Resource Lookup UI Flickering & Request Storm in Clarity

Products

• Clarity PPM On Premise
• Clarity FedRAMP
• Clarity PPM SaaS

Issue/Introduction

A front-end rendering issue within the Assignments tab of Clarity PPM, where the Resource lookup dropdown exhibits severe flickering and UI instability. A correlated analysis of the user-provided video and HAR (HTTP Archive) network log confirms that the visual jitter is caused by an architectural "request storm" triggered by unthrottled user interactions (such as scrolling and micro-mouse movements).

The application fires rapid, redundant API calls to the resourceFilter endpoint—averaging 8 requests per second with intervals dropping to 0.0ms. This forces the browser into an aggressive loop of destroying and re-rendering the dropdown component before previous data cycles can complete, creating a race condition that destabilizes the interface.

Prerequisites

• A valid user account with editing permissions in Clarity PPM.
• Access to a project containing an active task list (e.g., "BYOD Management").
• Browser Developer Tools (F12) opened to the Network tab to observe API traffic.

Steps to Reproduce: 

1. Log in to Clarity PPM and open the target project.
2. Click on the Assignments tab from the project submenu.
3. Locate any task row (e.g., "Functional and Technical Design") and click directly into the Resource column cell to activate the inline lookup field.
4. Click the dropdown arrow to expand the resource selection list.
5. Attempt to scroll down through the list of resources or type a character into the inline search bar.
6. Observe the UI stability and check the incoming traffic in the DevTools Network panel.

Expected Results: The dropdown menu should load the resource list smoothly. Scrolling or filtering should be stable, and the list items should remain fixed under the cursor without flashing. The network layer should only send an API request once user interaction pauses (debounced).

Actual Results: The dropdown list exhibits severe visual flickering and jittering, making it difficult to select a resource. The scrollbar constantly "jumps" position. Simultaneously, the DevTools Network panel records an aggressive "request storm" where identical private/resourceFilter API calls are dispatched repeatedly at intervals as low as 0.0ms to 0.12s apart. The dropdown UI flashes because it is constantly clearing and re-rendering the list with every incoming server response.

Environment

Clarity 16.3.3, 16.4.0,16.4.1,16.4.2

Cause

DE199002

Resolution

DE199002, in review by Engineering