Happy Path
An ideal situation where everything happens perfectly as the designers were expecting. We also call it "Ideal case" or "Ideal path"
Why it matters
Designing the happy path first is right; shipping only it is how products break on contact with reality. The happy path is a spine — every error, empty and edge state hangs off it.
See it
The spine in ink; the exits in outline. Both ship — only one gets demoed.
The numbers
- 1 happy path, many exits — design the exits too
Related terms
Ask your assistant
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