Aglet

Prioritize notification inbox empty states with honest recovery

Empty-state work matters when people cannot tell whether they are caught up or simply looking in the wrong scope. Compare copy, filter recovery, history navigation, and first-use guidance. A reason-specific message may solve confusion without adding a new notification feature.

Decide where the work belongs

  1. Name the orientation cost

    Describe what a person cannot infer from the blank view and whether work may be hidden elsewhere. Compare first use, caught-up, filtered, and unavailable states. Keep a pleasant empty view separate from a misleading one.

  2. Compare recovery sizes

    Set clear reason copy, filter reset, broader history link, settings path, and no action beside one another. Consider whether each action preserves context. Prefer a recovery that explains scope before sending someone to a different page.

  3. Choose the first slice

    Record empty state, scope, owner, and revisit evidence. Decide whether to fix classification, copy, filter behavior, or history access. Preserve the current blank and one populated control for evaluation. Explain whether absence means caught up or unavailable.

What to carry forward

Prioritize empty-state work where a blank inbox hides history or leaves a person without a way to orient. The decision should name reason and recovery scope. If the state is genuinely caught up and clear, queue another notification issue instead.

Technical background: W3C guidance.

Keep the decision with the work.

Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.

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