Come back after time away
NewA person returns after the assistant worked alone. What do they see first?
A short summary: what finished, what needs them, what changed, and one tap to the full log.
Try it
Finished
- Booked the train tickets
- Saved 3 hotel options
Needs you
- Pick one of the 3 hotels
What changed
- 1 Bookings made
- 3 Items saved
Waiting for you
1Needs you now1
- Trip planQuestion
Pick one of the 3 hotels
Waiting 40 min
The agent is working
How to design it
- 1
Say what finished
Start with the good news in a few short lines. It tells people the time away was well spent.
- 2
Put what needs you first
Anything that waits on the person comes before the rest, with a clear button.
- 3
Say what changed
Give simple counts, such as files edited or bookings made, so people know how big the work was.
- 4
Keep the full log one tap away
People who want every detail can open it. Everyone else is not buried.
Do and avoid
Do
- Say how long the person was away.
- Keep the summary short enough to read in seconds.
- Show which tasks are still running in a small chip.
- Let the person take control at any time.
Avoid
- Do not show a long feed and leave people to dig.
- Do not hide the one question that blocks the work.
- Do not use amber for finished work.
- Do not remove the full log.
Why it works
Microsoft's agent guidelines say status should always be easy to see, and that background work should stay visible and in reach without demanding attention. A paper on overseeing agents also argues that no one can watch all the time, so a good summary on return does the watching for them.