We have lots of feedback (100+ issues) and research that the existing To-Dos, email notifications and settings don't meet user needs. This epic collects research, feature ideas and other related work into one place. Some of these issues date back more than six years. There have been a few attempts to make progress on this problem, but weren't able to follow through due to lack of prioritization. ## Problems to Solve Many users complain that todos require excessive pruning in order to be useful. They also complain that they have to rely too much on email or third-party software in order to receive all necessary notifications. Many users mention wanting a proper notification center. Todos carry an assumption that the information they hold is actionable, which isn't always true. To dos are not customizable. Todos are not easy to organize or act on. Notifications have many of the same problems, so users have to choose between GitLab's ToDo, their email inbox, or a combination. None of these workflows are supporting users in engaging better with our platform. Research: * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/5525+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ux-research/-/issues/838+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ux-research/-/issues/312+ * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3132+ Feature or design suggestions: * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/5693+ (note that there are over 100 issues gathered here) * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/29912+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/327402+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/23080+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/23098+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/14889+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/426078+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/47102+ Other issues: * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-design/-/issues/2066+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/325210/+ ## Proposal We have broken out epics to capture the major phases of delivery for this epic: * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/13795+ * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/13794+ * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/13580+ * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/13796+ * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/13797+ * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/14087+s * https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/149+s See our [notifications category direction](https://about.gitlab.com/direction/manage/personal_productivity/notifications/) for a big-picture view of our plans. ## Current status Development is underway! We're currently working to [mature to existing To-Do List experience](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/14661 "Mature the existing to-do list"). ## Target personas Notifications are used by all users, so our long-term vision must accomodate a variety of needs. In order to make progress, we will focus on a subset of personas that have a pressing need to remain up-to-date with work happening in GitLab: * [Parker (Product Manager)](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/personas/#parker-product-manager) * [Delaney (Development Team Lead)](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/personas/#delaney-development-team-lead) Once we have created an experience that they love, we will broaden our focus to other people that use GitLab daily. ## Success metrics **Leading** * MAU for notification center **Lagging** * Weekly user retention for notification center * % of users that report being afraid of missing an important notification ## Go-to-market We will deliver this functionality in three major phases: * Maturing the existing To-Do List * Rebranding "to-dos" to "notifications" * Surfacing new notifications within GitLab ### Maturing the existing to-do list We will iterate on the existing to-do list during this phase, with each iteration available to all users (i.e. not feature flagged). We intend to add features that have been highly-requested, and do not anticipate any need for breaking changes or deprecations. This includes features like: * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/17712+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/23084+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/413106+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/16564+ * https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/320912+ We will introduce few (if any) new to-do types during this phase to ensure we avoid overwhelming end users with a noisy inbox. This functionality will be available to all users in all tiers and will be rolled out iteratively via release posts as new functionality lands. ### Rebranding "to-dos" to "notifications" Next, we will transition to using the word "notification" in the product instead of "to-do". We are doing this for two reasons: 1. The existing to-do list has relatively low customer adoption. When interviewing customers about this, we found that they didn't expect to find notifications in a "to-do list." When showing them the functionality that was there, the noted that it did meet many of their needs – they just would have never discovered it on their own. 2. The existing to-do list is not a to-do list: it does not provide any of the functionality users expect in personal task management software – features like creating new to-dos and breaking down existing ones, setting dates and priorities, and collaborating with others via comments and assignment. By freeing up the name "to-do", we give ourselves space to explore offering that sort of functionality in the future, possibly [building on top of custom work items](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/cross-stage-features/work-items/). This will involve cross-stage changes, like updating the sidebar on issues and merge requests. Given the potential disruption these changes could cause to users, we will bundle these changes into a single public release. Once this goes live, we will market the change as "introducing web notifications". ### Surfacing new notifications within GitLab By this point, we will have introduced ample functionality to allow users to keep their notifications focused and actionable. We will work with other stage groups to start raising new notifications to address additional use cases. At this point, the ~"group::personal productivity" team will be focused primarily on the internal notifications framework, while individual product teams will be responsible for the notifications they choose to raise. ## Disclaimer _This page may contain information related to upcoming products, features and functionality. It is important to note that the information presented is for informational purposes only, so please do not rely on the information for purchasing or planning purposes. Just like with all projects, the items mentioned on the page are subject to change or delay, and the development, release, and timing of any products, features, or functionality remain at the sole discretion of GitLab Inc._ <!--triage-serverless v3 PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THIS SECTION--> <!--triage-serverless v3 PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THIS SECTION--> _This page may contain information related to upcoming products, features and functionality. It is important to note that the information presented is for informational purposes only, so please do not rely on the information for purchasing or planning purposes. Just like with all projects, the items mentioned on the page are subject to change or delay, and the development, release, and timing of any products, features, or functionality remain at the sole discretion of GitLab Inc._ <!--triage-serverless v3 PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THIS SECTION--> <!-- triage-serverless v3 PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THIS SECTION --> *This page may contain information related to upcoming products, features and functionality. It is important to note that the information presented is for informational purposes only, so please do not rely on the information for purchasing or planning purposes. Just like with all projects, the items mentioned on the page are subject to change or delay, and the development, release, and timing of any products, features, or functionality remain at the sole discretion of GitLab Inc.* <!-- triage-serverless v3 PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THIS SECTION -->