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Using response templates (Staff workflow)

Templates help you communicate consistently and quickly.

What templates are

Templates are pre-written messages that can be: - public (visible to citizens), or - internal (staff-only notes)

Templates can be applied manually or triggered automatically by rules.

When to use templates

Use templates for: - “We received your report” - “We scheduled work” - “We need more information” - “Resolved / closed”

How to apply a template

Your deployment may expose templates through: - The backoffice UI (recommended), and/or - Django Admin tools (for previewing and testing)

Placeholders (dynamic values)

Templates can include placeholders that are filled from the occurrence, such as: - occurrence title - reporter name - status - service request ID

If a placeholder can’t be filled, the system keeps the message readable (it won’t crash).

Behind the scenes (grounded in code)

  • Template model: apps/occurrences/models.py → ResponseTemplate
  • Rendering logic: ResponseTemplate.render()
  • Auto-response rules: AutoResponseRule
  • Runtime application: WorkflowPolicyService.apply_auto_response
  • Backoffice template APIs: ResponseTemplateViewSet registered in config/api_router.py (backoffice/templates)