Should we remove HelpText for V1?

[mimarz]

Write down our thoughts and prayers

[mrosvik]

Related to findings in: #2892

[mrosvik]

Meeting 06.01.25
@Thunear @Barsnes @mimarz @Febakke @mrosvik

Reason for removal:

• The component is simple to implement independently with a short CSS snippet. It consists of a popover connected to a button.
• There is uncertainty about when and how the design system should recommend using it.
• It is uncommon to have a HelpText-component in a design system.
• When we include the HelpText as a popover in our design system, we imply that users should display all help text this way. This is problematic as there are multiple ways to present additional information, and HelpText will only address a small portion of those needs.
• We cannot find any strong arguments for keeping it.

Suggested Action:

1. Write an article explaining the removal of the HelpText component. The article should demonstrate how to build the same functionality by combining components from the design system, supplemented by a code snippet for easy implementation.

2. Await further insights and usability testing to develop clear recommendations for when to use different approaches to providing additional information in interfaces. (ref. Research on best practices for providing additional information #2892)

Challenge
Service owners in Altinn are accustomed to this pattern. A dedicated HelpText component may still be necessary for Altinn's use cases, and they might need to maintain a solution on their own.

Next steps

• Inform users and invite them to share their opinions on this
• Write article about removal (Blog post) + offer a code block for recreation.

[mrosvik]

Wait for response in slack: https://designsystemet.slack.com/archives/C05RF86A3K7/p1736172041336239