Design around the next action.
Build screens, forms, and workflows that help people understand their situation and finish the task.
A useful place to start.
A short reading path
- 01Design an internal tool around the next action
Identify the decision each screen supports.
- 02Ask for the right information in a contact form
Collect the information needed for the next step.
- 03Use empty states to explain what happens next
Make empty, failed, and restricted states understandable.
Explore the topic.
Design an internal tool around the next actionAn internal tool earns its place by helping someone complete work. The most useful screen often makes the next decision obvious rather than presenting every available field equally.Ask for the right information in a contact formA contact form should gather enough information to route and answer an inquiry. Every extra required field should have a clear purpose in that first conversation.Use empty states to explain what happens nextAn empty screen can mean several things: no records exist, a filter matches nothing, data is loading, or access is restricted. Treating all of them as “Nothing here” leaves the user to guess.Make approval workflows explicitAn approval is a decision with an owner, a scope, and a consequence. A checkbox labeled “approved” rarely describes enough of the process to support real operational work.Show application status in language people can act onA status label should help someone understand where work stands. Internal implementation terms can be accurate yet still leave the person unsure whether to wait, retry, or contact someone.Define what search needs to findSearch is a collection of product decisions about matching, permissions, and presentation. Adding a search box before defining those decisions can produce results that are technically valid and operationally frustrating.Give each dashboard a decision to supportA dashboard becomes useful when it helps a particular person notice a condition and decide what to do. Displaying all available metrics often makes that task harder.Write error messages that help people recoverAn error message is part of the workflow. It should describe what the person needs to know, preserve their work where possible, and offer a next step the system can actually support.Make bulk actions inspectable and recoverableA bulk action multiplies both useful work and mistakes. Its design should help people understand the selected records, the effect of the operation, and the outcome of each item.Treat administration screens as part of the productAdministration screens shape how a system is supported and corrected. Leaving them until the end often turns routine operational work into ad hoc scripts and direct database edits.
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Application development
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The Gray platform
Explore the language and runtime behind Gray, including the engineering choices that support application behavior.
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