Status Without Asking

Expectation. The building shall communicate the current state, assignment, expected timeline, and resolution of every reported issue to the resident — proactively, at each stage transition, without requiring the resident to ask.

Required.

• Every request displays its current state to the resident at any time.
• Every state transition — acknowledged, assigned, scheduled, in progress, resolved — triggers a notification to the resident.
• When a request is assigned, the resident sees who or which team is responsible.
• When resolution requires scheduling, the resident sees the expected date or timeframe.
• When a request is resolved, the resolution is described: what was done, when, and by whom.
• When an issue affects a zone or the entire building, the resident is notified — including the nature of the issue, affected areas, expected duration, and restoration confirmation when resolved. Notifications are scoped: residents in the affected zone receive detail and interim guidance; residents outside it are notified only if the issue constrains their use of common areas or services.

Recommended.

• Building-wide notifications are delivered in the language of the resident's configured interface.
• Planned maintenance or service interruptions are communicated in advance, including affected systems, duration, and alternatives.
• When a resolution timeline changes, the resident is notified of the revised expectation.

In practice.

A resident reports a malfunctioning kitchen exhaust. The interface shows: received Tuesday 9:14 AM — assigned to maintenance team — scheduled for Thursday between 10 AM and 12 PM. Thursday at 10:30: status changes to in progress. At 11:15: resolved — exhaust motor replaced. The resident followed the entire arc without sending a single follow-up message.

The water supply to floors 8 through 12 is shut off for emergency pipe repair. Within minutes, every resident on those floors receives a notification: water interruption on floors 8–12 due to emergency pipe repair, expected restoration by 3 PM. At 2:45 PM: restoration complete, water supply resumed. Residents on unaffected floors receive no notification.

A planned elevator maintenance is scheduled for Wednesday morning. On Monday, residents in that tower receive advance notice: elevator offline Wednesday 7–11 AM, freight elevator available as alternative. Wednesday at 10:45 AM: elevator returned to service.

Failure modes.

Confirmed and abandoned. The resident receives a prompt confirmation of receipt with a reference number. No further communication follows — no assignment, no timeline, no status change. The confirmation satisfied the system's first checkpoint but no subsequent ones. The resident has a reference number for a request nobody is working on.

Channel mismatch. The building sends a water shutoff notice via email. The resident manages all building interactions through the primary digital interface and does not monitor building-related email. The notification was sent; the resident was not reached. The channel the building chose is not the channel the resident uses.

Resolution without description. The request status changes to "resolved." No description of what was done. The resident does not know whether the issue was repaired, deferred, or simply closed. If the same issue recurs, they cannot reference what was tried previously.

Test.

1. Submit a request. Observe each state transition. Confirm: the resident receives a notification at each transition.
2. View an assigned request. Confirm: responsible party and expected timeline are visible.
3. View a resolved request. Confirm: resolution description is present.
4. Simulate a building-wide service interruption. Confirm: affected residents are notified with nature, scope, expected duration, and restoration confirmation.