PageScaffold Component: Standardized Layouts In Shared UI

by Alex Johnson 58 views

Standardizing page layouts across applications is crucial for maintaining consistency and improving user experience. This article delves into the implementation of a PageScaffold component within the @morningai/shared-ui library. This component aims to enforce a unified page structure, ensuring a consistent look and feel across all applications.

Background: The Need for Standardized Layouts

In many projects, including the Owner Console and frontend-dashboard, individual pages often implement their own unique layout structures. This ad-hoc approach can lead to several inconsistencies, such as variations in title placement, styling, KPI row positioning, content area spacing, and responsive behavior. These inconsistencies can create a fragmented user experience and increase the maintenance burden.

A PageScaffold component addresses these issues by providing a blueprint for page structure. By enforcing a consistent layout, the component ensures that all pages adhere to a predefined standard. This not only improves the visual coherence of the application but also simplifies development and maintenance. A standardized layout makes it easier for users to navigate and interact with the application, as they can expect elements to be in predictable locations. Moreover, a PageScaffold component can encapsulate common layout logic, reducing code duplication and making the codebase more maintainable.

Consistent styling and structure are essential for creating a professional and user-friendly application. When elements are placed in familiar positions and styled uniformly, users can focus on the content rather than trying to understand the interface. This consistency is particularly important for complex applications with many different pages and sections. By using a PageScaffold component, developers can ensure that the application presents a cohesive and intuitive experience to the user.

Furthermore, a standardized layout facilitates responsive design. By defining a clear structure, the PageScaffold component can ensure that pages adapt gracefully to different screen sizes and devices. This is crucial in today's multi-device world, where users may access the application from desktops, tablets, and smartphones. A consistent responsive behavior ensures that the application remains usable and visually appealing regardless of the device being used.

Finally, implementing a PageScaffold component promotes code reuse and reduces the risk of errors. By centralizing layout logic, developers can avoid duplicating code across multiple pages. This not only saves time and effort but also makes it easier to maintain and update the application. When a change is needed, it can be made in one place, ensuring that all pages are updated consistently.

Proposed API: Flexibility and Ease of Use

The proposed API for the PageScaffold component is designed to be both flexible and easy to use. It leverages the power of React's component model to provide a clear and intuitive way to define page layouts. The component supports several slots, allowing developers to inject different elements into predefined areas of the page. This approach ensures that the overall structure remains consistent while allowing for customization within specific regions.

<PageScaffold
 title={t("Tenant Management")}
 kpis={<TenantsKpiRow data={kpi} />}
 actions={<Button>Add Tenant</Button>}
>
 <TenantSection tenants={list} />
</PageScaffold>

This example demonstrates how the PageScaffold component can be used to create a page for managing tenants. The title prop sets the page title, the kpis prop displays key performance indicators, the actions prop provides a space for buttons or other interactive elements, and the children prop is used to render the main content of the page.

The use of slots like title, kpis, and actions provides a structured way to organize page elements. The title slot ensures that every page has a clear and consistent heading. The kpis slot allows for the display of relevant metrics, providing users with a quick overview of the current state. The actions slot offers a convenient place for buttons and other controls, making it easy for users to interact with the page.

The children prop is a standard React pattern that allows the PageScaffold component to render any content within its main area. This flexibility makes it possible to create a wide variety of pages using the same underlying structure. Whether the page displays a list of items, a form, or a complex dashboard, the PageScaffold component can accommodate it.

This API design promotes a consistent and predictable layout across all pages. By using the PageScaffold component, developers can ensure that pages have a uniform look and feel, making the application more user-friendly. The clear separation of concerns also simplifies development and maintenance, as changes to the layout can be made in one place without affecting the content of individual pages.

Furthermore, the API is designed to be intuitive and easy to learn. The use of familiar React patterns, such as props and children, makes it simple for developers to understand and use the component. The clear naming of slots, such as title, kpis, and actions, further enhances usability.

Acceptance Criteria: Ensuring Quality and Completeness

To ensure the successful implementation of the PageScaffold component, a set of acceptance criteria has been defined. These criteria outline the key requirements that the component must meet before it can be considered complete. By adhering to these criteria, we can guarantee the quality and reliability of the component.

  • Create PageScaffold component: The first step is to create the PageScaffold component within the packages/shared-ui/src/components/ui/ directory. This involves writing the necessary code to define the component's structure, functionality, and API.
  • Support Slots: The component must support the following slots: title, kpis, actions, and children. Each slot should provide a designated area within the page layout for rendering specific types of content. The title slot is for the page title, the kpis slot is for key performance indicators, the actions slot is for buttons and other interactive elements, and the children slot is for the main content of the page.
  • Integrate with AdminShell: The PageScaffold component should integrate seamlessly with the AdminShell component. This integration ensures a consistent layout across all pages within the admin interface. The AdminShell component likely provides the overall structure and navigation for the admin interface, and the PageScaffold component should fit within this structure.
  • Add Storybook Stories: Storybook stories should be added to demonstrate the usage of the PageScaffold component. Storybook is a tool for developing and showcasing UI components in isolation. By creating stories for the PageScaffold component, developers can easily see how it works and how to use it in different scenarios. These stories should cover various use cases and configurations of the component.
  • Migrate an Owner Console page: As a proof of concept, at least one page from the Owner Console should be migrated to use the PageScaffold component. This migration will validate the component's functionality and ensure that it meets the needs of a real-world application. The selected page should be representative of the types of pages that will use the component.
  • Document in docs/ui-ux/standard.md: The PageScaffold component should be documented in the docs/ui-ux/standard.md file. This documentation should provide a comprehensive overview of the component, including its purpose, API, and usage examples. Clear and concise documentation is essential for making the component easy to understand and use.

These acceptance criteria cover the key aspects of the PageScaffold component, from its basic functionality to its integration with existing systems and documentation. By meeting these criteria, we can ensure that the component is well-designed, well-tested, and easy to use.

Pages to Analyze: Identifying Common Patterns

To ensure that the PageScaffold component meets the needs of the application, it is essential to analyze existing pages and identify common layout patterns. This analysis will help us understand how pages are currently structured and what elements they typically contain. By identifying these patterns, we can design the PageScaffold component to accommodate the most common use cases.

The following pages have been identified as key examples to analyze:

  • owner-console/src/pages/OwnerDashboard.jsx
  • owner-console/src/pages/ApprovalQueue.jsx
  • owner-console/src/pages/AgentGovernance.jsx

By examining these pages, we can gain insights into the common elements and structures that are used across the application. This includes things like the placement of titles, the display of KPIs, the presence of action buttons, and the overall layout of content.

For example, the analysis might reveal that most pages include a title at the top, followed by a row of KPIs providing key metrics. Many pages may also include a set of action buttons that allow users to perform specific tasks. The main content of the page might be displayed in a grid or list format.

By understanding these common patterns, we can design the PageScaffold component to provide a flexible and reusable structure that accommodates the majority of pages. This will help ensure that the component is widely adopted and that the application maintains a consistent look and feel.

This analysis also helps in identifying any specific requirements or edge cases that the PageScaffold component needs to address. For example, some pages may have unique layout requirements or may contain elements that are not present on other pages. By identifying these exceptions, we can ensure that the PageScaffold component is flexible enough to handle a wide range of scenarios.

Priority and Labels: Guiding Development Efforts

To effectively manage the development of the PageScaffold component, it is important to assign a priority and apply relevant labels. This helps to ensure that the component is developed in a timely manner and that it is properly categorized and tracked.

The priority for this task has been set to P1 - Near-term. This indicates that the component is considered a high priority and should be developed in the near future. A near-term priority suggests that the component is critical for the success of the project and that it should be addressed as soon as possible.

This priority reflects the importance of standardizing page layouts across the application. By implementing the PageScaffold component, we can improve the consistency and usability of the application, making it easier for users to navigate and interact with. This is a key step in creating a professional and user-friendly application.

In addition to the priority, several labels have been assigned to this task:

  • enhancement: This label indicates that the task is an enhancement to the existing system. The PageScaffold component is not replacing any existing functionality but rather adding a new feature that improves the overall application.
  • design-system: This label highlights the importance of the component in the design system. The PageScaffold component is a key part of the design system, providing a standardized structure for pages and ensuring a consistent look and feel across the application.
  • shared-ui: This label indicates that the component is part of the shared UI library. The @morningai/shared-ui library is a collection of reusable UI components that can be used across multiple applications. By placing the PageScaffold component in this library, we can ensure that it is available to all projects that need it.

These labels help to categorize and track the task, making it easier to manage and prioritize. They also provide additional context about the purpose and scope of the task.

Conclusion

Implementing a PageScaffold component is a significant step towards creating a consistent and user-friendly application. By enforcing standardized page layouts, this component will improve the overall user experience, reduce maintenance costs, and promote code reuse. The proposed API is designed to be flexible and easy to use, while the acceptance criteria ensure the quality and completeness of the component. By analyzing existing pages and identifying common patterns, we can design a component that meets the needs of the application. The assigned priority and labels help to guide development efforts and ensure that the component is developed in a timely manner.

To further explore best practices in UI component design and standardization, consider visiting Material Design for comprehensive guidelines and examples.