This article outlines how we resolve conflicts that arise from collaborative editing; for example, when multiple users are working on the same template, Tribe, or Scenario.
What is conflict resolution?
Our platform is designed for collaborative editing. So, as a scheduler or operator, you can find yourself modifying content at the same time as another teammate. This can sometimes lead to conflicts - and we're not talking about an unexpected squabble with your colleague ;) - but rather a problem arising from the simultaneous modification of content.
Collaborative editing on mtribes is asynchronous, meaning content changes are not synced in real-time. This means multiple people on your team can edit content at the same time, but they will need to refresh the page to get updates made by others.
Conflict resolution is how we handle this collaborative editing across the application. For instance, if several people on your marketing team are editing the same template, we’ll alert them to potential conflicts by means of user interface (UI) messaging. This gives everyone the opportunity to act accordingly.
User interface (UI) messaging that informs
We’ve currently implemented conflict resolution measures on Experience and Collection template pages, for Tribes, and on Scenarios. We’ve chosen these areas specifically, as the chance of a collision happening on these pages is higher than on others.
Our conflict handling is designed to feel as natural and non-invasive as possible. So, instead of locking components on the page, we use various types of UI messaging to inform you. These include:
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Teammate avatars at the top of the page
The first collaborating teammate is shown as an avatar containing their initials (e.g., J). All concurrent teammates who are viewing or editing the page, are displayed as a collective avatar containing a number (e.g., + 4).
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Page status indicators at the top of the page
A page status indicator communicates whether the page you’re working on is Up to date or Out of date.
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Tooltips with teammate names
Hovering over teammate avatars will open a tooltip to show their full names. Hovering over the collective avatar containing a number will open a tooltip with a list of all other teammates currently working on the page. We do not currently show the specific details of the changes.
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Notifications to Refresh or Dismiss changes
When the status of a page changes as a result of another teammate’s editing, a notification appears to alert you. The notification allows you to either Refresh to get the latest changes, or to Dismiss to ignore the changes. If you choose to dismiss the notification but change your mind, you can always click on the page status to reopen the notification.
Note: When refreshing a template or Scenario to get the latest changes, your own work is saved. When refreshing a Tribe, your own work is not saved.
What to read next?
Learn more about managing conflicts in your user interface, from our UI Architect Casper Smith.