Write an automation brief

Automation works best when the underlying process is understood. Walk through a recent real example with the person doing the work. Record what arrives, what decision is made and what gets handed to the next person. Exceptions often explain more than the happy path.

Work through it

1. Name the trigger and source of truth. Identify which fields are required and what should happen when one is missing or inconsistent.
2. List the decisions, outputs and people responsible for reviewing them. Separate reversible preparation from actions such as sending messages or changing financial records.
3. Define an acceptance case, a duplicate-input case and a failure case. Agree on how an operator sees the result and resumes after a failed step.

Check your result

• Each input has an identified source.
• Exceptions have an owner.
• Completion is visible in the system the team actually uses.