By LigaAI PM xiangru
With the growing popularity of enterprise service track, many partners may also be doing B-end products. As a product working on the B side, I’d like to share with you some thoughts on toB product design.
In the product design of LigaAI, I am responsible for the form part. I would like to take this opportunity to write a series of articles to discuss the application of “table” components in b-side products.
One who and struggle
Before I get into the specifics of design, I want to talk about information density.
For b-end products, the complexity of information that needs to be processed by users is far greater than that for C-end products. How to use the smallest carrier to carry more information, it is a problem. The B-end product has more diverse scenarios than the C-end product. The second problem is how to use a set of functional interfaces to meet the various scenarios of different enterprises, different business models and different management methods.
Tables, recognized as one of the clearest and most efficient ways to present data, are a common user interface tool. Its information richness, practicability, and communication ability can be applied in toB products. Nearly two years of Airtable, weig table and other products of hot also confirmed this point.
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One word, corresponding to the table application, is reflected in its core function: filtering.
This is a very general method of information induction and retrieval. It is mainly applicable to scenarios where the number of data items is not controllable or there are many data categories. Its purpose is to display the information that users are concerned about and mask invalid information.
Filtering can take many forms, and I’ll illustrate some common interactions below:
01 Tab
For some filter conditions that are frequently used and have high weight, it is suggested that they be fixed in the toolbar as TAB, as shown in the figure below:
When it comes to TAB filtering, use it with caution and be sure that the TAB you provide is the one that users use most frequently and are most concerned about. At the same time, it is also necessary to follow the 7±2 rule, not to tile too many option values, otherwise it will cause information noise, but reduce the user’s retrieval efficiency. TAB option values should also be sorted from the highest to the lowest by the frequency of user selection, with the default value generally being full data (or the most frequently viewed data in this scenario).
Tips: To learn more about the “7±2 Rule”, please follow the OFFICIAL account of LigaAI, reply 7+2 or 7-2 in the background for detailed introduction
02 Global drop-down list box
For some high-weight filters, but because of the large number of options or more flexible, or the need to select multiple, TAB does not adapt to the case, you can use the global drop-down filter, as shown in the following figure:
Compared to TAB, global dropdown is more flexible, option values can be fixed or user-defined; The disadvantages are that the interaction is relatively hidden, higher learning costs are required, and the display of option values is not intuitive.
Similarly, the global pull-down needs to ensure that the filter conditions are the most weighted. Also, in general, it is not recommended to have a submit button for the global drop down, otherwise the interaction path will be too long.
03 group
Grouping is a relatively heavy form of interaction, which is suitable for the situation where the content is clearly distinguishable and the scene between groups is quite different. The most common examples: mail grouping, or view switching.
04 Hide and Filter
For low-frequency filter operation, highly flexible filter conditions, or the use of advanced filter (including operation rules), the filter conditions can be hidden, only one entrance can be provided, and the filter function can be realized through the form of modal elastic box:
05 Table header filtering
Header filtering is a relatively advanced interaction. This filter is usually used when the user has a filter request for each column of the table:
- Space is limited or tables are flexible;
- Users may have filtering requirements for each column (e.g., data reports, Excel).
Or if the requirements of user screening are not clear enough in product planning, data can also be collected in this mode to analyze the usage frequency and guide the interface optimization in the later stage.
06 Tiling screening
In the case of high frequency screening operation, it is recommended to tile the screening conditions, which is also the most common form of screening:
Tiled filter controls are the most universal, and tiling is always a good choice when nothing else is better. Be careful not to overfilter (follow the 7±2 rule).
When you do need to support a large number of filters, there are two solutions: 1. User-defined filtering conditions: For users, a single filtering condition is limited. Through configurable filtering conditions, the balance between retrieval efficiency and information noise is realized, which can better support the experience and application of user-defined items. 2. Hidden low frequency screening conditions: This method needs to have a clear grasp of the user needs, which screening conditions are high frequency, which are low frequency need to have a clear boundary, the advantage is that the user can get started quickly when the first use.
Of course, the optimal solution of table filtering in user experience is to realize intelligent adaptation according to users’ preferences. For example, users are recommended to filter combinations according to their usage habits, and information is displayed and retrieved in thousands of ways.
At the moment, there are very few products on the market that do this. But personalization, intelligence, should be the next generation of commercial software needs to explore the direction.
In three minds there is no sword
To sum up, the various forms of table screening have their advantages and disadvantages, and it is necessary to understand the principles behind the various specifications and methods when designing products. It’s also important to remember that there are no absolute rules, only relative rules. There is a state in the swordsman, called hands without sword, no sword in the heart, the sword is meant to heart, harmony. In our product design process, we must not be limited to the form. We should deeply understand the business scenario, accurately grasp the user needs, and flexibly use scientific methods such as data analysis and A/B testing to continuously experiment the best interactive form and maximize the product value. Above, this issue mainly talked about the table screening part, hope you can harvest, in the future I will continue to organize the table head, cells, paging and other parts of the design thinking. You can follow the LigaAI official account, or subscribe to our CSDN, stay tuned ~
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