From RPM Wiki
| Table of contents |
Summary
This page covers the UI improvements that were introduced with Jupiter.
Look and feel
The look will evolve slightly away from Office 2003 and Windows XP to follow the styles being introduced by Office 12 and Windows Vista.
Color
For Jupiter we'll create a color guide that covers all the possible uses of colors in the application so can 1. be consistent and 2. use more color.
Hierarchy
In addition to the settings re-org (see below), various other pages will be renamed and moved in Jupiter. First the word "management" won't be used for describing the different sections of the application, instead the actual thing being managed will. Also, "Select a" is gone and the links for "Add" pages will be moved to the list pages. Example:
- "Agent management" to "Agencies & reps"
- "Select an agency" to "Agencies"
- "Add an agency" and "Import agencies" moved from the first task page to that "Agencies" page.
In other words, we are grouping all the functionality around something to one page. Taking the agency page from the above example, you will list (select), add, import, etc. agencies from one page.
Frameset
- No more left frame. A new fixed, bottom frame would contain log off, preference, etc. links and customizable Shortcuts.
- The top frame will be expanded to show the subscriber name (branding) and the user name, role, etc.
- The top & new bottom frame will now be referred to as the "Chrome".
- The history functionality from the old left frame will not be replaced.
- That feature has turned out to be hard to manage for developers, prone to introducing errors when a page is accessed out of intended sequence, and not even usable with the left frame collapsed.
Advantages
- Subscriber & user info is always shown.
- With the old design the dev team often receives error screenshots with the left frame collapsed, hiding this important info.
- Furthermore, the new design provides some branding as the subscriber name and logo is always shown at the top.
- Thin screen widths handled better
- The top & bottom toolbars squeeze more gracefully
- There is no left frame at all
Section styles
- See Section style
Grid
The new full page grid improvements (like for views) include:
- A "frozen" header row that stays visible during scrolling
- Only the grid contents scroll, everything else on the page remains visible
Settings re-org
The history of the Settings section
Early on in RPM we decided to make a single section where all settings and setup would be accessed. This was modelled after Microsoft CRM and Windows control panel. Over the years a lot of things have been added to the settings section and it's created some problems I think...
Current problems
There's a fundamental disconnect between functionality and a related setting. Examples The gross commission audit and the tolerance for it, a grid and the number of items per page, etc. This not only presents issues with finding settings you know about, but also means there's settings that people don't know exist.
- Why are things like template design, custom field design, and commission variables in settings while things like schedule design is not? This touches on the larger difference between simple settings (Example: Default time zone) versus areas where you spend time working (Example: Fields in a template)
- Why are staff managed under the subscriber section while roles (staff groups) are under settings?
- Are things like the email history, file attachment list, and recent import list really settings? I think they're more about management.
- I think "My settings" (settings per user) are often things you go to adjust while doing something else. Example: the number of items in a grid is likely adjusted while looking at a grid that's too slow or too short. With a separate settings section you have to navigate to it then navigate back. This goes for anything where it less of a "setup at the begging" setting and more of a "tweak while using" setting (reconciliation, tolerances, import matrix, etc).
Solutions
Jupiter, presents a good opportunity to address all these problems at once and hopefully create a system that's easier to use and learn both for experienced and new users alike:
- "My settings" would be renamed "Preferences" and would now be a popup. These are settings that every user has and affects only them, like items per page and default date sorting. With this new design a change could be quickly made, then close the popup window and you're still where you were in the application.
- Second, a new "Management" section for:
- Attachments management
- Email notification & history
- Recent import/sync
- Branding
- Shells
- Agent password reset
- New user defaults
- Default rep access
- Default agency permissions
- Default country
- Default timezone
- Finally, all the other settings would be spread out into their respective sections:
- Commission imports (matrix, variables) to commissions
- Commission run hiding to the commission run
- Commission schedule hiding & default type to the commission schedule
- Default comm. item view columns to the comm. item view
- Tolerance to commissions
- Role management to the subscriber (where staff are managed)
- Agency assignment to agents
- Template adding and editing & list management to a new "Process design" area in the processes section
- Import forms defaults to processes
- Agency & rep custom fields & labels to the agents section
- Customer & account custom fields & labels to the customers section
- Staff custom fields to the subscriber section
- Recycle bin cleanup to the recycle bin page
- This page was last modified 19:37, 19 Mar 2008.
- This page has been accessed 1531 times.