Along with our data model expansion, we're releasing a number of changes to the Edlink Dashboard. They're primarily cosmetic updates with a few user experience changes. While they may not seem super impactful immediately, they pave the way for a number of other updates we have coming down the line over the next few quarters.

What's New & Different

  • The most obvious change is that we've adjusted the color of the left-hand sidebar and the navigation links.
  • The navigation has now changed to be context-specific. That is, the navigation options will now change depending on your page within the dashboard.
  • This new navigation scheme was created for two reasons: There were getting to be too many horizontal tabs; and the sidebar was a poor use of valuable space that we wanted to reclaim in order to de-clutter our data views.
  • We've added breadcrumbs to the top bar to help you navigate back to where you came from.
  • We're making improvements to our data tables (as there are many) to make them more readable and organized. Expect to see more changes around these elements in the future.
  • You can now preview all types of data in the dashboard, including our new models. You used to only be able to preview a handful (e.g. schools, people).
  • Product Licenses and Data Pipeline have been split into their own tabs. This is to make room for more features coming in the near future.
  • The Data Pipeline preview fits more seamlessly into the overall UI now and will observe forward and back buttons on your browser.

Previewing School Data

Over the course of time, we built up more and more functionality around data processing. We added data overrides to change data coming from the school. We added sharing rules to dynamically filter large datasets. We added privacy masking to protect companies from unnecessary PII. We added licensing to assign products to users or classes.

As stressful as it was to read that last paragraph, it could be even more stressful to figure out why your data was not coming through as expected. Visibility into data pipelines is difficult, especially when you're transforming millions of entities in unpredictable ways.

The first of a series of changes has been made to the data pipeline preview. We've officially removed the former "Sharing" and "Transform" tabs from the integration screen and replaced them with the pipeline preview (this change was announced a few months back).

All blocks (including sharing) can now be configured from the data pipeline screen. This new UI gives much more screen real estate to the block configuration and data previewer.

What's Next?

Changes in the immediate future will be around filling in missing configuration panels and improving visibility into what the pipeline is actually doing. This includes adding log messages, error messages, and so on, to help you troubleshoot any issues quickly and painlessly.

That's all for now, and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your Edlink client success manager.