TL;DR
When designing lightning record pages for scenarios where users have to refer back to parent records often, consider using quick actions, displaying them through the “Related Record” lightning component and updating the lookup filter to a record “upstream.”
As Salesforce professionals, there will come a time when an end-user says something like “but I have to click through too many screens” as an excuse to not use Salesforce. The following is one way with Lightning design to address these types of hurdles.
Quick Actions
At the core of this design are quick actions. Quick actions are a lightning feature that allows admins to create something like a sub-layout on a Salesforce object (this will focus on object-level quick actions, not global quick actions). Rather than those fields simply being arranged a certain way, however, the quick action allows for them to be launched by a button.
The Scenario
In this example, I’m tracking dresses as Products. When a bride tries on a dress, it creates a custom record called Dress Tried On. I’ve created a quick action on the Product called “Product Snapshot.” The image below shows the quick action on the Product as a button using dynamic actions on the lightning page layout.
Admins also have the option to configure the action directly on the layout somewhere. Using the Related Record, lightning component, we can add the quick action to the lightning page where ever we want, agnostic from the details section, and with its own visibility settings.
In this case, the fields in the Product Snapshot are pretty much the same as on the layout. So having this button on the layout doesn’t add much value, and neither does displaying the Related Record component as it would be redundant. Luckily, the quick action can be accessed another way, also, and that way adds significant value to the end user.
The Solution
When designing lightning record pages, we have the ability to display quick actions for the lookup fields on the current object. When adding the Related Record component to a lightning record page, just change the “Edit Lookup Field.” This will then display a dialog where admins can choose from all of the lookup fields, and even travel “upstream” through all of the lookup relationships.
Circling back to the original obstacle, this design enables admins to display relevant upstream information on the page layout and therefore prevent end users from having to navigate between the various pages themselves.
Continuing the example from before, my Dresses Tried On record looks up to the Person trying on the dress and their measurements (Contact), the dress itself (Product), and the Wedding (Account). By creating quick actions on the Contact, Product and Account, I can display the information from their quick actions directly on the Dress Tried On (see right panel of image).
But wait, there’s more
Adding to all of those obvious benefits, the quick actions are editable when added via Related Records. So that means that, end users can not only edit the Dress Tried On, but also the Account, Product and Contact, without leaving this screen.
This functionality enables admins and designers to create useful and purposeful pages that cater to the end user. By designing with the end user’s experience in mind, we increase the likelihood of user adoption and create some pretty useful pages in the process.