On my last project, one of the first things I noticed was a complicated system of menu trees that were used for selecting items ranging from locations to actions. I was certain this navigation was a major issue that had to be addressed in order to better the application.

Of course, one person’s opinion can be wrong, so I did my research. It was clear that I was not alone in my concern about menu trees. Most experts agreed that for novice users, trees were too complicated. Since my user base was comprised of people who were not highly experienced with computers, I focused my energy on making the application work without the trees.

My initial ideas were for the “new users” — people who were looking to buy or had recently bought our product. By changing the navigation, it would be easier to market our product to new clients as “user friendly.”

After designing options to make the application work without trees, I got access to more current user data. I realized that even novice computer users who had worked with the application for a long time were very comfortable with the system. Yes, it was a little rough to learn at first, but our users were highly resistant to change. They knew how to use the application, and they were happy with it, complicated or not.

It seems that sometimes the best intentions of the usability “expert” aren’t necessarily the best answers for the user. So what do you do? Optimize what is there,but don’t take away functionality that is familiar to your users.

It’s essential to consider all aspects of the process before a final decision is made. What current users want, what future users want and what the client wants  have to be balanced with the best practices of usability. Although, “best practices” are not perfect for every situation.