Discussion on MODX Manager changes

Hello everyone,

TL;DR Version:
Who uses MODX Manager and for what?

Details
Based on conversations that took place in Utrecht (that I didn't attend, but was fortunate to see the videos thanks to http://modxpo.eu), a topic that was brought up was that some people felt there were improvements that could be made to the manager.

I wanted to start a series of discussions on what we as a community would like to see with respect to the manager. I feel that instead of discussing how something gets done we should first focus on identifying who uses the manager and why.

I fully admit to being ignorant in this regard. I am using MODX to build an application which is a different beast than building a website. However at some point in time I'll turn my app over to clients and I want them to be able to take care of as much as they can. So my plan is to come up with an alternate manager for them. However I want this to be something that I would want to donate to the community so I want this to be something the community could use as well.

So, to facilitate a discussion on the uses of manager, I've come up with a list of discussion points for everyone to get on the same page.

First I'll pose the discussion questions and then I post my personal thoughts as a reply.

1. What different groups of users access the manager
2. What is their role? Aka what do they do with it?
3. In the context of the client what function do they serve in the company?
4. In a perfect world, who does what may be different than currently is the case. What barriers exist to prevent us from getting closer to this perfect world?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Regards,
Tom

What different groups of users access the manager
Designers and developers often make full use of the manager
Client staff sometimes set security
client staff sometimes set up users, unlock lock users

What is their role? Aka what do they do with it?
In smaller organizations the admin role falls to whomever is deemed the "most technical" which probably doesn't mean much, or they call the designer/developer. In larger organizations, they have staff better equipped.

In the context of the client what function do they serve in the company?
in smaller organizations, they could be someone who wears a bunch of different hats. In a larger organization, it is usually someone who may have some technical position, but not necessarily in web technologies.

In a perfect world, who does what may be different than currently is the case. What barriers exist to prevent us from getting closer to this perfect world?
More administration work could be given to the client if those less technical could wrap their heads around it.

(note, these are just my guesses).

Regards,
Tom

I've been looking for inspiration for the new Manager's UI improvements and today I'll propose taking a deep look at the new Outlook.com.

You've all seen it and to borrow a line from Gizmodo's Sam Biddle, Microsoft did the impossible with it.

Here's what I like about the new Outlook.com and hope could be considered in designing the new Manager:

• CLEAN AND FLAT DESIGN
• SOLID COLORS
• EFFICIENT NAVIGATION

This is 2013: nothing says simple, clean and elegant better than a Flat design.
I love how the new outlook.com's design stays out your way without sacrificing functionality.
It's so clean, so simple and yet so convenient.

From the color balance to the extra breathing room - it seems nothing was left unthought of.
This is a near-perfect execution of a great design plan.

Here's the good news though: Revo's current UI is pretty good.
We should keep the layout, but improve it's look and feel.

I say we, because I despise I.

Moving on...

A few suggestions for today:

Flat design and solid colors
The days of gradients and bevels are numbered. Not convinced yet?
Just login to your new outlook.com account and tell me if you really miss
the old days.

Merge the brand bar with the main navigation bar.
This will save us a good 35 pixels or so of horizontal space.
Let's avoid wasteful spending. Pixels are expensive.

The new merged brand bar could be complimented by a nice solid green (#17312f).
in the background just like the one used in the new Discuss Forums Masthead.
I would forgive us if we added that muted wavy thingy in the background
for branding reasons.

The logo could be placed on the far left of the brand bar.
The Site name should occupy the logo's old place;
right next to the username. That's really where it belongs.
The version info can take a hike - it's already available in System Info section.
But if you insist on keeping it, it could be revealed by hovering the logo.

Smart and Efficient Navigation

A merged brand bar begs for a smart and efficient navigation menu.

By smart I mean a section-relevant menu that adapts to
the section being browsed. (More on this in my next post).

By efficient I mean less. Some menu items don't need to be omnipresent.
We surely don't need a user menu item. Nowadays even babies know
what to expect when clicking on a username.

Why don't we replace the support menu item with an innocent help icon
that reveals more options in a drop down menu?
We should place that help icon right next to the username.
We should do the same with reports.
A nice pie or graph icon will mean a thousand words.

I propose Bootstrap 3 for MODX 3.
It's free, feature rich, frequently updated
and it's everything else you know.

Running out of time. To be continued...

The poetry I meant.

Hi Treigh,

Thanks for your response!

I agree with your assessment of outlook.com, although I respectfully disagree about gradients: that's probably because I'm still naive enough to be fascinated by them.

I'll look more into Bootstrap 3.

Here's something to bounce off of you and anyone else kind enough to read and post to this: MODX is all about Creative Freedom. So why not have an extra which is a site for the manager?

So, you have a site which is about whatever; it has its own installation. Then you have a separate site which acts as a manager to the first site. Your second site would merely handle the manager for the first site. That way, instead of being restricted to the manager as it comes shipped, you can create your own manager(s): one for designers and developers, one for end users who just want to blog, or just want to perform user set-up functions, etc. That way, you can tailor the development/design/administration experience to your particular audience.

The other thing is that because we'd need to still create it, we'd think of the manager site as another site, and we'd still have the default manager to fall back on if we designed ourselves into a corner.

Please keep the ideas coming!

Regards,
Tom