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Internal tools: lay out the screen by how often each thing is done

The people using an internal tool use it all day. So the design question isn't what looks complete; it's what they do most. The most frequent action should take one step. Rare and risky ones belong out of the way. Every change should leave a record of who made it. We start by counting.
Discuss your toolsSee the patterns we reach for ↓
a week in the claims officelook up a claim140change a status62add a note38attach a photo21export2change settings1Claims⋯Search claims/WC-118 · J-488 · submittedsubmitapproveWC-121 · J-495 · draftsubmitapproveWC-124 · J-503 · approvedsubmitapproveWC-126 · J-512 · draftsubmitapproveWC-118 · J-488Add a note…drop a photoadminone stepon every rowon the recordin a menuadmin only

Patterns we reach for

None is new. The work is choosing which ones a particular job needs, and leaving out the rest.
Saved filtersThe same questions are asked every day“Credit due”, “Needs serial”
Actions on the rowOne change is made to many recordsStatus buttons beside each claim
Bulk actionsThe same change applies to a groupMark twelve claims submitted at once
Checks as you typeMistakes are cheap to catch earlySerial number format checked on entry
Keyboard shortcutsSomeone does the task hundreds of times a week“/” to search, “j” and “k” to move
A history panelPeople need to know who changed what“office manager · submitted Sep 3”

What employees need that a public page doesn't

A public page is used once by many people. An internal tool is used constantly by a few. The design follows from that.

  1. 01

    Speed

    Measured in seconds, all day

    Pages that load fast and keep the cursor where the work is. A second of waiting, a hundred times a day, is felt.

  2. 02

    Density

    More on one screen

    Experienced users want to see many records at once. Space goes to information, not decoration.

  3. 03

    History

    Who changed what

    Every change records the person, the time and the old value, so questions are answered without asking around.

  4. 04

    Permissions

    Set by role

    Everyone sees what their job needs. Approvals and deletions sit with the roles that own them.

  5. 05

    Recovery

    Mistakes undone

    Undo for small changes, confirmation for big ones, and nothing permanent from a single misclick.

Three kinds of screen

Most internal tools are built from these three. Each has one main action.

List

For
finding and working through many records
Main action
filter, then act on the row
Shows
the fields people decide by
Kept out of the way
export, column settings

What internal tools hand off

In

Records
the job's own data
Roles
who does what
Frequency
what's done most
Internal tools
screens for the work

Out

Changes
with who and when
Finished work
to the next step
History
kept on the record

Worth building when a team lives in one job

Good fit

  • A team does the same task many times a day.
  • Today's tool makes them work around it.
  • Mistakes in the task cost money or customers.

Not the right fit

  • A task happens a few times a month. A form or a spreadsheet is fine.
  • An off-the-shelf product already fits the job.

Where internal tools are used

Next to internal tools

Questions about internal tools

How do you know what's done most?

We watch the work and count it, from the spreadsheet's edit history, the current tool's logs or a week of observation. The counts decide the layout.

Do internal tools need to look good?

They need to be clear, fast and consistent. Clean design helps people work quickly; decoration doesn't.

Can they work on a phone?

The parts used away from a desk can, such as a technician's photo upload. Dense list screens are designed for a desk first.

What about a low-code tool builder?

It can be the right choice for simple screens. We'll say so. Custom code makes sense when speed, permissions, history or connections matter.