Gaia/Notifications

Status

• Stage: Development
• Latest: Fabrice has implemented necessary API. Etienne is going to implement in Gaia. (March 23, 2012)
• Release target: B2G Milestone 3 [Alpha], Q2 2012

Team

• UX: Patryk Adamczyk (IRC: patryk)
• Dev: Etienne (IRC: etienne)
• Eng: Fabrice (IRC: fabrice)
• Eng: Chris Jones (IRC: cjones)
• Eng: Mounir Lamouri (IRC: mounir)
• Eng: Jonas Sicking (IRC: sicking)

Reading

• dev-b2g "Notifications in B2G"
• dev-b2g "Homescreen 'embedding' api

UX Requirements

Last updated: Mar 26, 2012 (Patryk Adamczyk)

Priority of Notifications

• Priority 1 > informational > time sensitive > active, user must act upon
• Priority 2 > informational > time sensitive > passive, user can ignore
• Priority 3 > informational > time independent > passive, user can ignore
• Priority 4 > informational > time independent > active, user invoked

Delivery Methods

• Priority 1 > toast > permanent, until dismissed by user
• Priority 2 > toast > depreciates over time or dismissed by the user
• Priority 3 > icon > permanent, subtle indicator
• Priority 4 > toast > depreciates over time or dismissed by the user

Note: "toast" currently means anything from pop up to door hanger, visual design TBD

P1. Purpose of Priority 1 Notifications

Alert, immediate action needs to be taken. Examples:

• Notification > Action > Alt. Dismiss
• Incoming Call > Accept / Decline > Call goes to voicemail
• Low Battery > Dismiss Plug device to power outlet
• Install App > Ok / Dismiss > ---

P2. Purpose of Priority 2 Notifications

Warning, action can be taken but not immediately. These will disappear over time (TBD, likely a few minutes) and / or if the user switches apps or screens. Examples:

• Notification > Action > Note
• Download Complete > Open / Dismiss Evidence of download will remain, see P3
• Location Sharing > Ok / Always / Dismiss > If the user navigates away, “dismiss” will the default action
• Missed Call > Voicemail / Dismiss > Displays immediately after the incoming call has timed out
• New Email > None > If the user opts in for this notification, it displays for a few seconds, then disappears

P3. Purpose of Priority 3 Notifications

Classic notification displaying application and system status, these should be least intrusive. These will likely appear in these instances:

• P3A > status bar > icon > system and app status notifier > limited user interaction
• P3B > application icons > app status notifier > full user interaction
• P3C > notification tray > system and app status notifier > full user interaction
• P3D > lock screen > system and app status notifier > user interaction (selective based on security)

P3A. Status Bar

Will display various system and core application status updates. Interacting with a notification group could allow the user for fine tuning. Examples:

• Notification > Description
• WiFi > Interacting could launch a connection manager, displaying every available connection type
• Signal Meter > See above
• Bluetooth > See above
• Tethering > See above
• Roaming > See above
• GPS > See above
• Time > Interacting could launch a date time manager
• Alarm ON > See above
• Email > Icon shows you have at least 1 email

P3B. Application Icons

These are smart icons seen in many contemporary OS’. Windows pushes it further by creating live tiles from these icons, displaying rich notifications. Examples:

• Notification > Description
• Clock > Analog clock displays a red dot when alarm is supposed to ring
• Calendar > Shows date
• Weather > Icon changes according to the current weather

P3C. Notification Tray

A screen that displays your entire notification history based on priority and time. If the user clicks on an notification the suitable application is launched. There should be an option to automatically clear this notifications after checking, perhaps a timer is added that clears the notifications x# of time (user determined) after the user first checks them. Example:

[App Icon]	[Primary Message]	[Secondary Message]	[Time Stamp]
Rank 1 Notifications
System	OS 1.0.1 Update Available		1 min ago
Email	Kimi Räikkönen	Re: Drive > I just wanted to talk to you about that drive opport...	59min ago
SMS	Morgan Gadsby	How are you doing today?	1h ago
Phone	+1 (416) 555-1234	How are you doing today?	2h ago
Rank 2 Notifications
Facebook	Bob Plissken	Metal Gear?	2h ago
Rank 3 Notifications
Draw Some	Kamui Kobayashi has sent you a drawing		25 min ago

P3D. Lock Screen

Very similar to the screen above (P3D), but due to privacy and security concerns one of the following display modes may have to be activated:

• Show no notifications
• Only show the icons... ie 3 Unread Email
• Show full notifications but do not allow interaction
• Show full notifications and allow interaction

P4. Purpose of Priority 4 Notifications > System Adjustment

These are notification toasts that appear when the user has modified or wants to modify a system setting. Examples:

• Notification > Invoked > Note
• Volume > Press the hardware volume rocker If volume is turned off notification is displayed in the status bar
• Power > Press the hardware power button Manage power is displayed with the following options: Dismiss / Stand By / Off

Notification Type Diagrams

Other Requirements / Wants

• Display by Rank: Notifications should be prioritized into ranks: a missed phone call is more important than a user “liking” an instagram photo of yours. Higher ranked notifications should be displayed first. Automatically core application and system notifications should be ranked 1 while 3rd party applications should be ranked 3. The user can then prioritize applications per rank in the notification settings. This is to avoid applications hijacking notifications.
• Display by Time: Notifications should be displayed by priority first, but within that priority group notifications should be displayed by time, with the most recent first.
• Time Stamp should be Relative: Notification time stamp should be relative to current time, not time delivered. If the current time is 2:30p and the notification was received at 2:11p, the notification time stamp should read: 19min ago, not 2:11p.
• Depreciate Notifications Over Time: Once the user has read the notification either by visiting the notification tray or the app, the notification should clear itself over time, perhaps its a few hours or a few days, but we shouldn’t force the user to “clear” every notification by pressing a “clear” button for instance.
• Progress Displayed: If the notification is displaying progress such as installing a synchronous or at minimum an asynchronous progress meter should be present.
• Visual & Audio: Notifications should have the ability to notify via visual indication and audio tone or vibration.