Progressive disclosure

Progressive disclosure is an interaction design technique often used in human computer interaction to help maintain the focus of a user's attention by reducing clutter, confusion, and cognitive workload. This improves usability by presenting only the minimum data required for the task at hand. The principle is used in journalism's inverted pyramid style, learning's spiral approach, and the game twenty questions.

Progressive disclosure is an interaction design technique that sequences information and actions across several screens in order to reduce feelings of being overwhelmed for the user. By disclosing information progressively, you reveal only the essentials and help the user manage the complexity of feature-rich sites or applications. Progressive disclosure follows the typical notion of moving from "abstract to specific"; only it may mean sequencing interactions and not necessarily level of detail (information). In other words, progressive disclosure is not just about displaying abstract then specific information, but rather about 'ramping up' the user from simple to more complex actions.

In its most formal definition, progressive disclosure means "to move complex and less frequently used options out of the main user interface and into secondary screens".

An example of progressive disclosure is the print dialog where you can initially choose how many copies to print, the printer to use and whether you want to print the full document or only certain pages. On the secondary (advanced options) screen one can then modify the full set of options.

In its purest format, progressive disclosure is about offering a good teaser. A good teaser can include the following:

Progressive disclosure says: "Make more information available within reach, but don't overwhelm the user with all the features and possibilities".

An example for Staged Disclosure is an online news article that is spread across four screens (with a Next Page link at the bottom). This use of progressive disclosure serves advertising objectives (showing banners on each page) and not the user's task.

Another example would be a site that explains a product by making the user click through 4-5 pages of overview/benefits information before revealing the price of the product. The idea here is that if the user reads the product information, they will accept the price more easily. The problem with that approach is that it does not accommodate free-form exploration, a typical behavior on the web.

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Wikipedia