A person who finished a task last month does not start at the welcome card. They start at a badge, a remembered icon, or a notification that names a different verb. If your only map is the first-open line, you will ship a change that feels like a kindness to new people and a locked gate to everyone else.
In our flagship audit we insist on one return path: same task, later day, whatever the app actually shows. Often the return path is shorter. Sometimes it is longer, because a loyalty banner or a “complete your profile” sheet now sits on the home screen.
A savings app we walked in June had a clean first-open. The return opened on a seasonal illustration that covered the usual entry to transfer. Regulars had learned a thumb-print on the lower left. New artwork stole that landmark. The first-open map would have praised the illustration. The return map did not.
When you commission work, name both walks in the intake. If time is short, shorten the first-open, not the return. Your paying users already live there.