Create PlantShare checklists

[sidkoul]

This is the initial cut. There're other issues that talks about exporting (#210) and sightings (#211).

See the mockups for reference:

• http://newfs.ftsdesign.com/code/ps-checklistview.php
• http://newfs.ftsdesign.com/code/ps-checklistdetail.php
• http://newfs.ftsdesign.com/code/ps-checklistaction.php
• http://newfs.ftsdesign.com/code/ps-checklistcreate.php
• http://newfs.ftsdesign.com/code/ps-checklistedit.php

[sidkoul]

Note: Elizabeth and Arthur see checklists (perhaps in combination with sightings and groups) as a useful way for people to create a bottom-up list of what's growing in a specifc area.

For example, a land trust could use volunteers to slowly and collaboratively build a list of plants growing on plot of conservation land.

[sidkoul]

Some more background: there are also "game-like" usage patterns involved as well. Making Plant Share addictive. For example a nature club might issue a "checklist of the month" and challenge members to identify them in the field, during a hike, or a camping trip.

It's also a good way for teachers to create checklists for their students.

[jrrickerson]

I've started on checklists and I want to clarify a few things. Anyone on the team please feel free to comment, just so we're all clear here:

• If I understand the mock-ups correctly, it looks like when creating or editing a checklist, you create new sightings directly from that page by entering names, uploading photos, etc. However, if you enter only the name, you simply create a checklist "item" to be attached to a sightings later. Does that seem correct?
• Should it be possible to attach the same sighting to more than one checklist, or does applying a sighting to a checklist "use up" that sighting?
• We haven't delved too much into groups and sharing and so forth, but should users have the ability to "un-share" a checklist?
• Are shared checklists global? For instance, if I created a checklist and shared it with Sid, is he going to see sightings I apply to the checklist, or does he get his own local "copy" of the checklist with his own separate sightings applied?
• What does it mean to delete a checklist? The text in the mock-up seems to indicate it removes it from your list of checklists, but doesn't delete it if you're not the owner. Should this be implemented more like a "hide" or "archive" feature that can be undone later, or should it actually delete your copy of the checklist more permanently?

I'll add additional questions as I continue into this work. Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

[jnga]

By way of a little background, the original idea for checklists way back at the "MyPlants" exploration phase (below) didn't really include sightings. Checklists were more simple, semi-manual things to be shared, printed to take along in the field and then maybe filled in (items checked, notes entered) when back online. The wireframes and mockups have evidently expanded this and integrated sightings.

It does seem valuable to be able to optionally associate a sighting with a checklist item. It could be worth starting out with having just one place to actually post a sighting (the current Post form page), which has all the fields one could use (unlike the abbreviated way on the checklists). Then, on a checklist, a user could optionally associate a sighting with each checklist item. Later, if the ability to actually create sightings within a checklist is still desired, it can be added. Just a thought on how to perhaps do this incrementally to see how things work out.

---

from our old document "MyPlants Vision, Research, Brainstorming.pdf" (GoogleDocs):

"A core feature of MyPlants could be the ability to create and share checklists. Checklists can be created by any user: a manager at a public garden, a teacher, a student. Each checklist can have a title, description, and a list of plants (scientific and common names), each with a checkbox and an optional comments section. Creating a checklist would be possible by picking from the full list of available plants (listing their scientific, common, and family names) and assisted by an as- you-type search box. Checklists could be shared via short URL, "cloned" (for class assignments, for example) and edited. Checklists could be used as a "TO DO" (to find/identify) list on the one hand, and as a "look what I found" list on the other. The text fields in checklists (per-list description, and per-plant comments) could be used to by either the author of the checklist or the user of the checklist (or both). An author could note things like where this plant might be found in the area being explored, or identification tips. A user could note successes, difficulties, or things they want to remember with identifying the plants."

[efarnsworth]

Well put, John -- JR, I saw your request for more information and am not ignoring it, just we are all in the throes of submitting a renewal NSF grant for Go Botany. Will return to semi-normality on Monday, hopefully, and attend to the details of your question. Thanks for your patience, Elizabeth

On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 2:18 PM, jnga notifications@github.com wrote:

By way of a little background, the original idea for checklists way back at the "MyPlants" exploration phase (below) didn't really include sightings. Checklists were more simple, semi-manual things to be shared, printed to take along in the field and then maybe filled in (items checked, notes entered) when back online. The wireframes and mockups have evidently expanded this and integrated sightings.

It does seem valuable to be able to optionally associate a sighting with a checklist item. It could be worth starting out with having just one place to actually post a sighting (the current Post form page), which has all the fields one could use (unlike the abbreviated way on the checklists). Then, on a checklist, a user could optionally associate a sighting with each checklist item. Later, if the ability to actually create sightings within a checklist is still desired, it can be added. Just a thought on how to

perhaps do this incrementally to see how things work out.

from our old document "MyPlants Vision, Research, Brainstorming.pdf" (GoogleDocs):

"A core feature of MyPlants could be the ability to create and share checklists. Checklists can be created by any user: a manager at a public garden, a teacher, a student. Each checklist can have a title, description, and a list of plants (scientific and common names), each with a checkbox and an optional comments section. Creating a checklist would be possible by picking from the full list of available plants (listing their scientific, common, and family names) and assisted by an as- you-type search box. Checklists could be shared via short URL, "cloned" (for class assignments, for example) and edited. Checklists could be used as a "TO DO" (to find/identify) list on the one hand, and as a "look what I found" list on the other. The text fields in checklists (per-list description, and per-plant comments) could be used to by either the author of the checklist or the user of the checklist (or both). An author could note things like where this plant might be found in the area being explored, or identification tips. A user could note successes, difficulties, or things they want to remember with identifying the plants."

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/newfs/gobotany-app/issues/259#issuecomment-12159161.

[jnga]

Thanks, Elizabeth. Thoughts on some of JR's other questions:

Should it be possible to un-share a checklist: if the checklists are "copied" when shared, then I would think no--so the user gets their own copy that they'd manage. But if the checklist is a shared list to be used collaboratively, then I suppose this type of list could be un-shared. I don't think I have seen an option for copying a checklist in the wireframes.

This speaks to the question about whether shared checklists are global. I think we originally thought that it would at least be possible to copy checklists, so for example a teacher could give a blank copy to a student (or perhaps vice-versa, a student could make a blank copy of a teacher's checklist).

[sidkoul]

@jrrickerson wrote:

If I understand the mock-ups correctly, it looks like when creating or editing a checklist, you create new sightings > directly from that page by entering names, uploading photos, etc. However, if you enter only the name, you simply > create a checklist "item" to be attached to a sightings later. Does that seem correct?

@efarnsworth responds: Yes, as John pointed out, it would be good to link a sighting to a checklist item. Checklists are typically simpler in terms of amount of information displayed, with only Plant Name, an associated image, date sighted, location of plant, date posted (if the item was actually posted as a sighting), and a text field called “Note.” However, each of these fields effectively maps onto the fields of information a user enters when posting a sighting (see screenshot of FTS design):

[sidkoul]

@jrrickerson wrote:

Should it be possible to attach the same sighting to more than one checklist, or does applying a sighting to a checklist "use up" that sighting?

@efarnsworth responds: Yes, it should be possible to attach a sighting to more than one checklist.

@jrrickerson wrote:

We haven't delved too much into groups and sharing and so forth, but should users have the ability to "un-share" a checklist?

@efarnsworth responds: I believe the process of “sharing” a checklist involves giving another person access to the checklist file and then having that individual save that checklist to their own account under a different name. So it doesn’t seem feasible to “unshared” a checklist once that list is in the hands of another user.

@jrrickerson wrote:

Are shared checklists global? For instance, if I created a checklist and shared it with @sidkoul, is he going to see sightings I apply to the checklist, or does he get his own local "copy" of the checklist with his own separate sightings applied?

@efarnsworth responds: Yes, as above, I think we decided that a user who has had a checklist “shared” with them obtains his own local copy with his own assigned filename.

@jrrickerson wrote:

What does it mean to delete a checklist? The text in the mock-up seems to indicate it removes it from your list of checklists, but doesn't delete it if you're not the owner. Should this be implemented more like a "hide" or "archive" feature that can be undone later, or should it actually delete your copy of the checklist more permanently?

@efarnsworth responds: The owner of a checklist should be able to delete a checklist permanently (with an appropriate “Are you sure?” warning box). This does not mean that anyone with whom the owner has “shared” the checklist will have theirs deleted, since these are independent files.

[efarnsworth]

Elizabeth says: See http://newfs.ftsdesign.com/phase-4/20120405/02.html showing bulk actions for checklists.

[jrrickerson]

Closing this as most of the Checklist features have been completed. Any additional tweaks or fixes will be listed as additional issues.