Quick Answer
Organize folders within Content sequentially when Courses must be completed in a specific order, and non-sequentially when Courses stand on their own; most folder structures combine both approaches at different levels of the hierarchy.
What This Article Helps With
This article explains two ways to structure folders within Content and offers guidance on how many items to include at each level of the hierarchy. It applies when building a new folder structure, reorganizing Content into a new structure, or fixing a structure that users are struggling to navigate.
Sequential Organization
Use a sequential structure when Content builds on itself, so that later Courses depend on earlier ones. Common approaches include:
- By topic depth (Level 1, then Level 2, then Level 3)
- By developmental timeline
- By Learning Path
- Chronological order
Non-Sequential Organization
Use a non-sequential structure when Courses are independent and users can take them in any order. Common approaches include:
- By importance (required versus optional)
- By Content type or format
- By role, region, or department
- By problem or solution
Questions to Ask When Choosing a Structure
Work through these questions before building a folder structure:
- Does the Content only make sense in a specific order? If so, enforce a sequential flow so users cannot skip ahead and lose context.
- Are the Courses unrelated to each other? If so, let users choose their own order.
- Would understanding suffer if a Course were taken out of order? Even subtle dependencies should be defined as explicit prerequisites.
- Do Assessments assume knowledge from earlier Courses? A non-sequential structure needs Assessments that do not assume completion of prior Courses.
- Do some Courses matter more than others? If so, make higher-priority Content easy to find and revisit.
- Can you suggest an order instead of enforcing one? A well-arranged folder structure can guide users without hard prerequisites.
- Do users vary widely in prior knowledge? A short knowledge check can route each user to an appropriate starting point.
Recommended Number of Items per Level
General research on working memory (associated with Miller and Dunbar) suggests that lists of 7–15 items are easiest to navigate, with usability dropping noticeably beyond that. This is a usability recommendation, not a limit enforced by Pinnacle Series. As a guideline:
- 7–15 folders at the top level of your Content structure
- Up to 15 topics within each folder (approximately 225 topics in total)
- Up to 15 activities within each topic (approximately 3,375 activities in total)
Helpful Tips
- Most folder structures combine both models — for example, non-sequential at the top level (by department or role) and sequential within each Learning Path.
- Use tiered landing pages and clear navigation so users can reach relevant Content without searching through every level of the folder structure.
- If a topic list grows beyond 15 items, split it into additional subfolders or a tiered landing page rather than adding more items to a single folder.
Common Questions
Should I use only one organizational model, or mix both?
Most folder structures combine both — non-sequential at the top level (for example, by department or role) and sequential within each Learning Path.
What if my topic list already has more than 15 items?
Split it into additional subfolders or a tiered landing page rather than adding more items to a single folder.
Users vary widely in prior knowledge — what should I do?
Add a short prior-knowledge check that routes users to a recommended starting point instead of requiring everyone to begin at the same place.