Next-gens - User Flow

Project Description
Create a dashboard page that monitors API connections.

User Flow
USERFLOW
1. Introduction This section details the primary user journeys, screen interac-
tions, and conceptual wireframe descriptions for the Next-gens API Moni-
toring Dashboard. The goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding
of how users will interact with the system to monitor API connections,
identify issues, and manage alerts. The design emphasizes a modern, intu-
itive experience with a good tone, supporting both dark and light themes,
and utilizing a green and black color palette.
2. User Roles
• API Developer: Focuses on specific APIs they are responsible for, de-
bugging performance issues, and verifying deployments.
• Operations Engineer: Monitors the overall health of all API connec-
tions, identifies systemic issues, and manages alert configurations for proac-
tive incident response.
3. General Interaction Principles
• Responsive Design: The dashboard will be accessible and usable across
various screen sizes.
• Theme Toggle: A prominent control will allow users to switch between
Dark and Light themes, with the selection persisting across sessions.
• Modern UI: Clean, intuitive, and visually appealing interface adhering
to modern dashboard design patterns.
• Color Palette: Predominantly green and black tones, used thoughtfully
to highlight important data, statuses, and interactive elements.
• Tone of Voice: All user-facing text, including error messages and confir-
mations, will maintain a helpful and professional “good tone.”
4. User Flows
A. Flow: Initial Access & Dashboard Overview * User Goal: Gain
immediate high-level insight into the overall health and performance of all mon-
itored APIs. * Trigger: User navigates to the “Next-gens” dashboard URL in
their web browser. * Steps: 1. Authentication (if not already logged in):
The user is directed to the configured Identity Provider (IdP) login page. Upon
successful authentication, they are redirected to the dashboard. 2. Dashboard
Loading: A full-page loading spinner is displayed with the message “Loading
API Insights…” until data is fetched. 3. Overview Display: The main dash-
board view loads, presenting: * Global Status Header: A prominent banner

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indicating overall system health (e.g., “All Systems Green,” “Degraded,” “Crit-
ical”) and aggregated key metrics (Overall Average Latency, Total Error Rate,
Total Throughput) for the chosen time range. * “APIs at a Glance” Ta-
ble/List: A sortable and filterable table or list of all monitored APIs. Each row
displays API Name, Current Health Status (visual indicator: green for healthy,
yellow for degraded, red for critical), Average Latency, Error Rate, and the Last
Updated timestamp. Quick filters (e.g., “Show only Critical APIs”) are avail-
able. * Trend Charts: Small-scale time-series charts displaying global trends
for key metrics like overall Error Rate and Average Latency over the last 24
hours, providing quick visual context. * Recent Alerts Widget: A dedicated
card or section listing the most recent critical or warning alerts, with links to
the corresponding API details page or alert management. 4. Interaction: The
user can click on any API entry in the “APIs at a Glance” table to navigate to
that specific API’s detailed view. * Expected Outcome: The user quickly as-
sesses the overall API landscape and identifies any immediate areas of concern,
enabling them to decide whether to investigate further.
B. Flow: Viewing Specific API Details * User Goal: Perform a deep dive
into the performance, metrics, and configuration of a single API to diagnose is-
sues or review health. * Trigger: User clicks on an API name from the “APIs
at a Glance” list on the Dashboard Overview, or uses the global search/filter to
select an API. * Steps: 1. API Details Page Load: The browser navigates to
a dedicated page for the selected API (e.g., /apis/{apiId}). 2. API Header
& Actions: A header displays the API’s Name, a brief Description, its primary
Endpoint URL, and its current detailed Health Status. Quick action buttons
like “View Configuration,” “Manage Alerts,” or “View Related Services” are
available. 3. Metrics & Charts: The core of the page displays detailed, inter-
active time-series charts for: * Latency: Average, P95, and P99 latency, with
configurable time ranges (e.g., Last 1 hour, 6 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, Custom).
* Error Rate: Percentage of requests resulting in errors. * Throughput:
Requests per second (RPS) or Requests per minute (RPM). * Connection
Counts: Number of active connections. * Status Code Breakdown: A
breakdown of HTTP status codes (2xx, 4xx, 5xx) over time, potentially as
a stacked area chart or pie chart. * Payload Size Distribution: Average,
minimum, and maximum payload sizes for requests/responses. * Interaction:
Users can hover over chart points for specific data, zoom in on time ranges,
and switch between different metric views. 4. Request Logs/Traces (Inte-
grated): A section or tab displaying recent individual API requests, including
Request ID, Timestamp, Latency, Status Code, and IP Address. This section
will include direct links to external log aggregation (e.g., ELK Stack, Splunk) or
distributed tracing systems (e.g., Jaeger, OpenTelemetry) for a deeper forensic
analysis of specific requests. 5. Configuration & Settings (Tab/Section):
A dedicated area or tab to view/edit API-specific settings, including alert rules,
associated teams/owners, and documentation links (e.g., OpenAPI specifica-
tion). 6. Related Services/Dependencies (Optional): If integration data
is available, a visual representation or list of upstream and downstream services

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that this API interacts with, showing their health statuses. * Expected Out-
come: The user gains a comprehensive understanding of the API’s current and
historical performance, enabling them to pinpoint the source of issues or analyze
trends effectively.
C. Flow: Filtering, Searching & Customizing Views * User Goal: Ef-
ficiently locate specific APIs or customize their view of the dashboard to fo-
cus on relevant data. * Trigger: User is on the Dashboard Overview or an
API List page. * Steps: 1. Global Search Bar: A prominent search bar
(e.g., in the top navigation or above the API list) allows users to type in API
names, descriptions, or tags. * Interaction: As the user types, the API list
or relevant data dynamically filters to show matching results. 2. Advanced
Filters: A dedicated filter panel (e.g., on the left sidebar or as a dropdown)
provides options to filter by: * Health Status: Healthy, Degraded, Critical. *
Team/Owner: Associated development or operations teams. * Tags: Custom
tags assigned to APIs (e.g., “External-facing,” “Internal-service,” “Payment-
processor”). * Metric Thresholds: Filter APIs based on current Latency (>
X ms) or Error Rate (> Y%). * Interaction: Users select one or more filter
criteria, and the displayed data updates instantly. 3. Table Column Cus-
tomization: For tabular views (like “APIs at a Glance”), a “Columns” selector
allows users to choose which metrics or data points are visible in the table (e.g.,
show/hide P99 Latency, Request per second, Connection Count). * Interac-
tion: User checks/unchecks desired columns; the table adjusts dynamically. 4.
Save/Load Custom Views: After applying a set of filters and column cus-
tomizations, the user can click a “Save View” button. * Interaction: A modal
prompts for a “View Name.” Saved views are then accessible from a dropdown
or list for quick re-application. * Expected Outcome: The user can quickly
narrow down the vast amount of monitoring data to precisely what is relevant
to their current task, improving efficiency.
D. Flow: Setting Up & Managing Alerts * User Goal: Proactively con-
figure notifications for API performance issues to ensure timely awareness and
response. * Trigger: User navigates to the “Alerts” section from the main
navigation or clicks “Manage Alerts” from an API’s detail page. * Steps: 1.
Alert Rules List: A table displays all existing alert rules, showing their Name,
Target API(s)/Groups, Trigger Condition, Severity, and configured Notification
Channels. Options to “Edit,” “Duplicate,” or “Delete” each rule are available.
2. Create New Alert Rule: User clicks an “Add New Alert Rule” button. 3.
Alert Configuration Form: A multi-step or single-page form guides the user
through defining a new alert: * Target Selection: Choose whether the alert
applies to “All APIs,” “Specific API(s)” (multi-select dropdown), or “APIs with
Tag(s).” This allows for granular or broad alerting. * Metric & Condition:
Select the metric to monitor (Latency, Error Rate, Throughput, Status Codes,
Connection Count). Then define the condition (e.g., “Error Rate IS GREATER
THAN 5%” or “Latency (P99) IS GREATER THAN 200ms”). * Time Win-
dow: Specify the duration over which the condition must persist to trigger the
alert (e.g., “over 5 minutes,” “over 10 data points”). * Severity: Assign a

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severity level (e.g., “Warning,” “Critical”). * Notification Channels: Select
one or more channels for notifications. Common integrations include: * Email:
Input recipient email addresses or select from predefined groups. * Slack: Select
a Slack channel or user via integration. * PagerDuty/Opsgenie: Configure
integration-specific routing keys or service IDs. * Webhook: Provide a callback
URL for custom integrations. * Custom Message/Context: An optional text
area for users to add specific instructions or context to the alert message (e.g.,
“Check database connection pool”). 4. Save & Test: User clicks “Save Rule.”
An optional “Test Notification” button sends a sample alert to the configured
channels to verify setup. * Expected Outcome: The user successfully con-
figures alert rules that will proactively notify them and their teams when API
performance deviates from expected baselines, facilitating rapid response.
E. Flow: Responding to an Alert & Error Screen * User Goal: Under-
stand the nature of an alert, access relevant diagnostic information, and initiate
the resolution process efficiently. * Trigger (via Notification): User receives
an alert notification (email, Slack, PagerDuty). The notification contains essen-
tial details and a direct link to the affected API’s details page on the dashboard.
* Steps (via Notification Link): 1. Direct Navigation: The link in the
notification opens the API Details page for the API that triggered the alert. 2.
Prominent Error State: The page prominently highlights the “CRITICAL”
or “WARNING” status, with visual cues (e.g., red banners, flashing indicators
on charts) directing attention to the breaching metric. The alert rule that
triggered is clearly displayed. 3. Alert Details Card: A dedicated card or
section provides a summary of the active alert: Alert Name, Trigger Condition,
Timestamp of first occurrence, Current Severity, and the custom message (if
configured). 4. Recommended Actions/Runbook Integration: Depend-
ing on configurations, this section may display suggested troubleshooting steps,
links to internal runbooks, or direct integration buttons to incident management
tools (e.g., “Create PagerDuty Incident,” “Open JIRA Ticket”). 5. Acknowl-
edge/Resolve Buttons: Buttons allowing the user to “Acknowledge” the alert
(to indicate they are handling it) or “Resolve” it (if the issue is fixed). These
actions can update the alert status in integrated incident management systems.
6. Quick Links: Immediate access to “View Logs,” “View Traces,” or “View
API Configuration” for deeper investigation. * Trigger (via Dashboard):
User observes a “Critical” or “Degraded” status indicator on the Dashboard
Overview’s API list or sees a new entry in the “Recent Alerts” widget. * Steps
(via Dashboard): 1. Click API/Alert: User clicks on the critical API entry
or the alert in the widget. 2. Proceed to Step 2 (Prominent Error State)
above. * Error Screen (for application issues): * Trigger: An internal
error occurs within the Next-gens dashboard application itself (e.g., API call to
fetch dashboard data fails, rendering issue). * Display: A full-page, branded
error screen replaces the intended content. * Content: * A friendly, good-tone
message: “Oops! Something Went Wrong.” * Explanation: “We’re sorry, but
there was an issue loading this page or data. Our team has been notified.” *
Error Reference ID: A unique identifier for the specific error, allowing for easier

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debugging by support. * Suggested Actions: “Please try refreshing the page.”
“If the problem persists, please contact support.” * Navigation Options: “Go
to Dashboard” (attempt to navigate to the overview) and “Contact Support”
(link to support portal/email). * Expected Outcome: The user is quickly
informed of the problem, provided with context, and guided towards necessary
diagnostic tools and resolution actions, minimizing downtime.
F. Flow: Toggling Dark/Light Theme * User Goal: Adjust the dash-
board’s visual theme to suit personal preference or environmental lighting con-
ditions. * Trigger: User is on any page of the dashboard and wishes to change
the visual theme. * Steps: 1. Locate Theme Toggle: The user identifies a
dedicated “Theme Switcher” icon (e.g., a sun/moon icon) typically located in
the global header or within the user profile dropdown menu. 2. Interaction:
The user clicks or taps on the theme switcher icon. 3. Theme Transition:
The entire dashboard UI immediately and smoothly transitions its color scheme
from Dark to Light, or Light to Dark, maintaining the green and black brand
accents within the chosen theme’s palette. 4. Persistence: The selected theme
preference is saved (e.g., in local storage or user profile settings) and will auto-
matically apply on subsequent visits to the dashboard. * Expected Outcome:
The dashboard is displayed in the user’s preferred visual theme, enhancing com-
fort and readability.
5. Wireframe Descriptions (Conceptual)
A. Dashboard Overview * Layout: Three main regions: a persistent top
navigation bar, an optional left-hand sidebar for primary navigation, and a
large central content area. * Top Nav: Contains the “Next-gens” logo, global
search bar, user profile avatar/menu, and the Theme Toggle icon (sun/moon).
* Left Sidebar: Navigational links for “Dashboard,” “APIs,” “Alerts,” “Set-
tings.” Collapsible. * Central Content: At the top, a prominent status banner
for overall system health. Below, a row of aggregate metric cards (Overall La-
tency, Error Rate, Throughput). Following this, the “APIs at a Glance” table
occupies the majority of the space, with search/filter controls directly above it.
A “Recent Alerts” card is positioned on the right or below the API table. * UI
Elements: Data presented within modern “cards.” Green/black color accents
for status indicators, active navigation items, and call-to-action buttons. Clear
typography. Interactive table headers for sorting.
B. API Details Page * Layout: Similar to the overview with Top Nav and
Left Sidebar. The central content area is dedicated to a single API. * Header:
API Name as a large title, with a smaller description and endpoint URL below.
A health status badge (e.g., “Healthy” in green, “Critical” in red) is prominent.
Action buttons (e.g., “Manage Alerts,” “View Configuration”) are next to the
header. * Tabs/Sections: Content is organized into tabs or scrollable sections
(e.g., “Overview,” “Metrics,” “Logs & Traces,” “Settings”). * “Metrics” Tab:
Dominant space is given to large, interactive time-series charts (Latency, Error
Rate, Throughput, Connections). A time-range selector is positioned above the
charts. Below the charts, smaller visualizations or tables for Status Code Break-

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down and Payload Size Distribution. * “Logs & Traces” Tab: A table-like
display of recent requests for this API, with columns for Timestamp, Request
ID, Status Code, Latency, etc. A “View Full Log” or “Trace” button/link for
each entry directs to external systems. * UI Elements: High-fidelity charts
with tooltips on hover. Clear data tables with filtering options. Distinct visual
separation between sections.
C. Alert Configuration Form * Layout: A guided form, potentially multi-
step, within the central content area. * Form Fields: Clearly labeled input
fields for “Alert Name,” dropdowns for “Target API(s)/Group,” “Metric,” “Con-
dition Operator,” “Value,” and “Time Window.” Radio buttons or checkboxes
for “Severity.” * Notification Channels: A section with checkboxes for Email,
Slack, Webhook, PagerDuty, etc., with associated input fields or dropdowns
appearing when a channel is selected. * Call-to-Action: “Save Rule” and
“Cancel” buttons at the bottom. An optional “Test Notification” button. * UI
Elements: Standard form controls. Consistent use of green for primary actions.
Informative tooltips next to complex fields.
6. Interaction Patterns
• Data Refresh: The dashboard will feature automatic data refresh (e.g.,
every 30-60 seconds) for real-time monitoring, indicated by a subtle times-
tamp or refresh icon. A manual “Refresh” button will also be available.
• Tooltips: Interactive tooltips will appear on hover over charts, table
headers, icons, and specific data points to provide additional context, def-
initions, or detailed values.
• Drill-down: Clicking on aggregate numbers, chart segments (e.g., a spe-
cific status code slice in a pie chart), or list items will typically navigate
the user to a more granular view or filter the current view accordingly.
• Time Range Selection: A consistent, easily accessible time-range se-
lector (e.g., dropdown with options like “Last 1 Hour,” “Last 24 Hours,”
“Last 7 Days,” “Custom Range”) will be present on all pages displaying
time-series data.
• Sortable Tables: All data tables will allow users to sort rows by clicking
on column headers, toggling between ascending and descending order.
• Loading States: Clear loading indicators (e.g., spinners, skeleton
screens) will be displayed in data-fetching areas to inform the user that
content is being loaded, preventing perceived lag.
• Empty States: When no data is available (e.g., no APIs configured yet,
no alerts triggered), friendly and informative messages will be displayed,
often with a call-to-action to help the user get started (e.g., “No APIs
found. Click here to add your first API.”). These will maintain the good
tone.
• In-App Notifications (Toasts): Small, temporary notifications (toast
messages) will appear at the top or bottom of the screen to confirm suc-
cessful actions (e.g., “Alert rule created!”), provide minor warnings, or
deliver general information without disrupting the workflow.

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• Error Handling (User Input): Form fields will include real-time vali-
dation feedback, clearly indicating required fields or invalid input, guiding
the user to correct errors before submission.