Admin Dashboard

A comprehensive overview of the administrative interface designed for efficient application management, review, and collaboration.

Overview

Handling applications

The Admin Dashboard is built around a clear information hierarchy, prioritizing the most critical data for administrators. The primary view is a comprehensive table listing all applications. From this overview, administrators can navigate to a detailed view for each application, providing an in-depth look at all submitted materials, reviews, and comments.

Application Overview Table

Dashboard Application Table Page - Overview of all applications

Detailed Application View

Application Details Page - In-depth view of a single application

Managing tasks

Beyond application review, the dashboard provides tools for managing the available bachelor tasks. Administrators can create new tasks, specify requirements (like group size and deadline for applicants), and publish them to the student-facing portal.

Task Creation & Management

Task Management Page - Creating and defining bachelor project tasks

Administrators can easily create, edit, and manage bachelor project tasks that will be displayed on the application portal.

Collaboration Features

Effective collaboration is key to a successful review process. The dashboard incorporates several features to facilitate teamwork:

Rating System: A simple rating system, with thumbs down, thumbs up and a bonus star, allows for quick, standardized review of applications.
Internal Comments: Team members can leave comments directly on an application, helping facilitate internal discussions and knowledge sharing right where it's needed.
Status Tracking: A clear workflow with statuses like “New,” “In Progress,” “Reviewed,” and “Completed” ensures everyone is aware of an application's current stage.
Multi-reviewer Support: The system shows who has reviewed or is currently reviewing an application, preventing duplicate effort and providing transparency.

Efficiency Through Design

The dashboard is designed to maximize administrator efficiency:

Filtering: Filtering options allow administrators to quickly find applications based on university, status, applicant name or status.
Sortable Everything: All columns in the main application table are sortable, allowing administrators to organize the data according to their needs.
Bulk Actions: Applications can be deleted individually or in bulk.
Keyboard Shortcuts: Power users can navigate and perform common actions using keyboard shortcuts, speeding up their workflow.

Technical Decisions That Matter to Users

File Handling

Dealing with application documents is a core part of the workflow, and we've made it as seamless as possible:

Browser Previews: PDFs can be previewed directly in the browser, eliminating the need to download files just to view their content.
Direct Downloads: If a local copy is needed, files can be downloaded.
Secure Storage: All uploaded files are securely stored in Azure Blob Storage, ensuring data integrity and reliability, rather than being scattered across emails or local drives.

Real-time Updates

The dashboard is designed to be a dynamic and responsive tool:

Live Data: The dashboard always reflects the latest application data and statuses without manual intervention.
Instant Feedback: Actions performed by administrators, such as updating a status or adding a comment, provide immediate visual feedback through toasts and interface updates.
No Refresh Needed: Thanks to Next.js's 'revalidate' feature, the dashboard updates automatically without requiring a full page refresh, ensuring a smooth user experience.

Security by Design

Security was an important consideration in the development of the Admin Dashboard:

Invitation-Only Access: Administrators cannot self-register; they must be invited by an existing super-administrator, ensuring controlled access.
Audit Trails: Every significant action taken within the dashboard is logged, providing a comprehensive audit trail of who did what and when.
Data Protection (GDPR): The system is built with GDPR compliance in mind, collecting only the minimal necessary data, having consent management, and ways of data deletion.

Esthetics and Usability

Aesthetics and usability go hand-in-hand to create a pleasant and effective user experience:

Multiple Theme Options: Recognizing diverse user preferences, the dashboard offers six theme options, including popular light and dark modes. Easily extensible and customizable, as we base all styling on CSS variables.
Responsive Design: The interface is fully responsive, providing a consistent and optimized experience across laptops, tablets, and other devices.
Consistent Icons: A carefully chosen set of icons is used throughout the application, providing clear visual cues that are easy to understand at a glance.