UX proposal: redesign mobile sidebar to streamline navigation
Problem to solve
Mobile navigation currently requires multiple clicks to navigate between subdomains, as there's no direct path through the sidebar. E.g. say a developer wants to navigate to a repository's branches from its project overview. To do this, they must first expose the sidebar, click on repository, which loads an additional page whose sidebar now exposes branches as a subnav item.
Intended users
Anyone navigating GitLab on mobile
Further details
Use case: more streamlined navigation between pages
Proposal
Design and test versions of the sidebar that expose subnav items through togglable drawers. Drawer expansions could operate independently of one another, but ideally only one drawer would have focus (be expanded) at a time.
Permissions and Security
No additional permissions/security beyond what users already have.
Documentation
Documentation around the sidebar would need to be updated to reflect navigational enhancements and the inclusion of expandable accordions as a means of accessing other pages of projects/spaces.
Testing
Cross-browser testing recommended.
What does success look like, and how can we measure that?
A/B testing for validation with analytics to measure the number of pages/clicks it takes for a mobile user to arrive at their destination