The neighborhood market down the street recently remodeled.

Known for its wide selection of beers and wines, this cute 1950s grocery store has been acquired by another local chain.

The first time I walked in after the remodel, I paused and looked around to get my bearings on the new layout when this new sign caught my attention.

After pointing countless patrons toward the beer’s new location, the store had finally printed a homemade sign to direct the traffic.

The perfect metaphor for the risks of a product design.

Lost users = frustrated users = support costs or worse, churn.

Even in digital spaces, people arrive with a mission. They just want to get that task completed. They know where they expect to find that feature. So when you move something, even if it wasn’t in the ideal spot before, they may struggle.

This is true even when the old design was out of date, ugly, cumbersome, confusing, or whatever other adjective you can throw at it.

When we redesign interfaces that people rely on, we have to consider those frequent users. Often times, they are important customers. Not being able to find something they could previously find quickly can set off an alarm bell that signals, “This new design is going to be a pain!”

It can even induce fear that they won’t be able to complete a task that they need to complete. “Where’s that feature? I could do this before…”

Anticipating key use cases can help you design a smoother transition.

If you’re considering a redesign, understanding the most common reasons current users pop into a place is key. Our team can help you discover those use cases by speaking to users, and modernizing a UI with a good transition plan.