Viewing/adding/editing list of devices

[neil]

Context

It’s important to make the adding and editing of devices to an event as simple as possible. It relies on volunteer time which is usually limited!

Constraints

Some things to take into account with the design of this component are that it is/will be used:

• in various environments (at an event, after an event)
• by multiple different types of volunteer (host, repairer)
• on multiple types of device (mobile, tablet, desktop)

Design decisions

In the new design we have changed a couple of things.

• Viewing list of devices. When viewing the list of devices, we have made it more compact so an event with lots of devices is less overwhelming.
• Adding devices. Devices can be added with a ‘Quick Add’ bar. The rationale behind this is that adding devices is done by the host, usually after an event but possibly during, and that this should be quick capture that mimics what is currently captured on the flipchart.
  • it is designed to be similar to the basic info you would provide when checking in a device at an event
  • it is designed to allow quick adding of devices if you are inputting a full flipchart sheet of devices info after an event (you can quickly type, tab, type, tab, through the basic fields, hit ‘Enter’ at the end to add the device, then immediately continue entering the next device)
• Editing devices. Devices can be edited by hosts and anyone else that volunteered at an event.
  • Going in to edit the device generally takes place afterwards and allows for more detailed input by either host or Restarter.
  • The most likely amendments are fleshing out the problem/solution field and uploading photos, and these are the two that are given greater exposure when editing as opposed to adding.

General note: only hosts can add and delete devices, whereas everyone who volunteered at an event can edit.

Questions

• Should the quick add bar go above or below existing devices in the list? Both? See the poll below.
• Should the Add method be the same as the Edit method? (i.e. no quick add, but a full dialog)

Notes

• We are still actively working on the mobile/tablet interface for this - it is not quite there yet.
• If there are strongly differing views, we could consider making the interface optional per user.
  • And potentially different in different contexts.

[neil]

A poll on preferences for the positioning of the ‘Add bar’ for adding devices to an event. Please vote and add your thoughts in a reply! Also any alternative ideas welcome.

• ‘Add bar’ is at bottom of device list, items added at bottom of list
• ‘Add bar’ is at top of device list, items added at top of list
• ‘Add bar’ is at both top and bottom of device list, items added at bottom of list
• ‘Add bar’ is at both top and bottom of device list, items added at top of list

Bearing in mind some context from the above post:

@neil

Devices can be added with a ‘Quick Add’ bar. The rationale behind this is that adding devices is done by the host, usually after an event but possibly during, and that this should be quick capture that mimics what is currently captured on the flipchart.

• it is designed to be similar to the basic info you would provide when checking in a device at an event
• it is designed to allow quick adding of devices if you are inputting a full flipchart sheet of devices info after an event (you can quickly type, tab, type, tab, through the basic fields, hit ‘Enter’ at the end to add the device, then immediately continue entering the next device)

Thoughts on alternatives

‘Add bar’ is at bottom of device list, items added at bottom of list

Pros:

• feels more like how the flipchart works
• items always added near the the Add bar

Cons:

• feels cramped at the bottom?

‘Add bar’ is at bottom of device list, items added at top of list

Pros:

• more standard way of digital input
• items always added near the the Add bar

Cons:

• less like the flipchart
• items end up in ‘reverse’ order to what has been captured on the flipchart

‘Add bar’ is at both top and bottom of device list, items added at bottom of list

Pros:

• Covers both preferences

Cons:

• looks confusing when no devices have been added - could be mitigated by only appearing after say more than 5 devices have been added
• items not always added near when you entered them

‘Add bar’ is at both top and bottom of device list, items added at top of list

Pros:

• Covers both preferences

Cons:

• looks confusing when no devices have been added - could be mitigated by only appearing after say more than 5 devices have been added
• items not always added near when you entered them
• items end up in ‘reverse’ order to what has been captured on the flipchart

[james]

For me, the most intuitive option is ‘Add bar’ at the bottom and items added at the bottom. I agree this is most like the flipchart or hand-written list most groups use and it’s easy to see when an item’s been added successfully.

I guess downsides are that the ‘add bar’ isn’t as obvious if you need to go back to add more and that there’s more scrolling in that case too (especially on mobile)

[ssebti]

Hi, I saw in the Roadmap that View/add/edit devices status was Ready for feedback.
I understand there is a discussion on where to place the Add bar, but when do you expect to implement it so we can test the functionality ? Thanks -S

[neil]

You should be able to see this already @ssebti - is there a particular event where you can’t see it?
(you’ll be pleased to know we’ve also added in the option to allow adding multiple devices at once, it will be good to get your feedback on this)

[ssebti]

I can’t see it. Here is a screenshot (on Chrome / Windows 10) :

Event : Restarters

[neil]

Could you try again please @ssebti?

[ssebti]

I have it now, thanks !

Can you also add it for the previous event ?

Restarters

[neil]

Done

Just looking into this, I think the issue is that these events were not created by yourself, as far as I can see in the database, they seem to have been created by someone in Restart HQ - does that sound correct? We’ll put in a fix for this, because obviously even though you didn’t create the event, you should be able to edit it if you are a host of the group.

[ssebti]

Thank you Neil.
As far as I remember, I created these events. Maybe they have been modified by HQ for a reason I don’t know

[James_Diamond]

Have entered data for Hackney Fixers party in the park!
Some feedback:
Likes: stable interface, works well, easy to use, saves as you go along. Ability to see device level info for other parties.
Not sure about: ability to add multiple devices of same type at the same time. Not sure why or how I would use this.
Would like: Edit window to close on Update (currently stays open). If device is end of life then spare parts should be inactive. Ability to enter number of Restarters. Can +/- buttons for participants be swapped: - on left + on right?
Questions: how to add photos? Is there a distinction between hosts and restarters in terms of who can edit/delete devices? Where is status as host/restarter visible?
Not sure I should: be able to change the number of participants at a party in Milan.
Is it ok to: use emails of Hackney Fixers volunteers to invite them to join my group? They didn’t give me permission to give their email to Restart.
James

[neil]

@James_Diamond

Have entered data for Hackney Fixers party in the park!

Great! You are the first user to do so And thanks for all the feedback.

@James_Diamond

Likes: stable interface, works well, easy to use, saves as you go along. Ability to see device level info for other parties.

Brilliant, glad to hear it worked well for you.

@James_Diamond

Not sure about: ability to add multiple devices of same type at the same time. Not sure why or how I would use this.

This only really applies to some groups, who sometime organise their repair events around specific devices, so it helps to be able to add multiple of the same category/brand/model at the same time. We could potentially make it a user option so each individual could hide it if needed.

@James_Diamond

Edit window to close on Update (currently stays open).

That’s a good point, although I’d like to have a think if there’s any cases we might want it to stay open by default. I think it would be if you are saving incrementally, but given then limited amount of data you would be editing at any given time on a single device, that’s probably not necessary - closing by default would make sense.

@James_Diamond

If device is end of life then spare parts should be inactive.

I’d like to get @ugo’s input on that, as there’s some upcoming changes to what we record around spare parts, and I think ‘End of Life’ because ‘Spare part not available’ might become a valid option.

@James_Diamond

Ability to enter number of Restarters.

Yes we need to think about this - the intention is that the number of volunteers comes from the people who RSVPed, and if anyone turns up on the day you can add them in as well (and also remove people who RSVPed but didn’t manage to make it on the day). So in theory as the number of users of the system fleshes out, the number of volunteers in attendance should be taken care of automatically. That said, we might still need some way of editing it manually (particularly for historical events that need going back to and tweaking.)

@James_Diamond

Can +/- buttons for participants be swapped: - on left + on right?

Yeah I think so - that confuses me too, I keep meaning to check with the interface people as to whether there’s a logical reason for that

@James_Diamond

how to add photos?

We’re just working out an issue on the backend for that, so we hid it in the front-end for now - it will be in the Edit device dialog, to the right of the text box for problem/description.

@James_Diamond

Is there a distinction between hosts and restarters in terms of who can edit/delete devices?

Only hosts of the group can add and delete, anyone who attended can edit.

@James_Diamond

Where is status as host/restarter visible?

Currently you can see it in the popup for a group if you click ‘See all X volunteers’ - but we’ll add it in for the list of Volunteers on the group as well.

@James_Diamond

Not sure I should: be able to change the number of participants at a party in Milan.

Definitely not! Thanks for spotting that - that’s a bug, we’ll get that fixed.

@James_Diamond

Is it ok to: use emails of Hackney Fixers volunteers to invite them to join my group? They didn’t give me permission to give their email to Restart.

Hmm, good question. Technically we don’t have their email address recorded in the system until they choose to register. So until that point, only the host knows their email, so I think it’s somewhat incumbent on the host to not send unsolicited invitations. That said, I think we need to think about that a bit further, as the email would be sent from our system (and hence in our email logs), even if we don’t actually have the address in the database.

The alternative is that you as a host would have to send out invitations manually asking people to join the platform and then join the group. Really good point though, we need to think about that a bit.

[Janet]

I entered some data (using OSX and latest version of Chrome) and I have a couple of suggestions especially regarding the interface. I would like to see the data entry fields more closely aligned to the headers - find it confusing that they are not.

I was also particularly confused by this section, upon first use. The “Add” button appears to be related to Spare parts. Also, the Spare Parts changed from a tick box to a “Y/N” which has me slightly confused, but perhaps this is another topic (I was assuming not entering Y means by default “No” and did not bother with entering “No” every time.) And lastly, the last drop-down on the right is very unintuitive for me - is it to enter multiple devices? If so, the user needs more help/direction

Another thing I noticed only half-way through was the secondary “Repair Status” menu that results from choosing “Repairable”. Somehow it was not evident enough to me while entering data the first time.

Here’s a minor bug I discovered upon editing and existing device

[neil]

@Janet

I would like to see the data entry fields more closely aligned to the headers - find it confusing that they are not.

Agreed, it does look confusing. Though we’ll end up with slightly less horizontal space for the Add bar if its input fields align with the headers from the list of entered devices. It could be OK though, we can try it and see. It’s perhaps less confusing once some devices have been entered? Another option could be to make the Add bar more noticeably separate from the list of existing devices, so it doesn’t feel as if they should be aligned.

@Janet

the last drop-down on the right is very unintuitive for me - is it to enter multiple devices? If so, the user needs more help/direction

It is to enter multiple devices at once, but I’m thinking we could perhaps make it a user preference as to whether this displays or not, as it’s only relevant to a very small number of users and a bit
confusing to everyone else.

@Janet

Also, the Spare Parts changed from a tick box to a “Y/N” which has me slightly confused, but perhaps this is another topic (I was assuming not entering Y means by default “No” and did not bother with entering “No” every time.)

That’s a really good point. At the moment spare parts could be Yes, No, or left empty (essentially meaning unknown or not applicable). Previously it could just be Yes or No, with not checking it meaning ‘No’, and no option to leave it as unknown. I’m not sure which is preferred? @ugo is also looking into the options around spare parts at the moment, what are your thoughts Ugo?

[ugo]

More on additional spare parts info we’d like to collect here, which would also have an impact on the interface:

Capturing additional useful information about repairs

Hi Restarters, As more of you get involved in accessing and contributing data about the devices we see at Restart Parties, we’d like your feedback to make the tool more useful and precise. A bit of context: Our new platform will make it easier for all Restarters to access and search for data of repairs that occurred at previous Restart Parties, for example to search for a category of device, and see recurrent faults, and ways in which they’ve been addressed. The data we collect and share can contribute to change the way products will have to be designed in the future. Policy makers tel…

I agree with @Janet that the current implementation of spare parts is a bit confusing