There's a setting for that, wasn't there, somewhere?

Improving usability for Drupal site builders.
Drupal Dev Days 2016: http://milan2016.drupaldays.org/node/121

Transcript

1. There is a setting for that, wasn't it, somewhere? ifrik Antje Lorch
3. There is a setting for that, wasn't it, somewhere? @ifrik Antje Lorch @ifrik #drupaldevdays
4. Site builders' user experiences are neglected in Drupal. And we are here to change that!
5. 2. (Re-)structuring sites is one of Drupal's unique selling-points. Why? 1. Site builders and admins who can structure their sites are Drupal's super-users.
6. Who is a site builder? Someone who • builds sites for others and provides UI for them • builds complex sites with core and contrib • is often part of larger team, • uses tools beyond the GUI.
7. Who isn't? In this context... • someone who wants to build a one-off site in a day, • the first-time user, • the user with a site on a Drupal farm.
8. about me • site builder • since Drupal 4.7, professionally since Drupal 6 • freelancer working for very small organisations or in small teams • member of Documentation Working group and the UX team Antje Lorch @ifrik
9. about you
10. Disclaimers Drupal has come a long way. I only mention modules I actually like and want to use.
11. Usability
12. Results of bad usability • Frustration and wasted time • Unnecessary workaround & over-complication • Security problems
13. How can we make the UX better? • Raising awareness of where problems are • Fixing the small issues first ➔ And then we can deal with the bigger picture of overhauling the whole Drupal UX
14. Examples Some simple fixes, some ideas
15. What makes bad usability? • Not finding things, overlooking options • Lack of documentation • Assuming instead of knowing • Inconsistent User interface (UI) • Hard-coded work flows • Unclear requirements
16. Not Finding pages 1. No menu item
17. Permissions page “I can never, ever remember where roles and permissions are when I need to find them, get it wrong every time.” catch #2695771
18. Not Finding pages 1. No menu item 2. No tab or link
19. Migrate UI page
20. Migrate UI page #2701795
21. Not Finding pages 1. No menu item 2. No tab or link 3. Two pages on one
22. List of menu items #2520232
23. List of taxonomy terms
24. Not Finding pages 1. No menu item 2. No tab or link 3. Two pages on one 4. Generic page names
25. “Settings page”
26. What can we do?
28. What can we do? • Add an menu item for admin pages • Split structure, configuration and content on several pages • Configure access permissions for pages • Use descriptive instead of generic page names
29. Finding configuration 1. Unclear 2. Hidden 3. Hard-coded
30. Add term as child term #2751001
31. What can we do? • Not hard-coding but exposing form elements ➔ Usability testing instead of assuming user behaviour
32. Naming things 1. Same word, different meaning
33. Context Contextual filter in Views Context module Scald contexts
34. Naming things 1. Same word, different meaning 2. Different word, same meaning
35. Context & View mode Scald contexts Display Suite view mode
36. Naming things 1. Same word, different meaning 2. Different word, same meaning 3. For the developer, not the user
37. Spam control modules #2752815
38. What can we do? • Check what other modules are doing • Strive for consistency beyond your module • Name things for the user • Either refactor or stick to the chosen name
39. Idea: Glossary • glossary.yml file per module • briefly defining relevant terms per module • displayed within a Drupal site ➔ sitebuilders have the terms they need at hand #2701289
40. Consistency
41. Lists of entity types #2752849
42. What can we do? • Follow the defaults • Only divert from them with a good reason • Develop & promote UI standards
43. Documentation 1. No documentation
44. Help page
45. Documentation 1. No documentation 2. At the wrong place
46. Help texts
47. Which help where? What I need how often where to understand the concept once on help page and online documentation as a reminder a few times on admin pages to choose the right tickbox, field, format etc when I use it labels and field help drupal.org/documentation/help-text-standards
48. What can we do? • Document modules and functionality • Write help texts based on existing standards • Reduce help texts on admin pages to what's necessary
49. Idea: help.yml file • currently using hook_help: – help text is only available after the module is enabled – no real place to note external requirements – no place to provide uninstall information • making help available before module is enabled ➔ sitebuilders can refer to Help page to decide whether to use a module, but this would be without dynamic links. #2592487
50. Idea: Drush commands • currently only available outside the site – drush –help – drushcommands.com • Drush commands on help or admin page ➔ sitebuilders can progress from GUI to command line more easily
51. Summary
52. What can we do now? • Improve modules with the existing tools • Pay attention to naming and UI texts • Look beyond individual modules • Develop UI standards for modules • Work on UX issues www.drupalux.org
53. Issues #2695771 Permissions page #2701795 Migrate UI page #2701289 Glossary #2592487 Help #2520232 List menu items #2751001 Term relations #2752849 Vocabulary description #2752815 Mollom
54. Questions, ideas? Antje Lorch @ifrik #drupaldevdays @dinnerdrupal milan2016.drupaldays.org/program/sprints www.drupalux.org