How can you design an interface which is both easy to understand the first time you use it and efficient once you’ve learned it?

This is a dilemma which designers wrestle with because it’s difficult to understand what domain knowledge the user has with your product and how easily they can execute certain actions. One common mechanism used in the first time experience is a wizard. The wizard is useful when guiding the user through a complex set of inputs. It breaks the series down into small manageable chunks of questions so the user isn’t overwhelmed.

But what happens after the user has gone through the wizard and now has a reference? Understand what inputs are needed and can easily complete the task with little effort? Why force them through the same series of screens and ask the same questions?

Adobe Dreamweaver has an interesting method to allow both user’s the ability to interact with their site properties based on their level of expertise and familiarity with the process.

Basic View

Advanced View

This method allows the user to become more efficient with each subsequent task once they have learned what each property means.

Good user experience design allows the product to adapt based on the user’s knowledge of the product. Here is another example of how the design should remember what the user wants.

Your application should account for all these user decisions and serve only what the user needs to successfully accomplish their goals.