User Flow

The path a user takes through a product to complete a task, mapped as a sequence of screens, actions, and decision points.

Why it matters

A flow diagram is where optimistic design goes to be audited — the happy path is three boxes, then you draw the error branches, the empty states, and the back buttons, and the truth sprawls across the whiteboard. Mapping it before building is the cheapest debugging you will ever do: every decision diamond you find on paper is a fork users would otherwise find by getting lost.

See it

The happy path is the top row. The diamond is where users get lost if you only designed the top row.

Related terms

Go deeper in Learn UX

On the checklists

Ask your assistant

Define "User Flow" using uxspot.

Works in Claude, Cursor or any MCP client — connect the uxspot MCP.

Think it stuck? A 20-second round of Spot Check will tell you.