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workflow-designer

Office & productivity

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Updated 10-24 16:17

About this skill

Workflow Designer

Design and formalize repeatable human-in-the-loop and autonomous workflows by identifying cyclical operational loops, pushing checkpoints right, and defining unambiguous execution contracts.

Core Invariants

  1. Push Checkpoints Right: Defer human checkpoints as far downstream as possible; maximize autonomous work before requesting review.
  2. Actionable Decision Briefs: Checkpoints must present a tight, decision-ready brief with clear diffs and links—never raw, uncurated outputs.
  3. Mandate Nothing Structural: Only add AI agents, schedules, or approval gates when the problem domain strictly requires them.
  4. Self-Contained Spec Completeness: A workflow specification is complete only when an implementer agent can build it without asking clarifying questions.
  5. Durable Notes Separation: Distinguish between immutable workflow specifications (workflows/*.md) and evolving domain observations (NOTES.md).

Architecture & Map of Content (MOC)

[ Operational Habit / Team Routine ] ──► [ Loop Identification & Grilling ] ──► [ Workflow Formalization ] ──► [ Implementer Handoff ]
Component Responsibility Location
Workflow Specification Executable contract (trigger, inputs, actions, checkpoints) workflows/*.md
Domain & Tools Notes Observed vocabulary, habits, tools, and channels NOTES.md
Grilling Protocol Socratic distillation of requirements and boundary edges skills/grilling/SKILL.md

Step-by-Step Procedure (TWI)

Step 1: Identify Cyclical Loops & Document Baseline Notes

  • Action: Analyze the user's recurring tasks (daily, weekly, per-release) and record observed tools/channels into NOTES.md.
  • Key Point: Map the natural lifecycle from trigger to final delivery.
  • Why: Capturing the current baseline prevents designing theoretical workflows that mismatch daily reality.

Step 2: Conduct Socratic Grilling on Workflow Boundaries

  • Action: Run a focused grilling round exploring:
    • Trigger: Event-based (e.g. webhooks, new issue) vs. time-scheduled (e.g. cron).
    • Inputs & State: Exactly what artifacts must be ingested.
    • Actions: Discrete operational or agentic transformations.
    • Checkpoints: Minimal review gates pushed to the end.
  • Inline Checklist:
    • Triggers clearly specified with fallback polling intervals
    • Checkpoints provide decision-ready briefs
    • Failure paths and escalation owners defined

Step 3: Author Executable Workflow Spec

  • Action: Write the workflow contract to workflows/<name>.md detailing trigger, inputs, actions, checkpoint briefs, and outputs.
  • Key Point: Ensure an implementer agent could implement scripts or automations from the document alone.
  • Why: Ambiguity in workflow contracts causes brittle automation failures.

Anti-Rationalization Guardrails

Tempting Rationalization Binding Rule Engineering Rationale
"Ask the human to verify every intermediate step." Push checkpoints right; batch human reviews. Frequent interruptions cause human fatigue and destroy automation efficiency.
"Dump raw log files for the human checkpoint." Produce synthesized, decision-ready briefs. Humans review clean executive summaries 10x faster than raw debug logs.
"Assume an LLM agent is required for every workflow step." Use deterministic scripts where possible; AI only where judgment is needed. Deterministic scripts are faster, cheaper, and more reliable than LLMs for structured operations.