[UX] Point in time in OpenSearch Dashboards (WIP)

[Cindyqi8506]

Overview

OpenSearch Dashboards Point in time (PIT) search feature allow users (including but not limited to Developers, DevOps, and Data Analyst) to create and manage point in time search from OpenSearch Dashboards stack management, discover, visualize and dashboard. It helps user maintain a fixed data set which can be re-used by different queries in order to achieve consistent results.

Use Cases

1. Users create a PIT based on existing index pattern or indices, give the PIT a name and a expiration date.
2. Users explore the existing index pattern in Discover, and create a PIT to get fixed data set in time.
3. Users create visualization based on the existing index pattern in Visualize, and create a PIT to freeze the visualization result and share with others.
4. Users view and manage PITs in stack management, perform tasks such as extend expiration time, bulk delete, rename and create new PIT based on existing ones.

We are looking for more use cases, please comment if you know a use case not covered above. 😃

Ref: Point In Time Search opensearch-project/OpenSearch#1147

Flow structure

There are four flows in exploration for PIT search, Minimum viable product (MVP) will include Stack Management flow and Discover flow. Visualize flow and Dashboard flow are working in progress (WIP).

Stack Management Flow (MVP)

• From Stack Management > Point in Time > view and manage PITs
• From Stack Management > Index Pattern > create PIT based on existing index pattern
• From Stack Management > Saved Objects > relationship (parent/child), view PITs and its’ relationship with other objects
  
  
  

Discover Flow (MVP)

• From Discover > Change Data Source > create PIT or change to existing PIT

Visualize Flow (WIP)

• From Visualize > Change Data Source > create PIT or change to existing PIT

Dashboard Flow (WIP)

• From Dashboard > Edit Panel > create PIT or change to existing PIT / Show expired PIT Panel

Design Mockups

1. Stack Management Flow (MVP)

• Access Point in Time in Stack Management
  

• Create new PIT in the flyout
  

• Perform tasks such as extend expiration time, bulk delete, rename and create new PIT based on existing ones.
  

• View PIT Details
  
  

• Create new PIT based on existing index pattern
  

• View PIT in saved Objects
  

2. Discover Flow (MVP)

• Switch data source to existing PIT
• Create New PIT based on selected index pattern
  

3. Visualize Flow (WIP)

• Switch data source to existing PIT created based on the selected index pattern
• Create new PIT based on selected index pattern
  

4. Dashboard Flow (WIP)

• Create new PIT for the selected panel
• Click PIT icon to open the PIT flyout and edit
• Expired PIT icon turn red and graph become monochrome (we may not have the expired PIT data, consider empty state pattern instead)
  

Thank you for reading, comments and suggestions are welcome 🤗.

[ahopp]

Hey @Cindyqi8506 this is great! Couple of questions;

RE: "Create new PIT based on selected index pattern" within the "Visualize Flow", how do you imagine the "change PIT" capability to work when there is 2 dozen PITs available? I'm trying to imagine how this will scale overtime and I think we should annotate some of our thoughts if we're still WIP for this scope. Similarly we need to handle the "Create New PIT based on selected index pattern" CX with similar regards to scaling.

RE: "Expired PIT icon turn red and graph become monochrome (we may not have the expired PIT data, consider empty state pattern instead)", do we now if we will even have enough cached in the case of expired PIT data? Or is that even possible? Either way, I think we should have an empty state CX that provides users a direct path to replace the data source or adding a new visualizations. What do you think?

RE: Expired PIT actions, is there anyway we can make it more clear that the actions aren't available on expired PITs? It looks like we've take a "lighten" approach (which feel like a good start) but I find myself wondering if that serves any value to the users? Why see what you can't do? How do we feel about dropping those actions all together? Is this because the "lightened" pattern (i.e. lighten the action buttons on the screen when unavailable) is held across other part of the UI?

These are a few of my thoughts, but the CX looks great so take my feedback with a grain of salt!

[dblock]

Moving this to https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch-Dashboards.

[kavilla]

[Groom]:

@kavilla will follow-up about ownership about this.

[ahopp]

@kavilla RE: ownership, I think the best model of ownership is the PIT feature devs owning the PR and the Dashboard repo owners offering support where we can and to helping with any primitives that would be broadly usable by Dashboards in the future - especially given the deep Dashboards backlog atm.