Notification framework

[pamelahu]

Background

I'm creating a decision tree to guide internal Twilio teams on what type of notification to use based on the content they need to share to users.

There's a tonnn of use cases and also a tonnn of different types of notifications (email, (new) in-Console notifications, alerts, etc.)

Feedback

I know Paste already has a notification pattern and I wanted to see how we could merge our worlds together. I tried factoring in the Paste notification pattern (toast, modal, alert) into the tree but there's a lot of nuances between the different types of notifications and I wanted to get y'alls thoughts and feedback:

• Difference between in-Console notification vs toast
• Difference between in-Console notification vs alert
• How would call outs be incorporated?

Stage of design

No response

Research

No response

Relevant links

https://www.figma.com/file/Rt4S8nITP6vW4WIckAuoyd/Notification-Framework-%2F-Decision-Tree?type=whiteboard&node-id=0%3A1&t=PRMumeMle8wOR9Gk-1

Are you looking for visual design support?

• Yes

Additional Information

No response

[TwilioPasteBot]

Disclaimer: This is a very experimental bot using OpenAI's GPT-4. The answers may not be correct, a human will review the answer and update it if necessary.

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For your decision tree on guiding internal Twilio teams on the type of notification to use, here's how you can differentiate between the types of notifications in Paste:

• Difference between in-Console notification vs toast:
  Toast notifications are designed to confirm a successful or completed action, communicate critical information that's actively preventing a user from continuing a flow, or inform a user of general changes. They are temporary and should close automatically after a few seconds. Toasts are suitable for feedback that does not interrupt the user's workflow. For more details on when to use Toasts, you can refer to the Notifications and Feedback guidelines.

• Difference between in-Console notification vs alert:
  Alerts are used to communicate high-priority or time-sensitive information that requires immediate attention from the user. They are more intrusive than in-Console notifications or Toasts and are used to convey critical information, warnings, or errors. Alerts should be used sparingly to avoid alert fatigue. For more on Alerts, including their accessibility considerations, check out the Alert component documentation.

• How would callouts be incorporated?
  Callouts are used to draw attention to a piece of information that is not necessarily time-sensitive or requiring immediate action but is still important for the user to notice. They can be used to highlight tips, additional information, or non-critical warnings. Callouts are more static compared to Toasts and Alerts and can be placed directly within the content where the information is relevant. For more information on using Callouts, visit the Callout component page.

Incorporating these components into your decision tree can help clarify the nuances between different types of notifications and guide teams on selecting the most appropriate method for communicating with users based on the context and urgency of the message.

I also did a search, and I managed to find these other Discussions that might be similar or related to your question. Give them a read to see if they answer your question. If they do, head back here and update this discussion and mark it as answered, pointing others to the related discussion:

• Announcement pattern (updated: 04/17/2023, similarity score: 86%)
• Announcement pattern - Answer (updated: 04/17/2023, similarity score: 86%)
• In product feature notification patterns? (updated: 08/21/2022, similarity score: 85%)

[serifluous]

Thanks, Pam! I left some comments on some of the question in the flowchart that were quick to answer. We can talk about the rest tomorrow.

btw have you chatted with any Segment designers on how Segment in-app notifications are handled right now, as it relates to this?

Also, what are the categories of in-app notifications you have so far? I see critical vs. non-critical ones, and that they can be grouped by product. But have you grouped them by like, what actions the user needs to take after seeing the notification, etc.?

[serifluous]

Thanks for coming to office hours! Here's the recording https://twilio.zoom.us/rec/share/LN_tRwS31jeaBnrv5g6GCKUvTsL7WCl6vQOeyxLYNLavOD8BEThBzOyeiIgjP7nz.9a8RmFxEiB4Pxvyr. You can find the password in #help-design-system.

Let us know how this evolves!