Proposal: Interactive tips builder #445
Description
Abstract
This proposal describes the concept of implementing an interactive tips builder for the Open edX platform. The builder will provide course administrators in Studio with a tool to create and configure various built-in blocks, such as Product Tour, Banner, Feedback, and others. The main goals of the builder are to improve the UX, provide users with timely information, guide them in using the functionality, and collect feedback directly via the Open edX Micro Frontend interfaces.
Detailed Product Proposal
https://openedx.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OEPM/pages/5350162453/Proposal+Interactive+tips+builder
Context & Background (in brief, if a Product Proposal is linked above)
The Open edX platform lacks a centralized and flexible tool for managing interactive tips. While Paragon Design System offers ready-made components to implement this functionality, it requires development time, testing, and doesn't provide centralized management through a user interface.
Given that there is no tool for working with user-generated interactive tips, this problem currently has the following consequences:
- Difficulties in adapting new users: new users may find it difficult to navigate the Open edX interfaces without interactive tips and product tours.
- Limited feedback collection capabilities: currently, it is difficult to get feedback from users after adding new functionality or content to the platform.
- Low visibility of important announcements: important messages and updates can go unnoticed if they are only placed in specific sections or sent via email.
- Implementation and maintenance costs: the course administrator cannot independently, without additional development, add the necessary components (e.g. Product Tour, Banner, Feedback), or manage the content of existing ones (e.g. Product Tour on the course overview page in Learning MFE).
The main idea is to create a universal tool that will allow course administrators in Studio to independently manage already developed and available interactive tips. This means that the user can:
- select the desired component (for example, Product Tour)
- define the Open edX pages on which it should be displayed
- add the necessary content and activate it without the need to involve developers for each individual case.
This approach will significantly automate the process of adding interactive elements to the platform, increase their manageability and provide a more comfortable user experience.
Scope & Approach (in brief, if a Product Proposal is linked above)
The new interactive tips builder aims to empower course administrators with a user-friendly interface within the Studio to create, configure, and deploy interactive guidance directly within Open edX Micro Frontend applications.
Our approach to building this feature involves:
- Developing the new page “Interactive tips builder“ in the Studio.
- Developing a set of embedded components and a robust embedding logic leveraging the frontend-component-header to seamlessly integrate interactive tips into various the Open edX Micro Frontend pages.
- Implementing a visual editor for customizing the content, styles, and behavior of interactive tips (with Paragon design tokens, this is possible directly via the Studio interface, without a rebuild or redeployment).
- Providing granular targeting capabilities. Administrators will be able to specify precisely where interactive tips appear based on criteria such as URL, platform section, content type, etc.
- Defining flexible display conditions. This will enable administrators to control when interactive tips are shown based on user status (e.g., new users), user actions, or specific timeframes.
- Managing the status of interactive tips (active, inactive, scheduled).
- Providing ability to set the priority of displaying interactive tips if several of them are activated on the same page.
- Providing ability to preview interactive tips before publishing.
- Providing ability to integrate with third-party analytics services to track interactive tips effectiveness.
Value & Impact (in brief, if a Product Proposal is linked above)
- Interactive tips and timely information will make the OeX platform more intuitive and user-friendly (similar to how the course overview page in Learning MFE provides users with a Product Tour, this can be done for other MFE pages directly from the Studio).
- Ability to target guides to different user groups.
- Built-in feedback forms will simplify the process of receiving feedback from users (in the future, an updated Course About page will appear, on which it will be possible to embed a Feedback form through the Studio where the user can evaluate their impressions of the new functionality and leave feedback).
- The ability to quickly inform users about important events and updates directly in the interface (for example, for MFE Learning, you can enable a banner that will notify about an online educational event).
Milestones and/or Epics
See proposal
Named Release
Ulmo
Timeline (in brief, if a Product Proposal is linked above)
Proposed timeline: Ulmo release
Proposed By
Raccoon Gang