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Prototype surfacing popular categories in new report form
https://trello.com/c/BZmVDcYv/39-put-more-popular-categories-at-the-top-of-the-list
This could be simply achieved with the <optgroup> component of the <select> element, allowing us to highlight a few, then reverting back to the alphabetical list.
We could A/B test this on the live site but I'm struggling to come up with a test that proves it's objectively better or worse than before. Specifically what metric are we trying to improve?
@wrightmartin could you show people this prototype in one of the questionnaires you and Jen are sending out? Asking them what they prefer maybe?
We already use optgroups for categories/subcategories that JS rewrites into two dropdowns, so it would have to interface with that. I guess the first dropdown (top level categories) could itself have an optgroup like your screenshot, whereas the underlying base one-dropdown could have Popular as its first optgroup, that would be okay I guess? Guess an issue might arise if there is confusion between a popular category that is normally a subcategory, making sure that's clear, it might not want the same wording I mean (e.g. actual categories might be "Roads > Pothole" or "Pavements > Pothole" so you'd want the popular one to be "Road pothole", although we don't currently allow two subcategories to have the same name so it might be okay).
I'd want to survey what current councils with subcategories do/have and how it would work with them as an example, and one without subcategories (presumably easier - though how would you pick 'popular' for each council, is this hardcoded? Based on what reports they've got in the db? Chosen by the council? - on this last point reading the Trello it looks like it's optional, so presumably will be handpicked)
I'd want to survey what current councils with subcategories do/have and how it would work with them as an example, and one without subcategories (presumably easier - though how would you pick 'popular' for each council, is this hardcoded? Based on what reports they've got in the db? Chosen by the council?)
Based on my experience 'popular' is never what you imagine so always requires some manual intervention. I think for cobrands we
- Allow them to turn this feature on/off
- Suggest the 3 (or 4? 3 seemed like a reasonable number) but let them edit them if they want
Guess an issue might arise if there is confusion between a popular category that is normally a subcategory, making sure that's clear, it might not want the same wording I mean (e.g. actual categories might be "Roads > Pothole" or "Pavements > Pothole" so you'd want the popular one to be "Road pothole", although we don't currently allow two subcategories to have the same name so it might be okay).
I'm not sure about this - in my mental picture this was only going to go as far as the top level category. Now looking at cobrand categories and subcategories I see that it's not that simple.
Of course we could enable this only on FMS.com to begin with, then work with each council to configure it for them in some bespoke manner?
I don't follow, sorry, if this is working with the council, then what would we be putting on .com? I doubt we'd randomly add it to some non-client council on .com, I mean; .com shows the same categories as on the council site. I think the point of this ticket was to have some way a council could pick its popular categories and then have them appear somehow. So working out how that would work with the existing categories of a council that has expressed interest in it would be good.
I don't follow, sorry, if this is working with the council, then what would we be putting on .com? I doubt we'd randomly add it to some non-client council on .com, I mean; .com shows the same categories as on the council site. I think the point of this ticket was to have some way a council could pick its popular categories and then have them appear somehow. So working out how that would work with the existing categories of a council that has expressed interest in it would be good.
Oh yeah of course 🤦
Here's how it would look for Bexley's categories (using data from the past two months)
