Structured cards
Black Box surfaces work as cards rather than chat. Each specialist emits structured events that the UI renders as a typed card the owner can scan, click, and respond to with a single action. There are seven types, and only seven.
In one breath
- Seven types: report, approval, draft, error, attention, decision, progress.
- Color and shape carry the action, so cards can be scanned, not read.
- Specialists emit; the CEO routes; the views render.
The seven types
report_ready (deliverable ready to read), approval_needed (decision before publishing), draft_ready (review before send), error_alert (something went wrong), attention_required (a connection or credential needs the owner), decision_required (CEO is stuck and needs a call), progress_card (long-running task heartbeat).
Why fixed types
Free-form chat looks friendly but scales badly. With seven typed events, the owner learns the rhythm in a day: a green report is fine to skim, an orange approval needs a click, a red alert needs eyes now. The shape of a card tells you what to do without reading the words.
How specialists emit cards
Specialists call emit_owner_card with the event type and a small payload. The CEO routes the card to the right view (Action Feed for chronological, Approvals Inbox for action-required, Pulse for the audit trail). Card schemas live in the engine — see the cards spec for the field list.