UX: Standardising Deletion Experience
Problem
Several foundational UX improvements have been identified that need to be addressed to reduce inconsistency in our deletion flow. These improvements, while independent of the upcoming Bin concept, will establish a solid foundation for its implementation.
Key identified user problem:
- Inconsistent deletion experiences in all areas (lists, details, admin)
- Confusing variation in confirmation dialogs
- Unclear distinction between initial deletion and permanent removal
- Fragmented restore options
- Poor deletion feedback after actions
Actions menu (List view)
List views including the following pages:
Your works/ Projects
Your works/ Groups
Explore/ Projects
Explore/ Groups
Admin area/ Projects
Admin area/ Groups
Before - Admin areas | Before - List view | After - 1st deletion | After - 2nd deletion | |
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Project |
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Group |
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Design changes:
- Replace admin area action buttons with dropdown menu interface
- Update "Delete" button text to "Delete permanently" for second-stage deletion
- Update admin area deletion behavior: first deletion moves items to trash instead of permanently deleting them
Deletion confirmation modal
TBC
Actions menu (Detail view)
Before | After - 1st deletion | After - 2nd deletion | |
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Project |
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Group |
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Design changes:
- Add "Archive", "Delete", and "Restore" actions to the dropdown menu for consistency with other action menus throughout the interface
- Update "[Group/Project] settings" button text to "Edit" for consistency reason
Settings card
1st deletion
Before | After |
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Design changes:
- Update the title colour from "text-colour-danger" to "text-colour-default"
- Update action button text from "Delete [Group/Project]" to "Delete" for consistency across action menus and setting cards
- Remove "pending deletion .. 7 days" text to reduce cognitive load, as this information is already implied by the deletion date
- Recommend updating date format from current "2025-05-08" to a clearer format (current format is ambiguous - could be interpreted as May 8th or August 5th).
2nd deletion
Before | After |
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Design changes:
- Update the title colour from "text-colour-danger" to "text-colour-default"
- Update title from "Delete [group/project] immediately" to "Delete [group/project]"
- Update action button text from "Delete [group/project] immediately" to "Delete permanently" for two reasons:(1) shorter action text & (2) items may not be deleted immediately but instead remain in "Deletion in progress" status for an extended period
- Remove duplicated information such as "This action... immediately" from the card and move it to the delete confirmation modal for more concise copy
Restore item in pending deletion state
Before | After |
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Design changes:
- Update card title and background color from warning (yellow) to default styling
- Update action button text from "Restore [group/project]" to "Restore" to be consistent with the action naming in live view
- Update button style from "primary" to "default"
Toast feedback
1st deletion
Before | After | |
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Project |
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Group |
N/A | ![]() |
2nd deletion
Before | After | |
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Project |
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Group |
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Design changes:
- Introduce an "undo" action that appears when a user deletes something for the first time, allowing them to reverse the deletion immediately
- Update the deletion confirmation text to be more descriptive and less alarming. Change generic phrases like "Project [name] is being deleted" to more informative language such as "Project [name] moved to pending deletion" that better explains the actual state and process
Deletion notification
Pending deletion
Before | After | |
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Group |
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Group/project |
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Project |
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Deletion in progress (New state)
New | |
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Group |
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Project |
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Design changes
- Remove redundant language like "is pending deletion, so this project will also be..." and emphasize the key consequence with clear messaging such as "The items will be permanently deleted on [Date]" to provide users with essential deletion timeline information
- Recommend updating date format from current "2025-05-08" to a clearer format (current format is ambiguous - could be interpreted as May 8th or August 5th).
To-Do
-
Design a uniform confirmation modals with clear titles and button labels -
Design unified deletion and restoration controls throughout the entire interface (list views, detail pages, and admin panels) i.e. actions should be services on project/ group level -
Ensure three-step flow everywhere: trigger → confirm → feedback -
Ensure clear visual distinguish between "Schedule for deletion" and "Delete permanently" across action, confirmation and feedback -
Create an impact level framework to communicate consequences at each stage i.e. 1st time deletion: light warning, 2nd time deletion: high warning -
Design toast notifications with undo buttons for all deletion flows -
Design a "Pending Deletion" view to manage scheduled deletions
Edited by Jason Hung