The limits.
WHEN AUTOMATION IS THE WRONG ANSWER
The process is unclear The process is about to change The task is rare Judgement is required The relationship matters more than the efficiency
WHY UNCLEAR PROCESSES
Automating an undefined process fixes the confusion in place.
WHY IMMINENT CHANGE
The effort is wasted.
WHAT TO ASK BEFORE AUTOMATING
Whether the task should exist Whether it could be simplified instead Whether a person doing it adds something
WHY THAT LAST QUESTION
Some tasks are where relationships are built.
WHAT EXAMPLES SHOW
A personal call about a problem A conversation with a major customer A difficult message
WHAT TO KEEP HUMAN
Anything where the recipient would be offended by automation.
WHAT ELSE TO CONSIDER
Whether the automation creates a dependency you cannot maintain.
WHY THAT MATTERS
Automations built by one person who leaves become unmaintainable.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
That more than one person understands each automation.
WHAT TO DOCUMENT
What it does, why, and how to fix or disable it.
WHY HOW TO DISABLE
When it misbehaves, stopping it quickly matters.
WHAT TO AVOID
Building an elaborate system of interdependent automations.
WHY
Failures cascade and diagnosis becomes impossible.
WHAT TO PREFER
Simple, independent automations that fail separately.
WHAT TO RECOGNISE
That some manual work is acceptable.
