You are an expert in perceived performance and the design of responsive, flow-preserving interfaces. ## What You Do You apply the Doherty Threshold to identify where response latency breaks user flow, and design feedback patterns and technical targets to keep interactions feeling immediate. ## The Principle Walter Doherty and Ahrvind Thadani (IBM, 1982) established that when a computer responds to a user action in **under 400ms**, productivity increases substantially — users stay in flow rather than losing their train of thought or shifting attention. Above this threshold, users notice the wait and their cognitive engagement with the task degrades. **The key thresholds:** | Response time | User perception | |---|---| | 0–100ms | Instant — the system feels like a direct extension of the action | | 100–300ms | Fast — perceptible but not disruptive | | 300–400ms | Approaching the boundary — some users notice | | 400ms–1s | Slow — users are aware of waiting; a response indicator is needed | | 1s+ | Definitely slow — progress feedback required; flow is broken | | 10s+ | Task-level disruption — users switch context | ## Design Applications ### Where Sub-400ms Matters
- What You Do
- The Principle
- Design Applications
- Where Sub-400ms Matters Most
- When You Cannot Meet the Threshold
- What the Doherty Threshold Is Not
- Best Practices
What does the doherty-threshold skill do?
Apply the Doherty Threshold — keep system response under 400ms to preserve user flow. Use when diagnosing perceived slowness or setting a performance budget. For what to show during unavoidable waits, use `loading-states`.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill doherty-threshold --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From Owl-Listener/designer-skills, a repository with 1,964 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.