usability - Multiple Nested Views in Profile: Enterprise Business Application

I'm modernizing an enterprise level business application that currently does not have a graphical user interface, it's a CHUI. The application has a customer profile screen with a persistent profile header, basic info (name, customer number, etc.), and a details area.

This details area can have multiple actions to view related content below it. When an "action" is invoked the detail view switches to show the related content, but the profile header remains persistent. Each related view can have multiple actions to view other related information views. The user can "drill" through up to 4 related information screens using these actions. Most actions that a user can take will NOT have a 4th level drill, very often will have at least 3. Four levels is the worst case scenario. Here is a diagram visualizing what currently happens:

The desire is to translate this to a single page application. That said my current solution is to translate up to three of these individual views to embedded tab sets as pictured here. The fourth level I could handle in a modal. The modal may have a number of tabs as well but will not have further drilling.

My concern is primarily with wayfinding, the user getting lost within the complex hierarchy of this page. I'm confident I can find a way to visually distinguish between the different tabsets. Does anyone have any experience with drilling to this level of related content all under a single view. I'm obviously not hot on this solution for various reasons and I'm open to other solutions/insights.

Answer

There are a few strategies that can help you with deep hierarchies, some demonstrated in this screenshot (source):

• Probably the most useful one of all


• May involve 1 or more sub levels

• Limited vertical space could be an issue, specifically with dynamic tabs

• Would be tabs are unfolded to panels stacked one on top of the other.


• In the screen shot below the white and blue-grey panels can be seen as subs.

• Is it really important for users to jump between level 1 sections? For instance, if the level 1 is a list of bank accounts do users really need to jump between them that often, or would they spend most time at level 2 and below? (note that single page applications still allow a changing content view.)

So in your particular case, possibly:

• Sidebar: level 1 and 2


• Tabs: level 3


• Stack: level 4

It's really hard to give a definite answer without really seeing the hierarchy, but I hope this helps.