Shield - what is the workflow for adding new users from an admin section?

Hi,
I am new to Shield, what is the flow of creating new users, lets say from an admin section of the application? 
Here is my controller function so far:

PHP Code:

public function add_member()
 {
 $data = [];
 $users = model('UserModel');
 $session = session();

 if ($this->request->getMethod() == 'post') {
 $rules = [
 //'membership_status' =>
 'firstname' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[50]',
 'lastname' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[50]',
 'prefered_name' => 'min_length[3]|max_length[50]',
 'gender' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[25]',
 'date_of_birth' => 'required|valid_date',
 'address_1' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[100]',
 'address_2' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[100]',
 'postal_code' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[10]|integer',
 'city' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[50]',
 'home_phone' => 'min_length[3]|max_length[50]',
 'work_phone' => 'min_length[3]|max_length[50]',
 'mobile' => 'required_without[home_phone,work_phone]|min_length[3]|max_length[50]',
 'consent' => 'min_length[2]|max_length[50]',
 //'email' => 'required|min_length[6]|max_length[50]|valid_email',
 ];

 if (!$this->validate($rules)) {
 $data['validation'] = $this->validator;
 
 $session->set('Details', $_POST);
 //dd($_SESSION);
 } else {
 $newData = [
 //'id' => $id,
 'membership_status' => $this->request->getVar('membership_status', FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS),
 'firstname' => $this->request->getVar('firstname', FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS),
 'lastname' => $this->request->getVar('lastname', FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS),
 'prefered_name' => $this->request->getVar('prefered_name', FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS),
 'date_joined' => $this->request->getVar('date_joined'),
 'gender' => $this->request->getVar('gender', FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS),
 'date_of_birth' => $this->request->getVar('date_of_birth'),
 'address_1' => $this->request->getVar('address_1', FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS),
 'address_2' => $this->request->getVar('address_2', FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS),
 'postal_code' => $this->request->getVar('postal_code', FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT),
 'city' => $this->request->getVar('city', FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS),
 'home_phone' => $this->request->getVar('home_phone', FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT),
 'work_phone' => $this->request->getVar('work_phone', FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT),
 'mobile' => $this->request->getVar('mobile', FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT),
 'consent' => $this->request->getVar('consent'),
 //'email' => $this->request->getVar('email', FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL)
 ];

 $user = new User([
 'username' => NULL,
 'email'    => $this->request->getVar('email', FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL),
 'password' => $this->request->getVar('email', FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL),
 ]);
 $users->save($user);
 $newData['id'] = $users->getInsertID();
 // To get the complete user object with ID, we need to get from the database
 $user = $users->findById($users->getInsertID());

 // Add to default group
 $users->addToDefaultGroup($user);

 $users->save($newData);
 
 $userEmail['email'] = $user->getEmail();

 // Send the user an email with the code
 $email = emailer()->setFrom(setting('Email.fromEmail'), setting('Email.fromName') ?? '');
 $email->setTo($user->email);
 $email->setSubject(lang('DojoApp.mailSubject'));
 $email->setMessage($this->view('email/add_new_user_email', $userEmail));

 if ($email->send(false) === false) {
 log_message('error', $email->printDebugger(['headers']));

 return redirect()->route('login')->with('error', lang('Auth.unableSendEmailToUser', [$user->email]));
 }

 // Clear the email
 $email->clear();

 $session->setFlashdata('success', 'Successfuly added new member information');
 return redirect()->to('/admin/members');
 }
 }
 echo view('templates/header');
 echo view('admin/left_nav_bar');
 echo view('admin/add_member', $data);
 echo view('admin/left_nav_bar_closure');
 echo view('admin/javascript');
 echo view('templates/footer');
 } 


Any help is appreciated.