Limiting the damage automation can do.
WHAT AUTOMATION MULTIPLIES
Both correct work and mistakes.
WHAT TO BUILD IN
A reporting mode Limits on scope per run Confirmation for destructive actions Logging of everything changed A way to reverse
THE LIMIT POINT
A script able to affect everything eventually will, given wrong input.
WHAT TO GIVE AUTOMATION
Its own credentials, scoped to exactly what it does.
Never a person's, and never broader than required.
WHAT TO RUN FIRST
Against a copy, not production.
WHAT TO TEST
Behaviour with unexpected input Behaviour when interrupted Behaviour when run twice
WHAT TO MONITOR
That it ran, and that its output is plausible.
WHY THAT SECOND CHECK
Automation fails silently when a source changes shape.
WHAT TO REVIEW PERIODICALLY
Whether each automation is still needed and still correct.
WHAT TO DECOMMISSION
Automation nobody relies on, which still runs and still has access.
WHAT TO DOCUMENT
What it does, when it runs, and what to check when it fails.
