Show the handoff and inspect the systems
Name the event, manual steps, owners, required result, access, interfaces, data, and constraints.
How a project works
Start with the broken handoff. Prove the connection.
The process is designed to prevent vague automation projects, hidden authority changes, and endless development without a shared completion standard.
The operating sequence
Definition before implementation. Proof before completion.
The process is designed to prevent vague automation work and hidden changes in authority.
Define and approve the build
State triggers, rules, approvals, failure handling, environments, price, and completion criteria.
Build in slices and validate reality
Test mappings, duplicates, permissions, exceptions, rollback, and the actual business outcome.
Launch, document, and support
Confirm access, ownership, monitoring, reconciliation, handoff, and known limitations.
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1. Show us the handoff
The business identifies a real recurring problem: information is copied, a follow-up disappears, a job must be rebuilt in another system, an invoice is delayed, or a spreadsheet is holding a critical process together.
We capture the current steps without assuming the employee workaround is the root problem. The objective is to understand the event, information, decisions, systems, and completion condition.
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2. Inspect the systems
We verify which systems are involved and what integration points they support. We review source ownership, fields, identifiers, roles, permissions, APIs, webhooks, exports, imports, databases, rate limits, and relevant vendor constraints.
We also identify the conditions that make the workflow difficult: incomplete records, duplicate customers, different naming conventions, manual approvals, timing dependencies, or exceptions that only one employee knows how to handle.
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3. Define and approve the build
The proposed build states what triggers the workflow, what data moves, what logic is applied, which actions remain manual, how failures are handled, where the solution runs, and what evidence will prove completion.
The business receives the price, responsibilities, assumptions, exclusions, and completion criteria before implementation begins. Any production access, credential use, public exposure, financial action, or destructive capability must be explicit rather than inferred.
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4. Build in bounded slices
Implementation should produce inspectable progress. The connection is built against representative test data or a controlled environment where possible. Each slice is checked for data mapping, duplicate behavior, error handling, authority boundaries, and unintended effects.
Large projects may be phased so one end-to-end handoff is proven before more systems or automation are added.
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5. Validate the real workflow
A successful technical request is not enough. Validation should confirm that the business result occurred: the right customer was created, the correct job was scheduled, the approved invoice was produced, or the accountable person received the exception.
Proof may include test cases, records, logs, screenshots, reconciliation, stakeholder review, and documented limitations.
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6. Launch, document, and support
Before launch, production access and rollback responsibilities are confirmed. After launch, the business receives the agreed documentation, ownership details, and support path. Monitoring is added according to the consequence of failure.
Future improvements return to the same discipline: define the new outcome and authority before changing the operating system.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do you begin coding during the first conversation?
No. A conversation may clarify the problem, but implementation should not begin until the workflow and authority boundary are understood and an appropriate scope is approved.
Can a project be delivered in phases?
Yes. Phasing is often stronger because the business can prove one end-to-end handoff before expanding to additional systems or use cases.
What counts as completion?
Completion is defined for the project. It should include the expected business outcome, representative validation, documentation, known limitations, and the agreed launch or handoff state.
Will you work in our existing accounts?
That depends on the implementation. Account ownership, access method, least-privilege roles, credential handling, and production authorization are defined before access is used.
Start with one handoff
A clear process protects both the build and the business.
Start by describing the handoff and the outcome that should happen instead.
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