Enterprise pattern
Incidents & complaints
Incidents & complaints are one-off or short-lived issues reported by citizens, staff, or partners (e.g. noise complaints, ASB reports, safety concerns, service issues) that need a clear journey from intake to resolution.
Reduces repeat contact by keeping the case journey clear and status visible.
Improves consistency and fairness with defined steps, evidence, and outcomes.
Protects service performance with SLAs, escalation, and oversight.
When to use this pattern
Use this pattern when…
- You need structured triage and routing from multiple channels (web, email, phone).
- Cases require evidence, updates, and a clear outcome / closure reason.
- You want SLA tracking and escalation for overdue items.
Not ideal when…
- The work is long-running programme delivery (months) with many phases and cohorts.
- You only need simple ticketing without evidence, communications, or governance.
Example workflows
Concrete journeys that commonly use this pattern:
Noise complaint
Collect incident details, assign the right team, gather evidence, take actions, and close with outcome and learning.
- 1. Report received → triage & categorise
- 2. Assign officer → request evidence / diary sheets
- 3. Actions & updates → resident communications
- 4. Outcome recorded → closure & reporting
Campus safety concern
A structured workflow that ensures prompt actions, documentation, and escalation for higher-risk concerns.
- 1. Intake & risk prompt
- 2. Allocate & notify stakeholders
- 3. Actions & safeguarding checks
- 4. Close with outcome and audit trail
Customer service complaint
Manage complaint stages, response deadlines, and communications with a single view and audit trail.
- 1. Stage 1 intake
- 2. Draft response & approvals
- 3. Send response & capture satisfaction
- 4. Escalate to Stage 2 if needed
Sectors that use this pattern
How the platform implements this pattern
Case Cloud implements incidents & complaints as a structured case journey: consistent intake, guided workflows, tracked actions, resident communications, and clear outcomes—backed by SLA monitoring and dashboards.
Forms & intake
Capture the right information up front and reduce back-and-forth.
- Configurable forms with conditional questions
- Attachment capture (photos, documents)
- Triage prompts to classify and prioritise
Workflow, tasks & SLAs
Make the next step obvious and keep cases moving.
- Workflow stages with required steps
- Task lists and reminders
- SLA clocks and escalation rules
Dashboards & oversight
See what’s overdue, what’s high risk, and where the bottlenecks are.
- Operational dashboards for caseload and SLAs
- Trend reporting for hotspots and repeat issues
- Audit trails for quality and compliance
Role-based benefits
Why each role should care about this pattern:
For Heads of Service
- Fewer escalations with consistent processes and clear ownership.
- Visibility of caseload, bottlenecks, and SLA performance.
- Evidence of outcomes and service improvement over time.
For IT
- Configurable workflows without custom code.
- Clear audit trail and access controls for governance.
- Integrations via APIs and exports to existing systems.
For Data & Performance
- Consistent definitions for stages and outcomes.
- Dashboards that reduce manual reporting.
- Exportable data for BI tooling and board reports.
Configuration & extensibility
Start from proven templates, then adapt safely: configure forms, workflow steps, SLAs, and permissions with clear governance controls.
Governance controls that keep things safe
- Role-based access control (RBAC) and audit logs
- Template-driven configuration with change control
- Optional approval steps for sensitive outcomes
Related patterns
Ready to apply the Incidents & complaints pattern?
See how Case Cloud implements it with templates, workflows, SLAs, and dashboards.