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Written By:
Ceara Crawshaw
Benoît Meunier

3:18 As an integration team member I need to Identify and define a group so that I can update multiple devices.

Don works as a senior designer on a team that is creating software that will allow for remote, one-by-one, or mass updates to a large number of devices. Users had to create a group of devices before they could do anything. We rethought the process and propose instead that batch updates be applied to “jobs” and groups of devices be converted into reusable filters.

The first step in the workflow was to invite people to enter their criteria for the devices that needed to be upgraded into a query builder.

The filtered list of devices was added next, with the previous query builder on top and a transfer list below to add all the devices that needed to be updated in batch. In conjunction with a query builder, the transfer list is a classic component that can provide a clear visual representation of the selection interaction in a left-to-right movement, giving users complete control over the selection and, ultimately, allowing users to review their selections before proceeding to the next steps. Because this is a critical job, a transfer list is an excellent way to reduce errors and improve overall accuracy for this type of task.

The final step is to confirm the job details, give the “job” a name, and apply the remote update. Why name the job at the end rather than the start? It allows the user to choose a title that accurately reflects the end goal, resulting in a better match between the title and the job. It also relieves the pressure to come up with a title right away, making the process more organic and flexible. Furthermore, the system could assist the user in filling out the title with predefined content inspired by the user’s filters, selections, and updates.

This is the short video version summarizing the key UX gold of our full design session on YouTube.

The P&P crew swarms around UX problems from all around the world, and the narrative thread between them. They are all UX problems that happen in enterprise software. With minimal context, we work on the problem as a team, apply our advanced interaction expertise and come up with a solution (a hypothesis on solving the problem 😛). It’s like looking over the shoulder of someone at work, but better!