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Platform Modules

The Architect Panel exposes every subsystem the platform has — around 250 tiles across 25 sections. Platform Modules lets you switch off the ones a given application will never use.

Where to find it

Architect Panel → Configuration:

  • Platform Modules — which subsystems are on for this application

The problem it solves

ERP alone is 70 tiles across five sections. On an application that will never touch ERP, eLearning or casework, the panel stops being a way of finding things and becomes something to scroll past.

That is not only irritating. An administrator who cannot find the six screens they need among two hundred they do not is an administrator who will ask you instead of looking — and a panel nobody navigates confidently is one where configuration mistakes happen.

What switching off does

It hides the module's tiles. It is a visibility control for the panel, not a licence or a data operation — turning a module off does not delete anything, and turning it back on returns the tiles with the configuration intact.

That makes it safe to experiment with: if you hide something you later need, switch it back.

Deciding what to switch off

Be honest about what the application is for. A repairs system does not need eLearning. A training platform does not need stock or EDI. A small internal register needs almost none of it.

Start by switching off whole areas you are certain about, rather than trying to trim within an area — the point is fewer sections, not fewer tiles per section.

Do this early

The best time is when an application is first configured, before anybody has learned to navigate around the noise. Doing it later is still worthwhile but you will hear about it from people who had memorised where things were.

Worked example

A council builds a licensing application. ERP, eLearning, Subscriptions, eCommerce and Mobile Apps are all switched off, taking the panel from 25 sections to twelve. The administrators are two licensing officers with no platform background, and the difference between twelve sections and twenty-five is the difference between them configuring it themselves and raising a ticket.

Recommendations

  • Switch off at build time, before handover.
  • Turn off whole areas, not individual tiles.
  • Review after six months — needs change, and re-enabling costs nothing.
  • Tell the administrators it is reversible, or somebody will avoid it in case they break something.