Beyond the Happy Path: Designing for Every User Journey

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Over the years I’ve noticed that some tools, techniques and methods from one part of software development lends itself nicely to other parts. 

This method of identifying different user paths from the practice of Quality Assurance (QA) in software development also benefits User Journey mapping in User Experience (UX). 

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The 3 paths are: 

1. Primary 
2. Alternate
3. Error

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Let’s have a look at each one in detail.

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1. Primary Path

The primary path, often referred to as the ‘happy path’ or ‘main path’ is the route or journey through the software that most users will take. I prefer the term primary path because it focuses less on emotion. Only delivering a ‘happy path’ doesn’t guarantee happy users. 

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This path is what we expect our users to take most of the time. We need to understand: 

• What the journey looks like from start to finish. 
• What information needs to be entered or collected
• What buttons need to be clicked to move forward
• What actions can be taken
• What options are available 

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Importantly, there may be different primary paths depending on the type of user, their role and/or permissions available to them. 

For example: 

• Completing admin-only user based tasks
• Viewing data as a read-only user

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This isn’t based on personas, it’s based on the technical considerations of what different types of users can and can’t do.

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2. Alternate Path

An alternate path is one that deviates from the primary path because there is some kind of pre-condition or constraint. They are often less travelled but still important.

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Alternate paths might include: 

• A User returning back to a saved journey
• Options that are only available given certain preconditions
• Changes after a previous error has been fixed
• Restrictions that prevent the user from taking the primary path

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Alternate paths may not get as much focus as primary paths but these are the journeys that often end up requiring the most support if not designed well.

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3. Error Path

The error path asks one key question: 

‍"What happens if something goes wrong?"

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This is where we help users to fail gracefully, allowing them to take action, recover and move forward when something goes wrong. 

Considering the following can make a big difference in experience: 

• Recovery flows
  
  • Can the right features be provided for the user to fix the issue on their own?‍
• ‍Access to support
  
  • If a user can't fix the issue on their own and support is required, is that support easy to obtain?
• Error Messages
  
  • Do error messages help the user to take action and resolve the error? 
• Error Prevention
  
  • Can the design be improved to prevent errors from occurring?

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Conclusion

Well designed and usable products are much more than a ‘happy path’. If primary, alternate and error paths are all considered we: 

• Have more complete journeys
• Reduce the risk of dead ends 
• Consider different roles and restrictions
• Display helpful error messages 

This results in more users being able to complete their tasks successfully and avoids costly calls to support. 

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