automate-this

Automate This

Core rule

Automate the process with the simplest reliable mechanism for each step. Do not use an agent where deterministic code, rules, or an existing system is better.

Inputs

Accept rough descriptions, SOPs, screenshots, forms, emails, spreadsheets, workflow diagrams, or existing automation artifacts.

Procedure

1. Define outcome and trigger. What starts the process and what observable result ends it?
2. Map the current flow. Inputs → steps → decisions → outputs → actors/systems.
3. Expose exceptions. Invoke/apply find-the-exceptions when branches are incomplete.
4. Classify every step with one preferred implementation:
   • deterministic code/rules;
   • database/query;
   • existing application/workflow capability;
   • agentic reasoning;
   • human gate;
   • manual-only / not automatable yet.
5. Define interfaces. Inputs, outputs, schemas, side effects, required tools/permissions.
6. Design human gates. Use human-gates for authority, accountability, ambiguity, or risk.
7. Define failure behavior. Retry, timeout, partial success, rollback, idempotency, escalation.
8. Define observability. Logs, evidence, run status, audit trail, key metrics.
9. Define completion criteria. What proves the workflow achieved the business outcome?
10. Recommend a dry run when side effects or scale make it prudent.

Output contract

Objective
Trigger
Inputs

Step | Purpose | Implementation | Input | Output | Failure path | Human gate

Decision rules
Exceptions / unknowns
Systems and permissions
Observability
Completion criteria
Rollout / dry-run plan

When useful, add Mermaid or BPMN-like pseudocode, but the execution table remains authoritative.

Deep reference

Read references/implementation-modes.md when step classification is ambiguous or the design is drifting toward agentic complexity by default.

Architecture rule

Do not begin by choosing “single agent vs multi-agent.” First classify the work. Agent topology follows from the required reasoning, isolation, concurrency, and permissions.

Gotchas

• “AI everywhere” is an anti-pattern.
• Do not automate an ambiguous policy; resolve or gate it.
• Do not preserve manual copy/paste steps unless there is a real constraint.
• A human approval without defined trigger/evidence/outcomes is not an implementation.
• Include recovery and idempotency for workflows that can partially execute.

Composition

• Missing organization knowledge → know-enough.
• Historical process examples → find-precedent.
• Hidden branches → find-the-exceptions.
• Human authority → human-gates.
• Risky rollout → dry-run.
• Final acceptance → completion-audit.

Stop condition

Stop when every material process step has a chosen implementation mode, interfaces, exception/failure behavior, ownership, and completion evidence.