Error States as Records: Designing for Tomorrow's Investigator

Most error messages are designed for the engineer watching the failure, but in asynchronous workflows, the real reader arrives hours or weeks later with zero context. This shift from "message for an observer" to "record for an investigator" means error states must be self-contained and comprehensive, not concise. As automated and agent-driven systems become standard, this reframing of error design is essential for building maintainable, debuggable systems.