[Launch] Real-Time Notifications

[chrizbo]

Overview

Add a real-time notifications system allowing users to receive timely alerts in-app and via channels.

Success Criteria

• Deliver reliable notification delivery for key events
• Provide a UI notification center with unread counts
• Support real-time subscriptions and retries

Rollout Plan

Team → Alpha → Beta → GA
Related to #1

Generated by Launch Creator · gpt50 18.9K · ◷

[github-actions]

🔍 Assumptions Worth Discussing

I found 4 high-risk assumption(s) in this issue that might be worth making explicit. These aren't criticisms — they're invitations to align.

1. Delivery reliability for key events

"Deliver reliable notification delivery for key events"

The assumption: The backend and delivery channels can guarantee timely, reliable delivery for the events you consider "key" (across in-app, push, email, SMS, or other channels).

Why it matters: If delivery can't be guaranteed (due to scale, third-party limits, or transient failures), users may miss important alerts and trust in notifications could be lost. Fixes may require major infra work or third-party contracts.

Question for the team: Which specific events are "key", what availability/latency targets do we expect, and who owns the delivery SLAs and monitoring?

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2. Real-time subscriptions and retry semantics

"Support real-time subscriptions and retries"

The assumption: There is or will be a real-time pub/sub system (WebSockets, FCM, SSE, a message broker, etc.) and a clear design for retries, backoff, and idempotency.

Why it matters: Implementing real-time subscriptions and correct retry semantics affects architecture (stateful vs stateless services), cost, mobile/desktop support, and complexity around exactly-once vs at-least-once delivery. Mistakes here cause duplicate notifications, missed deliveries, or excessive resource use.

Question for the team: Which real-time transport(s) are we targeting, who will run/own the messaging infrastructure, and what retry/idempotency model should we follow?

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3. "Via channels" availability and constraints

"allowing users to receive timely alerts in-app and via channels."

The assumption: The required external channels (push providers, email/SMS vendors) are available, affordable, and compliant with regulatory/consent requirements for all target regions.

Why it matters: Channel choice impacts cost, user opt-in flows, privacy/compliance (e.g., SMS rules, data residency), and implementation effort. If a channel isn't available or permitted, the product scope and UX change.

Question for the team: Which channels do we intend to support initially, what are the expected costs/agreements, and are there regulatory or consent requirements to track?

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4. Rollout sequencing and team capacity

"Team → Alpha → Beta → GA"

The assumption: The team has the capacity and dependencies will be resolved to execute the planned rollout stages on schedule.

Why it matters: Rollouts expose integration and scaling issues; underestimating effort or missing dependent work (e.g., API changes, mobile client updates) can delay GA or cause partial launches.

Question for the team: Who owns the rollout, what are tentative dates or criteria for Alpha/Beta, and which dependencies must be confirmed before each stage?

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🤔 Things Not Mentioned

• A concrete list of "key events" and expected traffic volume — affects design and cost — (ask: product/PM).
• Opt-in, user preferences, and cross-device read/unread consistency — affects UX and data model — (ask: frontend/mobile owners).
• Monitoring, alerting, and delivery SLAs (how will we detect missed notifications?) — (ask: SRE/observability).
• Privacy/compliance (data residency, consent for SMS) and vendor contracts — (ask: legal/procurement).

🧩 This comment was generated by the Assumption Surfacer workflow to help the team reason together. Reply to any assumption above to share your perspective — that's how shared understanding forms.

Generated by Assumption Surfacer for issue #280 · gpt50 21.7K · ◷