Resources
When not to automate.
A decision page, not a product page. If the work fails this filter, I will tell you to leave it alone.
- Fixed scope
- Human approval
- Built around your tools
- Documentation you own
Use this filter before you buy a build
If you cannot name the reviewer, the rule, and the tool, stop. An agent will not invent good judgment. It will invent speed.
Do not automate the judgment
Exceptions, apologies, pricing, hiring, and anything that spends money or uses your name in public stay with a person. The agent can fetch and draft. A person still decides.
Do not automate the unfinished SOP
If two people do the same job two different ways, you do not have a workflow yet. I will write that down on an Audit. I will not pretend a build will paper over it.
Do not automate unsupervised customer contact
I do not ship fully autonomous no-review agents. If the message can leave the building, someone named approves it.
Do not automate compliance theater
I will not sell HIPAA, SOC 2, or a certificate I do not hold. If your work is compliance-heavy, I will tell you I am the wrong vendor.
The free list is here: 10 workflows I tell clients not to automate.