## Problem statement **Users experience difficulty in remembering where the items they need are located in GitLab.** We've constantly heard feedback from users that it's easy to lose context of where you are in GitLab. Many users are dealing with that problem by bookmarking pages in their browsers, opening lots of tabs, or using To Dos to save links they need. ## Key Areas - Left side navigation - Naming conventions - Settings - Drilling down from top-level items to settings located underneath collapsed sections - Interacting with the expanding/collapsing sections can be cumbersome - Naming conventions (how settings are categorized) - Navigating between groups and projects - Search ## User Quotes - “I feel like GitLab likes to "show off" its many features and menus, and that can be overwhelming for someone new to it. I think it would help if some features would need to be turned on for a project before they appear in the menu, so that I only have to see and navigate what I use.” - “One frustrating UI component is the main (left) navigation menu. It's very deep, and sometimes difficult to find what I'm looking for, even after using GitLab for several years. A search-based menu (especially for settings) would be a huge improvement.” - “The most bothering aspect is that I, on a very regular basis, find myself to be lost in the menu structures searching for the right place. This is annoying. One example: You are within the project and just want to see what's inside: Today you now have to click Repository > Files and then select Branches. This was more direct in earlier days. Or the screens where you manage the permissions of a repository. The Group permissions vs. direct project permissions make it necessary to navigate always between one and the other. Would prefer a all-in-one solution...” ## Action Items - Upcoming navigation UX research: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ux-research/-/issues/916 - Existing proposals for improvement https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3388 - Navigation enhancements to improve findability of features in GitLab https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3385 - Visual Improvements to Navigation https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3384 - Improve keyboard based shortcuts and navigation https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3386 - GitLab navigation - changes to navigation model https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3389 - Re-work navigation for GitLab > Operations https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/211406 - Permissions can affect navigation hierarchy (potential for discovery) https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/25434 - At the Group level: - `Planning` category that contains Epics, Milestones, Roadmap (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/43431) - `Statistics` category that contains Contribution Analytics and Members - At the Project level: - `Statistics` category that contains Cycle Analytics, Contributors, Members, Charts (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/43432). - Initiative to improve the UX of settings https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3535 ## Links - See additional user quotes in Dovetail: https://dovetailapp.com/extensions/3d166abc-9031-48a8-8ef8-741ed3c5ef79/tags/a91f8500-e328-4119-968c-aeee356ab623