Overview#
A senior analyst managing three active investigations on a Monday morning does not want to hunt through the same generic interface as a system administrator reviewing provisioning queues. The Dashboard Layout Customisation module lets each user build a workspace that reflects what they actually do. Widgets can be dragged, resized, hidden, and grouped across multiple named dashboards. Layouts persist automatically and restore exactly on next login, across every device the user works from.
Each user's layout is stored independently and isolated to their organisation. No configuration change one user makes can affect anyone else's workspace, even within the same tenant.
Open Standards#
- GraphQL (June 2018 specification): All layout read and write operations are exposed as strongly-typed GraphQL queries and mutations, enabling precise over-the-wire payloads and schema-enforced contracts between the frontend and the persistence layer.
- JSON Web Token (RFC 7519) / Bearer Token Usage (RFC 6750): Every layout API call is gated by an RS256-signed JWT presented as a Bearer token; the middleware validates the signature against a published JWKS endpoint before permitting read or write access.
- OAuth 2.0 (RFC 6749): Fine-grained authorisation uses OAuth 2.0 scope claims to determine whether the authenticated user may read or mutate dashboard layout configuration within their organisation.
- JSON (RFC 8259): Layout state, widget visibility lists, and breakpoint configurations are serialised and stored as JSON; the PostgreSQL JSONB column type is used for atomic server-side merges without a full row rewrite.
- OpenAPI 3.x: The FastAPI service hosting the GraphQL and REST endpoints publishes a machine-readable OpenAPI document, enabling automated client generation and integration testing against the layout persistence API.
- Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (W3C Fetch Living Standard / RFC 6454): Configurable CORS origin allowlists and regex policies govern which browser origins may call the layout API, ensuring cross-device access works securely without opening the endpoint to arbitrary origins.
- W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2: The drag-and-drop workspace UI targets WCAG 2.2 conformance, including keyboard-navigable widget controls and responsive layout breakpoints for desktop, tablet, and mobile, consistent with the platform-wide accessibility commitment.
- UUID (RFC 4122): Every layout record is assigned a version-4 UUID as its primary identifier, guaranteeing collision-free per-user, per-dashboard references across the multi-tenant data store.
Last Reviewed: 2026-02-04 Last Updated: 2026-04-14
Key Features#
- Customisable Widget Layouts: Drag-and-drop widget arrangement with position, size, and ordering control across responsive breakpoints
- Multiple Dashboard Support: Personalise layouts for the primary dashboard, investigation dashboard, analytics dashboard, and custom role-specific dashboards
- Widget Visibility Control: Show or hide specific widgets without losing layout configuration, enabling quick workspace switching between operational modes
- Responsive Design: Separate layout configurations for desktop, tablet, and mobile breakpoints ensure an optimal experience on any device field staff or analysts use
- Automatic Persistence: Layout changes are saved automatically in PostgreSQL and restored on next login with no manual save step
- Per-User Isolation: Each user maintains independent layout preferences scoped to their organisation, with complete data separation between tenants
Use Cases#
- Analysts configuring dashboards to surface the data views most relevant to their current caseload
- Investigators arranging investigation-specific widgets for efficient case management without distraction from unrelated modules
- Supervisors setting up operational dashboards with team performance, workload distribution, and alert queue widgets
- Administrators managing platform-wide default layouts that new users inherit on first login
- Cross-functional teams maintaining separate named dashboards for different operational contexts, switching between them without reconfiguration
Integration#
- Works with the platform widget system for available widget discovery and per-widget configuration
- Connects with JWT-authenticated user sessions for per-user layout storage and retrieval
- Supports organisation-level default layouts that users can personalise without affecting the organisational default
- Compatible with admin dashboard management for platform-wide configuration enforcement