Help users know what needs doing and what’s changed

15 July 2020 • Tags: MN004 MN014 MN021

Previously the application list was ordered by ‘last changed’. And with an option to sort by days left to respond.

Not all users understand what ‘last changed’ means and there’s not enough room to clearly explain what exactly has changed.

Users have to rely on the ‘Changed’ line along with any note’s subject (if present) and the status.

Also, letting users sort by ‘days left to respond’ is only applicable to applications in the submitted state.

If we focus the application list around what needs doing as opposed to what’s changed then users will spend less time having to configure the list to meet their needs

If we give users an activity log to see what’s changed then users who are processing applications this way will see a dedicated page to support this way of working.

How the application list works #

We removed the sort controls and ordered the list by priority as follows:

1. Deferred offers (these need dealing with as soon as the next cycle begins)
2. Applications that are approaching the deadline and will be rejected automatically if not dealt with
3. Applications that were automatically rejected because the provider didn’t respond in time
4. New applications that are waiting on the provider’s response.
5. Applications that are waiting on the candidate to accept or decline an offer or to meet conditions.
6. Successful applications where conditions have been met.
7. All other applications that don’t need action like rejected, conditions not met and declined.

Sub headings were added to make the tasks clear. This way we didn’t need a secondary view to help users know what needs doing. It’s integrated directly within the main flow.

How the activity log works #

We added an ‘activity log’ page which lists the events with most recent first.

It’s like the timeline on the application details but combined for all applications.

The events are ordered by most recent first.

If there’s something specific that’s changed, it’s displayed in context of the event.

For example, if an offer was made, the details of the offer are shown.

User needs #

Need MN004

Validated

As a provider
I need to know what’s happened to an application and when
So that I can take appropriate action

Need MN014

Validated

As a provider
I need to make decisions about applications before they’re automatically rejected
So that candidates get a resonse within a reasonable timeframe

Need MN021

Validated

As a provider
I need to know what needs doing on an application
So that I can take appropriate action

Application list ordered by priority#

Activity log#