Create better Suggested Cards [Dashboard editor]

[laupalombi]

Problem statement

We already know Dashboard creation is confusing for most new users. We are conducting research to target specifics, but one thing we already know: all current interviews had an idea of what they wanted to control (a light, a fan) and struggled to make a simple card.

The opportunity here is to improve the suggested cards flow so anyone can say what I want to control - see all the cool options available. This will attack a lot of friction problems in dashboard creation.

Scope & Boundaries

In scope

• Suggested cards flow (Dashboard editor - add card -flow or process might change - done)

Not in scope

• New cards / changes in current cards (unless critical)
• New interfaces outside of suggestion (example: no new tile card editor, if we want to direct people to tile card editor, we open it).

Foreseen solution

• We ask the user what they want to control
• We provide suggestions based on
  -- Domain /type
  -- Available features
  -- Other discoverable things
• We create the card for them

Community signals

Current interview process (40%) already saw a 100% of confusion when trying to create a card for a device they had in mind, and trying to find the best option.

Besides, there are several community signals about "dashboards needing assistance to set up".

Risks & open questions

RISKS

• very little if we scope this well
• scope creep if we go into "tutorial mode" - let's keep it simple

Appetite

Small - this is important, but another piece on a bigger puzzle. We will need several things like this one to match the global goal of making Dashboard editor more intuituve.

Execution issues

No response

Decision log

Date	Decision	Outcome

[mbb365]

A proposed (Foreseen solution) workflow with minimal deviation to the current flow but maximum impact to the outcome

Start to a community Figma space.

[laupalombi]

Yeah exactly. I would even argue we don't need the "file tree" view on a first iteration - entities can still be found in a list. But I like the idea of keeping the same schema as in Automations.

Although I'm not sure if having a "file tree" visualization (the automations one, basically) is a scope creep. I don't know, my gut feeling says no because its already built and the information should be there (entities organized by domain or device) @piitaya wdyt? of it is, let us know.

[piitaya]

We can look to re-use the same components as the automations editor.

[laupalombi]

Let's do that, but not consider it mandatory. If we end up just changing the result cards, I would feel the bet is done too.

[BBE-FR]

A possible quick win could be to slightly improve first the existing "tile suggestion" when you select an entity :

• from the already existing suggestion: only a simple tile with no option

To a small selection of tile layout allowing discovery of the main tile functionalities and features:

• "default tile" as today
• same default tile in vertical mode
• tile in horizontal with a "main feature" driven by the entity domain
• tile in vertical with a "main feature" driven by the entity domain
• tile in horizontal with the "main feature" inline

For example (just a dashboard section to illustrate what it could look like):

"main feature" being the "most used" one for the entity domain (to be determined on a domain per domain basis)

The choice of how many suggestions could be made different depending on the number of entities selected:

• full choice for one entity
• only the two/ three/four first if more than one entity selected.

from:

to:

With the number of preview to be adjusted with regard to the number of entities selected...

[piitaya]

I did some test and it will not be easy 😅

There are problems we need to solve :

1. The card preview may be difficult to integrate
   a. potential performance issue (but solvable)
   b. design issue, it can be hard to have all the element nicely fit together
2. What do we show when selecting an area or a device. Almost all cards are linked to a entity so it may be difficult/long to select a specific entity using the "target tree".