Aglet

Triage an empty notification inbox before changing its copy

An empty inbox can mean no events exist, all events are read, a filter hides them, or history is unavailable. Triage the reason before writing one generic message. Compare account state, filters, read status, navigation, and available next actions so the blank view stays honest.

Establish what is happening

  1. Capture each empty state

    Record account history, read state, active filter, date range, scope, available navigation, and displayed message for first use, caught-up, filtered, and unavailable cases. Include a nonempty control. Keep the URL or route context attached.

  2. Compare what remains

    Ask whether events exist outside the current view and whether the person can broaden, clear, or review them. Distinguish no history from unavailable history. A blank filtered list should not tell someone that the system has never notified them.

  3. Set the next action

    State copy, scope, recovery action, and when to show each. Preserve a true empty state with no forced action. Stop when another reviewer can identify why the inbox is empty and what a person can do next.

What to carry forward

The triage output is an empty-state matrix with reason, scope, copy, and next action. Stop when first use, caught up, filtered, and unavailable history are distinguishable. If the reason cannot be observed, use conservative copy and route the evidence gap.

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.

Create an account See the product workflow