Hierarchies are a powerful tool in UX design, helping teams organize language, visual elements, and workflows to create clearer communication and more intuitive user experiences. This article explores how hierarchical planning enhances design consistency and effectiveness across projects.
Many design challenges start as complex situations, requiring actions to simplify parts of the situation.
Among the first stages of any design project is some form of planning. This typically involves assessing numerous variables like identifiable issues, possible solutions, and available resources. Within each variable are many considerations that will eventually affect the success of the project.
Planning is an important activity that contributes to creating a consistency understanding of what needs to be done for the project to be successful. The more aligned the project team is — the more likely the project objectives are achieved as efficiently as possible.
Despite the simplicity of working towards 'good' planning, this activity can be very difficult to approach with complex project ideas.
The amount of project variables will naturally result with increased complexity surrounding the project, increasing the chance that there may be disconnects within the project team. These disconnects are conflict situations, where tasks and or discussions aren't aligned with the initial direction of the project. Some flexibility in any project is expected, but these conflicts can lead to deliverables that fail to meet project requirements.
This possibility is why many UX designers will utilize a hierarchical structure in their design planning. Hierarchies in this context refer to an organized understanding of how the project will be completed as effectively as possible.
More specifically, hierarchical planning is when project variables are organized in a hierarchy that makes it easier for a team to share a consistent understanding of the project. This method of organization helps simplify the different areas of a project — reducing the complexity of projects for the various stakeholders.
To efficiently use this method, UX designers should be familiar with some of the ways hierarchical organization can be used depending on the context.
'Good' planning will always be an approach that compliments team culture & communication preferences.
In business, hierarchies are traditionally used to describe and define the structure of roles in an organization. This has made it considerably easier for individuals in large, complex organizations to understand the responsibilities of each other.
The same value in comprehension is why hierarchical planning is especially relevant for design projects. Variables like issues and solutions exist within a complex system, where using tiered groupings assigns meaning to multiple variables at once. Project stakeholders can then quickly identify the meaning of these variables without needing to be familiar with the individual nuances surrounding each variable.
To put these concepts into practice, a hierarchy structure can be used to map out how completed deliverables will amount to achieving one or more project outcomes. Starting with a desired outcome, a UX designer can then list out the required deliverables under the outcome. Then, each deliverable can then feature of list of tasks that will must be completed in order to mark the deliverable as being properly completed. As a whole, this structure provides numerous ways of understanding the outcome — from general deliverables to individual tasks.
For design planning, using hierarchies typically extends well beyond classifying project components.
Hierarchies within the context of design projects is how designers can create order & structure within their design systems. This method of organization is similar to developing a taxonomy that assigns definitions and meaning to the various elements that compose the design. When structured in a hierarchy, users and other stakeholders can then quickly grasp how different design elements relate to each other.
As an example, a UX designer can use a hierarchy to help describe the various spaces a traveler moves through as they navigate an airport. The airport itself is composed of multiple areas, which in turn are composed of even smaller areas (e.g. a terminal has one or more gates, which are composed of seating and service desk areas). When assigned to find improvements in traveler experiences within terminals, the UX designer can quickly identify the individual steps travelers take when navigating these areas by referencing the area hierarchy. Notably, the UX designer can also frame this system understanding so that other designers and stakeholders can easily understand how each area relates to the overall airport experience.
Within this example, an otherwise large & complex system (i.e. the airport) is simplified through a hierarchical organization of the many areas it consists of. This simplification still makes it possible to gain detailed insights when needed, while making it easier to discuss general improvements that could be made to larger areas in the airport.
Many destinations can be broken up into smaller places, making it easier to understand the lower-level details of a wayfinding experience.
Delivering excellent user experiences is achieved by demonstrating an excellent understanding of user needs. However, there are various ways this understanding can be gained — which affect the types of solutions that may be most effective.
Hierarchical organization can be used in two ways to better define these needs: ranking needs into tiers and using high/low level breakdowns. Each of these ways uses a form of hierarchy to plan out what each need consists of, and the importance it has in the success of the project.
Ranking user needs into tiers involves creating criteria that can be used to measure the importance of each identifiable user need. Then, this criteria is compared against the needs to direct the deliverables towards solving the most important needs first.
High/low level breakdowns begins with identify high level user needs, then identifying lower level needs that compose that need. This process can be repeated across several levels, providing various levels of detail depending on the complexity of the project.
Selecting an approach for a project depends on several factors, and will influence the types of deliverables that appear most aligned with the project goals.
Focusing on both high and low-level understandings helps keep all collaborators aligned throughout the project.
This approach works well for fast-moving projects that involve providing immediate solutions to existing user problems. By discussing and then creating the criteria for assessing the importance of each need, teams can quickly identify solutions that solve the most pressing user needs.
Ranking criteria is closely related to the project objectives, where user needs most related to the main objectives are ranked above those that are indirectly related to these objectives.
For example, a UX design team is assigned to deliver an online store as part of a fast-approaching event. The main objective of this project is to allow attendees to order tickets and merchandise. With this objective, they develop a set of criteria that prioritizes allowing users to make these purchases as efficiently as possible. Other needs emerge, such as the potential desire for a newsletter subscription and blog area. However, these needs are secondary to the main objective — which are ranked as having a low priority for the project team.
Although this approach works well in fast contexts, it doesn't necessarily help create a detailed understanding of how to achieve each user need. Additionally, some needs may be more abstract than others, leading to the possibility of there being a disconnect between how a project team defines the need.
Quick design collaboration sessions are a great way to begin grouping & organizing user needs.
This is a more traditionally hierarchical approach to organizing user needs, utilizing varying levels of detail when defining a user need. Abstract needs are identified based on the project objectives, which are then expanded to list more detailed needs contributing to the overall user requirement.
The more complex the project is, the more levels may be required to effectively understand these needs. With each level, there is an added level of detail available that helps provide clarity on what deliverables will be required for a successful project.
As an example, a UX design team is working on wayfinding for a new recreational facility. This will be a long-term investment by the city, and the main objective for the wayfinding is that all demographic profiles will be able to easily navigate the facility when they visit. The UX team begins by assigning a high level user need of 'being able to navigate easily'. They then expand upon this to identify several contributing needs: signage comprehension, accessible staff, and an available directory. This exercise continues until the team believes that they now have a clear understanding of every required deliverable to achieve the overarching wayfinding goal.
While this approach provides very useful & practical direction on what deliverables are required, it doesn't necessarily indicate which deliverables should be prioritized. Additionally, this approach may be excessive for smaller projects that don't have complex user needs.
High-level direction guides the overall design effort, while low-level considerations provide tangible actions that can be taken.
When people are presented with a design, there are often notable differences among the terms and expressions they use when discussing it. These differences can make it more challenging to know what exactly each person is referring to when they are describing what they like, don't like, or are unsure about.
Hierarchies can be used to help plan out the names of design elements, and how different elements can be expanded upon for a more detailed breakdown of smaller elements.
This type of planning is used to improve communication consistency across project stakeholders, minimizing potential conflicts that can emerge when there are inconsistent labels being used in discussions. These conflicts typically involve confusion & frustration, where there is uncertainty about what someone is experiencing or how to go about resolving an issue.
As an example, a team of UX designers is working on the screens for a mobile app. They want to improve communication consistency across the design, programming, and usability teams when discussing the app internally. To accomplish this, the UX team starts by expanding 'mobile app' into being composed of 'dashboards', 'lists', and 'popups'. Within each of these areas, they further classify more parts of the design into defined labels with simple descriptions. This organization is initially framed in a diagram, but is later formatted into a simple document that summarizes the design system for each team to reference.
In addition to the value provided by consistent communication, this hierarchical organization of language also makes it easier to plan future user flows.
When there is a need to map out new user flows within a design system, having clear guidelines on how the different elements relate to each other helps maintain consistency within the user experience. This planning streamlines the time it takes between identifying the need for new functionality and how to best implement it within the existing design system.
Not everyone speaks 'design', making it crucial in multi-disciplinary team environments to focus on outcome-based language—not design theory.
One of the most discussed uses of hierarchies in design planning refers to creating 'visual hierarchies'. This is the process of mapping out the intended order of information users are expected to process as they move through a design.
The intention of this planning is to use various UX and graphic design principles to determine the most efficient presentation for a design. This efficiency is calculated as the minimal time needed by a user when processing information before moving onto their next task.
In nearly all design contexts, more than one piece of information is presented to the user at any given time. As a result, the hierarchical considerations of design elements becomes more important. Important information should be spotted by the user before they focus on less important information.
For UX designers, the goal for hierarchical design planning is to document the intended information flow for users, rather than specify the details for each design choice. This work provides two key benefits for UX projects: direction for the visual design components and opportunities to address potential information challenges.
Designers handling the visual design decisions will be able to work with a plan that helps them understand the intended experience for users as they navigate the design. Additionally, it includes clarity on what types of design decisions may work better than others for the specific types of users being addressed.
Information challenges occur when users either can't determine what they should know or how to comprehend it. This is why the consideration of how information is presented becomes required in minimizing the likelihood of users encountering these frustrations.
As an example of this type of planning, a UX design team is working on a new dashboard for an online banking application. They know that their users span a wide range of demographics, and it would be impossible to ensure every type of user immediately sees what's most important to their specific interests. Understanding this, the UX design team develops a plan of showing key navigation elements as one of the first pieces of information users are exposed to when they sign in. These elements serve as entry points into various areas of the application, meaning users of all types can quickly scan for what they're looking for before being taken into an area that has more information the user is searching for. In addition to this choice, the UX design team also identifies that all users will likely want to see totals for their accounts on the dashboard, and include plans to ensure that information is equally visible for users upon signing in.
Referencing the previous example, an effective approach for using visual hierarchies involves documenting the different types of users. This type of user profiling makes it possible to further identify what information each user will likely be looking for as they navigate a visual design.
When UX designers engage in this planning, they both contribute towards an improved user experience, while helping other members of their team with making more effective design decisions.
Knowing who your users are makes it possible to understand what they need to see & have access to in order to be successful.
People naturally look for patterns and relationships when they process information. These work together to help make sense of what can otherwise be very complex by transforming information into easier to reference concepts.
This is the fundamental benefit of using hierarchies in design planning — they help project stakeholders make sense of an otherwise complex situation.
Like many planning methodologies, the value hierarchical organization provides is typically in improving communication. Whether this involves communicating priorities, language, or recommendations there will be many benefits that contribute towards providing an excellent user experience.
Hierarchies can be used in various ways to direct a team on understanding where they need to invest their resources to solve the most important user problems. Alternatively, hierarchies can be used in structuring consistent language so that design components can be discussed more consistently. And, hierarchical organization is fundamental to delivering an effective design that ensures users see the most important information first as they navigate their user journey.
Regardless of where this type of planning is used in a project, the intention for UX designers is always rooted in finding ways of empathizing with their users.
Hierarchies are all about making sense of the complex, helping improve communication at every stage in a project.
Sometimes including additional planning methodologies can have an inverse effect on project communication, where a project becomes seemingly more complicated than it needs to be. This often occurs when UX designers provide an overwhelming amount of planning documentation.
Understandably, these instances usually occur because of a desire by the UX designer to minimize (or entirely remove) the possibility of communication problems within the project. The documentation is intended to align all of the project stakeholders with a consistent understanding of what the project involves.
But when there is an overwhelming amount of planning — many individuals may feel as though they don't have an opportunity to weigh in and provide their own suggestions or feedback. If everything appears to be done and accounted for, then there is a lack of motivation for project members to think they need to contribute any more ideas.
As a consequence, these situations result with a lack of collaboration within the project team. Collaboration that may actually involve gaining incredibly valuable insights from different team members with their own unique expertise & wisdom.
To prevent these types of situations from occurring, UX designers should strive to start these planning initiatives with the goal of having them completed by the inclusion of feedback. It is incredibly valuable for a UX designer in a team to start these planning initiatives, and even more valuable if they can frame them as activities for other team members to engage with.
By creating this project engagement, other team members can directly interact with the project planning — improving their familiarity with the intended communication strategies. Additionally, it creates a welcoming environment for team members to share their feedback and insights that can then be included in the planning.
Hierarchical design planning should be the pursuit of helping project stakeholders make sense of a complex situation, and benefits greatly by welcoming stakeholders to engage with the planning.
