“Remove the unnecessary” and “don’t hide anything”: I constantly heard both requests while designing interfaces for experts.
The business wanted users to make decisions quickly, while experts asked to show as much context as possible: they needed to make sure they were making the right decision.
Both requests were reasonable, but they pulled the interface in different directions.
A clean screen without evidence looks beautiful, but no decision can be made from it: an expert doesn’t trust a recommendation until they see what it stands on. If, on the other hand, everything is shown at once, the expert drowns in context and takes longer to decide, which is not beneficial for the business.
The progressive disclosure approach came to the rescue — by default the screen stays concise, but every element hints that it can be expanded. When an element expands, the new data should read as a continuation of what the expert has already seen and should not break their familiar path.
For example, in the portal for physical therapists at Sword Health, a short AI conclusion stays at the top, while multi-level panels expand into charts and dashboards with workout results. Need confidence — expand and check. Don’t need it — the panel doesn’t interfere.
The screen is clean and, at the same time, deep where depth is needed. The business gets speed, the expert — grounds to trust their decision.