Initial layout from client was only basic content. Essentially, nothing but a loose collection of forms and what selectors and fields would be necessary for the functionality of the application. This was had only the very basic beginnings of a coherent web application.
When conducting user research, I discovered that one very important issue for the developers was knowing where within the approval process their API was. When logging in their primary question would be is my API approved or not?. When developing the dashboard page wires, it then seemed very important to address this concern. By including a prominent status bar at the top, measuring where the API was in the approval process, developers would have a clear picture of where the last API they submitted was. They could also hover over key points in the process seeing what has been approved. If they had to take any direct action, an alert would be displayed as well.
On this dashboard, developers could easily access each of the API tools necessary for them to continue their work. Further down on the page was information on the stats of the APIs that have been submitted, along with links and information to help them get started using the system and develop APIs.
When clicking on one of the API tools on the dashboard, a modal window would pop-up. This was essentially one form, divided into simple sections to create ease of use. The different “tabs” displayed would allow for the user to navigate to different sections of the form, allowing them to make changes to previous sections more readily. Each field would be validated on the fly, displaying icons such as “checks” or “crosses” with a message to alert the user which fields needed attention. A progress tracker chart would indicate where the user was in the process.
