Improving multiple node selection with context menus
In this article, we discover the journey of improving the selection of multiple nodes through context menus, led by myself (an experienced biotech product manager). My goal is to offer a practical insight into my approach to UX challenges and user-driven solutions. From recognizing the initial challenge to orchestrating a streamlined solution, I shed light on the full process, helping you to envision ways to enhance your own user experiences.
Challenge
Users often found themselves manually clicking each individual node and holding the control or command button to select multiple nodes, a task that frequently involved selecting numerous nodes.
The solution and process
To address this challenge, myself and an UX/UI designer embarked on a journey to explore potential solutions. After careful consideration and discussions with a developer to ensure technical feasibility, we determined that a context menu-based selection would be the ideal solution. We documented the requirements in a Jira design ticket, with our in-house UX/UI designer taking the lead in crafting the design. Collaboration extended to other product managers, customer support/application scientists, and developers to ensure a comprehensive approach.
Given the complexity of our workflows and the layered structure of nodes, the final solution was a comprehensive one. Diverse context menus needed to be adapted to various use cases, and crafting the wording for menu items proved to be an intriguing challenge. The design underwent rigorous review, involving not only myself but also another product manager and a UX/UI designer. Subsequently, I created a development Jira ticket and collaborated with development team leads to assign the task.
Feature release
Once the designed feature was presented to the developer, discussions on implementation ensued, leading to the commencement of the building phase. A feature demo was conducted by the developer, and the functionality underwent thorough internal testing on GitHub by myself and other colleagues. Following successful quality assurance testing, we rolled out the feature to all users, accompanied by a detailed feature description in our release notes. To ensure user understanding and seamless adoption, I also authored and reviewed a customer support article.
Stijntje’s attention to detail and ability to keep projects on track ensured that deadlines were met and deliverables were of high quality.
Nicola Bonzanni – Founder and Chief Product Officer ENPICOM