ExB search widget issue

[JRhodes]

I've configured an ExB app with a search widget that allows users to search for a property development by name or permit number, then populate a Feature Info widget with the popup for the selected result, using a data view for the developments so the map features don't get filtered.

Everything works great, except I had to set the search suggestions to 0 because when the user starts to enter another search term, the suggestions immediately show "No results found...", because the layer source has been filtered by the widget. If they press Enter or click the search icon, the correct results are returned because this clears the filter and initiates a new query.

Am I just out of luck if I want to have suggestions enabled for successive searches? Users can click the X to clear the results, but this is unintuitive and user testing has shown that they usually don't think to do this, they just highlight the text in the box and start typing a new search term. We basically just want it to work like the WAB search.

[Jack_in_the_box]

Hi Managers at ESRI,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share some honest feedback regarding the current design and development philosophy behind ExB widgets.

After working extensively with them, it feels like the overall UX and developer experience have not been given the level of attention they truly deserve. In many cases, the widgets come across as unintuitive, overly rigid, or lacking in core flexibility sometimes to the point where they seem designed without real-world usage in mind.

I strongly encourage the team to reexamine the foundational assumptions and workflows that are driving widget design. Perhaps incorporating more direct input from active developers and users in the field not just at the enterprise level, but from those building with these tools day to day would help shape a more
practical, robust, and user-centric approach.

If ESRI wants to continue being a leader in GIS solutions, I believe this kind of introspection and iteration is critical.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

[DougBrowning]

Form my experience meeting Esri staff most of them do not have much real word experience and it does show in the products.  That is pretty common in the industry though really.  Programmers program, they do not often go to the field.

They could hire more staff with the experience or they could simply use this board more.  Some groups like 123 are very involved in the board here and their product has benefited greatly from it.  Other groups are almost never on here and it shows.  

Overall Esri has been very good about taking the time to talk to me over the years.  Unfortunately these talks rarely turn into a action item and make it into the product.  I tend to get long complicated workarounds, given a rare use case where the idea does not work, or they basically do not believe me.  So user engagement is good but action items on that interaction needs improvement.