improving joomla's backend user experience
TRANSCRIPT
Improving Joomla’s Backend User Experience
Randy Careyweb architect, Careytech Studios
St. Paul, MinnesotaCareytech.com
Careytech.com/icue
Randy Careyweb architect, Careytech Studios
St. Paul, MinnesotaCareytech.com
Over the next few months, I will be providing further discussions and access to the usability extensions I’m creating:
Overview
1.Case for CMS Usability
2.Principles (for CMS Usability)
3.Areas to Improve (in Joomla’s backend)
4.Looking Forward
Principles
Don’t show a user options that are irrelevant
Don’t show a user options that are irrelevant
Don’t use technical or uncommon terms
Don’t use technical or uncommon terms
Use a task-based interface
Recognize difference in users:infrequent-and-casual –vs– frequent-and-engaged
Recognize difference in users:infrequent-and-casual –vs– frequent-and-engaged
Recognize different roles of users:
authors
content managers
siteadmins
authors
content managers
site admin duties
developer
One user with two roles……two separate accounts
contentmanagement
siteadministration
Assign users to the front-end …whenever possible
Areas to improve
admin template – improve navigation
improve edit screens
segment users tailored and simplified user experience
JCE profiles tailored and simplified options
!?!
Task-specific extensions intuitive edit screens for users
Areas We Can Improve
We can do better
Customizable Admin Template
Admin Praise 3
Admin Praise 3
Mission Control (Rockettheme)
Admin Praise 3
Admin Praise 3
configurable “app shelf”
Mission Control (Rockettheme)
Mission Control
Mission Control - tailoring menu bar
Mission Controlcontrolling visibility per menu items
Model - View - Controller
M V C
components / modules
components / modules
template (overriding the view)
improve edit screens
RedShop - out-of-box product edit screen
K2 - irrelevant tabs
Step 1: Add parameters to K2 category/administrator/components/com_k2/config.xml
Step 2: display new paneof parameters in category view
Step 3: overriding the two item edit screens (site and admin) so each checks parameters and displays each tab accordingly
Article Edit
Segment users into Groups
what a user can do
• Edit
• Edit• Create
• Edit• Create• Delete• Edit Status
what assets a user should be able to access
Authors, Editors, Publishers
Managers, Admins
Super Admin
ACL – 1.7
contentmanagement
siteadministration
gary gary-admin
Author
Admin
Overriding view file for Article
JCE - Profiles and Edit Options
/images/a
/documents/a
/videos/a
/images
/documents
/videos
/images/a
/docs/a
/video/a
/images
/docs
/video
Task-specific extensions
eventsRestaurant menustestimonials
specializedinventory
listing
• Fast to build
• Unintuitive steps to access• Not all info on one screen• No help text on fields• No grouping of fields• Exists as a category within edit tool, not as a stand alone app• intuitive to use
• one-step app• single screen edit
• Custom code to build or modify existing extension
Improving Joomla’s Backend User Experience
configurable Admin Template
improve edit screens
Segment users
JCE Edit Options
Task-specific extensions
Looking forward…
category branches
drag-and-drop
Help
Generate extensions
more refined front-end editing
Careytech.com/icue
Randy Careyweb architect, Careytech Studios
St. Paul, MinnesotaCareytech.com
I will be providing further discussions and access to the usability extensions I’m creating:
Improving Joomla’s Backend User Experience
Randy Careyweb architect, Careytech Studios
St. Paul, MinnesotaCareytech.com