Progressive Disclosure is one of three Design Principles followed by my agency to deliver No-Code First digital innovations for a high-value, high-touch sales environmernt. The other three, interrelated Design Principles are Fierce Reduction, Meaningful Journey and Vibe Coding.

The term Progressive Disclosure means an aim to present information and options gradually on a desktop, tablet or smartphone device, only revealing details pertinent to the user’s current task. This approach minimises cognitive overload (Paas, F., Renkl, A., & Sweller, J. , 1988¹) and empower users to choose what to work on and when, with a sense of calm, ownership and accountability.

The Progressive Disclosure design principle mitigates this by revealing information incrementally, ensuring users can focus on one task at a time without being overwhelmed.

Less is More

Progressive Disclosure originates from user experience (UX) design and cognitive psychology, popularised by design experts such as Jacob Nielsen² and for Salesforce Lightning Design System³ or Google Material Design⁴ User Interface. This suggests that it is likely better to have more clicks through screens as a Meaningful Journey for a particular process or task, than have too much going on at any one time, on any screen.

Hick's Law, Applied

The groundbreaking work from over seventy years ago on complexity of task decisioning by W.E. Hick⁵ resulted in Hick's Law. From a User Experience (UX) Design perspective, Hick's Law defines a task as consisting of four steps: Identify problem or goal; Assess available solutions; Decide on an option; and, Implement the option. It is the third step that's key key here: Decide.

Hick's Law states: " The time it takes to make decision increases as the number of alternatives increase." From a UX Design perspective, with Web and mobile apps, it is likely that a series of simpler, time-critical tasks are more effective, than having fewer steps, but where the tasks are more complex, and where decisions have too many options.

Task Sequencing:
Users enter project details across sequential screens, not one overloaded form.

Information Layering:
Analytics are hidden behind expandable panels, keeping main view simple.

Contextual Decision-Making:
Actions appear only when a process reaches the relevant stage.

Outcome:
Task completion time drops and the user satisfaction and retention rises.

Simply put, Progressive Disclosure with No-Code Platform pages on a Web or mobile app is best when the user has less to think about per page, and is given more click-throughs on simpler pages along the Meaningful Journey.

As a third, commplementary Design Principle, by also applying Fierce Reduction, the designer eliminates everything they can in a quest for simpler, more effective digital innovations. This applies to several No-Code Platform technologies I work with at Being Guided: Lovable, Flatlogic, Google AppSheet; and, Salesforce Lightning Platform.

References

1. Paas, F., Renkl, A., & Sweller, J. (2003). Cognitive load theory and instructional design: Recent developments. Educational Psychologist, 38(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3801_1
2. Jakob Nielsen (2006.) Progressive Disclosure. NN/g Article.
   https://www.nngroup.com/articles/progressive-disclosure/
3. Salesforce Lightning Design System. Spring SDLS 2.
   https://www.lightningdesignsystem.com/
4. Google Material Design. Material 3 open-source design system.
   https://m3.material.io/
5. Hick, W.E. (1952). On the Rate of Gain of Information. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1952, vol. 4, p. 11-26.
   https://www2.psychology.uiowa.edu/faculty/mordkoff/InfoProc/pdfs/Hick%201952.pdf