Analysis Setup — Navigation
Overview
Data Connect lives inside Analysis Setup, alongside Segments and Mappings.
Getting the navigation right across those three sub-sections was a real problem.
This case is about the decision we didn't ship, why, and what it taught us.
Context
Analysis Setup grouped distinct but related tools: Segments, Mappings, and Data Connect. Each handles a different part of analysis configuration. Together they form a logical unit.
Once inside the section, navigation uses tabs. That pattern was already inconsistent with the rest of the product before Data Connect launched. Adding a third sub-section made it harder to ignore.
Role
Hands-on Product Design Director. I owned the design direction and the decision documentation.
I evaluated options with the PM and Engineering lead to align and decide.
The problem
The tab pattern created two compounding issues.
Tabs at the Analysis Setup level conflicted with tabs used inside sub-sections. Data Connect itself uses tabs internally. A user navigating into it encountered two levels of tab navigation simultaneously. That is not a minor inconsistency. It is a structural confusion that compounds with every new sub-section added.
The default landing page for Analysis Setup was Segments, simply because it was the first sub-section alphabetically. A user arriving had no overview of what the full section contained or where to go.
Current state. Analysis Setup opens on Mappings. Tab navigation with no overview of what the section contains.
The ideal solution
A dedicated landing page for Analysis Setup, replacing the tab pattern at the section level. Each sub-section would be accessible via clear entry points. Tab navigation, if needed, would only exist inside sub-sections.
This removed the structural confusion, gave users orientation on arrival, and left room to add future sub-sections without degrading navigation further. This was vibe-coded in Lovable to share, get feedback and iterate.
Proposed homepage for Analysis Setup. Each sub-section accessible via cards. Tab navigation moved inside sub-sections only.
The constraint
The fix touched shared architecture across three sub-sections simultaneously. It was not a Data Connect change. It was an Analysis Setup change that affected everything inside it.
Engineering bandwidth was fully committed to Data Connect delivery. Reopening the architecture meant delaying launch or descoping committed features. Neither was acceptable.
The decision
We shipped without the navigation fix. The tab pattern and the Segments default landing page stayed.
Two things were non-negotiable before closing the decision.
— The inconsistency was documented in full: problem, ideal solution, estimated effort, impact on users.
— A V2 ticket was written and prioritised before launch, not after.
Shipping a known problem without a plan to fix it is debt. Shipping it with documentation and a prioritised next step is a decision.
What it changed
Since the outer navigation was degraded, the inner Data Connect experience had to work harder. The landing page became more intentional, with clearer entry points and more explicit signposting.
A constraint on one layer pushed quality up on another.
The intended flow. Analysis Setup as an entry point, Data Connect as a sub-section, tabs contained inside the warehouse detail only.
Results
The inconsistency did not block adoption. Data Connect reached 234 signed clients by open beta, including Dior, Spotify, and Schneider Electric.
The V2 navigation work was handed off as a prioritised item for the next cycle.
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