Project Context

Databricks is preparing a redesign of notebook navigation in the Databricks Workspace to reduce time-to-task for data scientists and analytics engineers moving between notebooks, jobs, and dashboards. You are the UX/UI Designer on a cross-functional team of 9 people (1 PM, 1 designer, 5 engineers, 1 researcher, 1 data analyst), and leadership wants the feature included in the next quarterly release in 10 weeks because Workspace usability is a top customer complaint.

The PM wants to ship a left-rail navigation pattern with persistent cross-product entry points to Notebooks, Jobs, SQL Editor, and Dashboards. You strongly disagree with one requirement: the PM also wants to add promotional entry points for Databricks Assistant and Lakeview dashboards in the same rail, even though your research shows this will increase cognitive load for first-time Workspace users and hurt discoverability of core notebook actions.

Key Stakeholders

The PM is optimizing for adoption of strategic surfaces before Databricks' annual customer conference. The Engineering Manager wants to avoid front-end rework because the Workspace shell is shared across multiple teams. The Head of Design expects a coherent long-term navigation model. Sales and Solutions Architects want a demo-ready experience for enterprise prospects.

Constraints

• Timeline: 10 weeks to code complete; launch review in week 9
• Budget: no additional headcount; only $35,000 available for external usability recruiting
• Dependency: Workspace shell team can support only 2 weeks of engineering changes in weeks 3-4
• Research: you can run at most 2 moderated studies and 1 unmoderated validation round
• Scope: launch must support desktop only; mobile and accessibility enhancements beyond AA are out of scope

Complications

1. The PM has already previewed the promotional navigation concept to leadership as part of the conference roadmap.
2. Early prototype feedback from three strategic customers is split: admins like the broader rail, while notebook-heavy users find it cluttered.
3. If the shared Workspace shell team misses its window, the feature slips by one full quarter.

Deliverables

1. Propose an execution plan to resolve the disagreement without stalling the release.
2. Define what evidence you would gather, by when, and how it would influence scope decisions.
3. Recommend a launch scope, including what ships now vs. later.
4. Identify the top risks, escalation points, and fallback options.
5. Define success criteria for launch and the first 30 days post-release.