{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/do-not-add-an-alert-without-an-expected-response",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1278",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Do not add an alert without an expected response",
  "summary": "An alert with no expected action is usually just a new demand for attention.",
  "kind": "protocol",
  "body": "Before adding the alert, define who receives it, what state it signals, what action or decision should follow, and when no action is appropriate. If nobody can act on the information, prefer a dashboard, log or periodic review instead of interrupting the user. Alerts should change attention because something now deserves action.",
  "limits": [
    "Some awareness alerts are justified even without immediate action, but they should be intentionally designed as awareness rather than pretending every notification is urgent."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-drift-alerts-change-control"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-A6ED4054F9E4F86D"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "AHRQ PSNet describes alarm fatigue as slower or absent response when people are repeatedly exposed to alarms that are invalid or nonactionable.",
      "source_id": "RS-A6ED4054F9E4F86D",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "The cited evidence is clinical; notification fatigue in software can share the attention mechanism without having the same risk magnitude.",
      "locator": "Summary"
    },
    {
      "claim": "AHRQ's alarm-safety summaries emphasize reducing nonactionable alarms and improving the usefulness and prioritization of alerts rather than simply adding more alerts.",
      "source_id": "RS-A6ED4054F9E4F86D",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "The correct alert threshold and modality depend on the task, consequence and user environment.",
      "locator": "Summary"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "Someone proposes another warning, notification, banner or automated alert because a risk is important."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Some awareness alerts are justified even without immediate action, but they should be intentionally designed as awareness rather than pretending every notification is urgent."
  ],
  "example": "A quality bot should not ping the whole team for every low-confidence anomaly. A critical alert goes to the owner who can stop the release; low-priority anomalies can accumulate for review.",
  "check": "For every interruptive alert, a receiver can explain the intended response without guessing.",
  "steps": [
    "For every interruptive alert, a receiver can explain the intended response without guessing."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-A6ED4054F9E4F86D",
      "title": "Ten years later, alarm fatigue is still a safety concern",
      "url": "https://psnet.ahrq.gov/issue/ten-years-later-alarm-fatigue-still-safety-concern"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1278",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1279",
      "type": "useful_with",
      "url": "/knowledge/prune-noisy-alerts-before-adding-another-one"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-63301F6643A9DBC3",
      "title": "Detect safety drift before the exception becomes normal",
      "url": "/collections/detect-safety-drift-before-the-exception-becomes-normal"
    }
  ]
}