There's a huge lie going around in product meetings: "We give users all the options we can, so they'll definitely find what they're looking for".
It's not right. Cognitive science calls it the Paradox of Choice. If you take a customer to a restaurant with a 40-page menu, he'll panic and order the usual margarita. If you put it in front of a complex software or a configurator with 300 variants without a guide, it will close the browser tab.
That's exactly what I found analyzing the Online configurator of a well-known automotive brand.
Anatomy of
a cognitive overload
Before the surgery, the data was ruthless. Eighty-one percent of users abandoned the process before reaching the contact form.
Why was that happening? The system overturned the user's setup, powering and financing options in one fell swoop. There was no hierarchy. There was no logical route divided by type of customer (private, corporate fleet, leasing). It was a technical maze that rewarded the catalogue of the seller, not the psychology of the buyer.
When a product is so saturated, you don't need a chart to change the colors of the buttons. We need a strategic figure who has the authority to say, we have to remove 60% of these screens.
The solution: hide
to reveal
Instead of guessing, we tested. I created a the interactive prototype to map a new decision tree.
We applied the principle of progressive disclosure. Basically, guiding the user step by step. First, let's ask him what the vehicle is for. Based on that answer, the system automatically hides all irrelevant options and shows only the three optimum configurations for that profile, with real-time price feedback.
· Initial profiling
Three questions to identify the user profile: private, corporate fleet or leasing. Each response triggers a completely different path, hiding irrelevant options for that specific goal.
02 · Progressive choices with context
First the structural decisions (motorisation, basic equipment), then the customizations, and finally the optional ones. Each screen shows the updated price in real time: the user always knows where he is going. I'm removing 60% of the middle screen.
03 · Validation with real users
A/B testing on real traffic with three initial profiling variants. Measurement of completion rate, time-to-decision and lead quality to the contact form. He won the variant that asked the initial question before he even showed a single model.
The result was turning a mechanics university exam into a fluid conversation. You need a Fractional Design Lead What do you think of aligning this logic with the development team and the business? That's exactly what happens on this type of project.
Results that
matter to the business
In UX, success isn't measured by "how beautiful a site is", but by business metrics. With the new flow we got:
+34%
Completion to the contact form
-52%
Average time to reach decision
+19%
Lead quality score (declared intention)
Fewer generic requests, more users with a clear and profiled purchase intent. The difference between a lead who writes "I'd like to know more" and one who writes "I'm looking for an SUV per eight-vehicle fleet, $35,000 budget" is the difference between cost and opportunity.
Whether you're developing a complex B2B SaaS, a management dashboard or a structured e-commerce, the principle is the same. Your job isn't to show off everything the software can do. Your job is to remove the noise and get the user to the result in the shortest time possible.
Is your product confusing your customers? If your users get lost halfway through or the abandonment rate is out of control, it's time to step in before you burn more traffic.
Next step
Find the bottleneck
in your user journey.
In a 60-minute session, we analyze your product together. I'm going to tell you clearly where users are getting lost and what the three priorities are for investing right now. Written results within 24 hours.