Guiding visitors with sequence, steps, and structure

When people see content presented in an orderly way, and functionality located…in the same or similar places, which produces consistency, they learn how to…look for other content and functionality on other screens or pages, which…enhances learnability,…and their eyes and hands go to those locations more readily, which…demonstrates predictability.…So far, we've been talking about structure mostly in terms of spatial location:…where it's located in the interface, but we can also provide structure in terms…of time: the sequence or steps by which something occurs.…

We need to provide structure in terms of both place and time.…How do we provide structure for time?…How do we guide people through an experience that may span multiple steps or screens?…First, we need to set expectations about the process. How long will it take? How…many steps are there?…Second, we need to break down complex processes into simpler, more manageable steps.…And the third, we need to design an experience that provides feedback about…