A tell-tell for the unattended-upgrades process

[Oobuntus]

Yes, of course.

But let's suppose I had approached the forum this way:
Hi. I am a new Linux Lite user. I like it very much.
I began my session today by clicking on 'Install Updates'.
A message appeared saying 'Linux Lite Updates have failed'.
The log file says it couldn't get a lock or something.
What's going on?

Or suppose I had approached the forum this way:
I fired up the old laptop today and proceeded to install Google Chrome
(unavailable in Lite Software) using gdebi with a downloaded deb.
I got a message saying,
'Only one software management tool is allowed to run at the same time'.
I'm not running any software management tool that I know of,
so what's going on?

Would the response to either of these have been, try again tomorrow, try
again in half an hour; maybe 15 minutes? Or would I have received an
introductory note about the background unattended upgrades process
(which can sometimes take a considerable time to complete)
and that I should indeed try again later? But how long do I have to wait?

The suggestion was not meant as a favor to me, but as a means to
avoid the mystery that will inevitably confront other users someday.
'Stick to recommended procedure' was not a particularly good response.