Lost and found item notification system

Purpose

1.1. Automate the reporting, tracking, and notification process for lost and found items within an architecture school, ensuring quick communication, automated updates, and decreasing administrative overhead.
1.2. Enable students and staff to submit found or lost item reports through various channels (web, email, SMS), triggering real-time automated matching, notification, and management workflows.
1.3. Centralise lost and found data for efficient retrieval, reduce manual coordination, and provide automated analytics on lost items to administrators.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Submission of a lost or found item report via web form, mobile app, chatbot, or email.
2.2. New entry or update in the lost and found database.
2.3. Automated match detected between reported lost and found items (matching keywords or categories).
2.4. Resolution event triggered (item claimed or returned).
2.5. Scheduled reminders for unclaimed items after a set period.

Platform Variants

3.1. Twilio SMS
• Feature/Setting: SMS API — automate sending SMS notifications when new lost/found items are reported or matched.
• Sample: Trigger SMS via Twilio Programmable Messaging API when item status is updated.
3.2. SendGrid
• Feature/Setting: Transactional Email — automate lost/found match emails to all relevant users.
• Sample: Use SendGrid /mail/send endpoint with dynamic templates for notification emails.
3.3. Slack
• Feature/Setting: Incoming Webhooks — automate posting alerts to a “Lost and Found” Slack channel.
• Sample: Configure Slack Webhook URL in event action for automated message posts.
3.4. Microsoft Teams
• Feature/Setting: Microsoft Graph API — automate message posts in Teams channels for lost/found notifications.
• Sample: POST /teams/{id}/channels/{id}/messages with matching item details.
3.5. Google Forms
• Feature/Setting: Form Submission Trigger — automate processing of new lost/found form entries.
• Sample: On submission event, trigger automation via webhook or Apps Script.
3.6. Airtable
• Feature/Setting: Base Webhooks/API — automate update and retrieval of lost and found records.
• Sample: Use POST to /v0/{baseId}/{tableName} to create item record.
3.7. Notion
• Feature/Setting: Notion API — automate management and update of lost/found databases.
• Sample: Use PATCH on /v1/pages/{page_id} to update claim status.
3.8. Google Sheets
• Feature/Setting: Google Sheets API — automate syncing lost/found records and automate notifications from sheet events.
• Sample: On Sheets edit event, call Apps Script to automate notifications.
3.9. Zapier
• Feature/Setting: Multi-service workflow — automate cross-platform notifications, matching, and reminders.
• Sample: Build multi-step Zap with webhooks for triggers and actions.
3.10. Microsoft Power Automate
• Feature/Setting: Flow Triggers/Actions — automate end-to-end lost and found automation from email to Teams.
• Sample: Configure email trigger and Teams channel action.
3.11. Jira Service Management
• Feature/Setting: Ticket Automation — automate ticket creation, status tracking and notifications for lost/found items.
• Sample: Create issue API for new report, notify via comment.
3.12. ServiceNow
• Feature/Setting: Incident Management API — automate case creation and update on lost/found submissions.
• Sample: Table API POST to incident for new lost/found event.
3.13. HubSpot
• Feature/Setting: CRM Workflow Automation — automate notifications to staff and students.
• Sample: Create timeline events or automated email via workflow.
3.14. Monday.com
• Feature/Setting: Board Automations — automate updating item status, sending reminders.
• Sample: Use Monday API to automate item updates and people notifications.
3.15. Salesforce
• Feature/Setting: Flow Builder/API — automate case updates and communication flows.
• Sample: Flow or REST API to automate notifications upon item matches.
3.16. Google Chat
• Feature/Setting: Webhook Automation — automate push notifications and alerts in Chat rooms.
• Sample: Configure webhook in room to post lost/found events.
3.17. Trello
• Feature/Setting: Card Automation/Butler — automate creating cards for submissions and updates.
• Sample: Trigger card creation via Butler automation for each report.
3.18. Pipedrive
• Feature/Setting: Deal Automation/API — automate creating and updating lost/found "deals".
• Sample: New item submission POST to /deals.
3.19. Freshdesk
• Feature/Setting: Ticket workflows/API — automate ticket creation for each lost/found report.
• Sample: POST to /api/v2/tickets with item data.
3.20. Intercom
• Feature/Setting: Event Automation — automate messaging to students when match is found.
• Sample: Trigger message via Automation and Conversation API on event.

Benefits

4.1. Automates repetitive reporting, notification, and tracking tasks, saving time.
4.2. Reduces manual intervention with automated reminders and matched item alerts.
4.3. Improves response time, enabling real-time communication via multiple channels.
4.4. Enhances student and staff satisfaction using reliable automated processes.
4.5. Centralizes lost/found data for administratively efficient and auditable handling.
4.6. Enables automated analytics for item trends and common loss points in the school.