I built this React timeline component with drag-and-drop, lane organization, and inline editing. It's a modern take on visualizing time-based data.
I went with React + TypeScript for the solid type safety and dev experience. Tailwind CSS was awesome for quick styling. dnd-kit handles all the drag-and-drop really smoothly, and shadcn/ui components gave me that clean, accessible interface without reinventing the wheel.
I tried to keep accessibility in mind from stratch. I wanted interactions to feel natural and intuitive. The inline editing with keyboard support (Enter to save, Escape to cancel) works pretty well. As well as the drag and drop with the keyboard (Tab to focus the event, Enter to select and arrows to move the event, finally Enter to save) I'm also happy with how I handled events that extend beyond the visible range - the visual indicators make it clear what's happening.
I kept the interface minimal and focused on content. The lane assignment algorithm turned out great - it efficiently prevents overlapping events and makes the timeline easy to scan. The layout adapts nicely to different screen sizes, and performance stays smooth even with lots of events.
I'm pretty happy with how modular everything is - each component has a clear purpose. This makes the code readable and maintainable. The whole thing is easily extensible, so adding new features should be straightforward. I spent time on smart state management to keep the UI responsive.
Parcel wasn't the best choice with Tailwind - it made development cycles slower than I'd like. Next time I'd probably use Vite or Next.js for a snappier experience.
I began developing a resize functionality but abandoned it due to UX concerns. Looking back, I should've implemented the simplest possible resize solution rather than overcomplicating it. This would have saved development time while still meeting the nice to have requirement, allowing me to deliver value sooner and refine based on actual usage patterns.
If I had more time, I'd add some subtle animations to make interactions feel more polished. More keyboard shortcuts would be nice for power users. I'd also add more customization options and improve mobile responsiveness.
I wish I'd set up testing from the start. A good suite of unit and integration tests would have caught issues earlier. More user testing would've helped validate my UX decisions before getting too far.
Google Calendar was my main reference point. I also browsed Dribbble for visual design ideas, especially color schemes and spacing. I checked out other timelines to identify patterns users would find familiar.
I focused on making something simple and clear that users could understand at a glance. I wanted interactions to feel natural and tried to minimize the learning curve. I made sure everything worked consistently with different types of data.
I picked dnd-kit specifically for its accessibility and performance. The lane assignment algorithm was fun to design - it maximizes space while keeping things visually clean. date-fns was perfect for handling dates without bloat. I tried to make the component API intuitive for other developers.
I'd write tests for the lane assignment algorithm with various edge cases. Date calculations need thorough validation across different scenarios. I'd verify drag-and-drop behaviors and keyboard interactions work as expected.
I'd test with larger datasets to find optimization opportunities. Reducing unnecessary re-renders would be a priority. Cross-browser testing and memory profiling would help catch any leaks or inefficiencies.
I'm generally happy with how this turned out - it's intuitive, accessible, and performs well. There's room for improvement in the tooling and some features, but it's a solid foundation to build on.
I think the MVP approach is usually the way to go - ship core functionality, get feedback, then refine based on what users actually need.