Designing the hierarchy

The mistake is modelling the org chart, or the expenditure type list, or both, into a five-level hierarchy with several hundred nodes — leaving a project manager scrolling through hundreds of entries to plan four lines. The two constraints pull apart: reporting wants depth, planning wants brevity. The depth rule, the design method that starts from the executive's questions, and the usability test that settles it — show a draft to an actual project manager and ask them to plan a small project. If they hesitate over which entry to pick, it is too complex.