Start with an explicit rule
A brief can flag a missing width, quantity, artwork owner or delivery contact. The rule should explain why the field matters and who can provide it. A missing dimension is a request for information, not permission to supply a plausible value. Keep reminders proportional to the task and agreed communication policy.
Separate drafting from authority
An assistant may summarise authorised information or propose questions. Calculations and permissions need tested software, and accepted commitments need responsible approval. Instructions embedded in an uploaded document are document content; they do not acquire application authority. Show the source behind extracted facts and allow the user to correct them.
Keep the workflow useful without AI
Use clear forms, deterministic validation and portable exports for the essential task. Prevent duplicated reminders when jobs retry and record actual results. A scheduled request is not a sent message, and a sent message is not a reply. In the launch release, public checks run in the browser; AI providers and shared automation are not presented as active services before configuration and verification.
Worked example — fictional
A fictional brief contains a delivery date and quantity but no finished width. A deterministic check flags the missing dimension and names the site owner as the person who can provide it. An assistant may draft a short question using authorised context, but it does not insert a plausible width. When an uploaded supplier document includes an instruction to ignore approvals, that text remains untrusted document content and cannot change application permissions. A retry of a notification job must use the same intended event identity so it does not create duplicate messages. Without an AI service, the user can still fill the form, read the rule and export a useful draft. The actual result record distinguishes a proposed reminder, a sent communication and a received answer.
Decision checkpoints
- Rule: state the deterministic condition, affected field and reason the missing information matters to the task.
- Source: link extracted facts to authorised records and allow a responsible user to correct the proposal.
- Authority: keep identity, permission, arithmetic and consequential decisions outside a model’s discretionary control.
- Result: record actual job outcomes and retry identity, with a useful manual or deterministic fallback.
Common pitfalls
- A plausible generated value can look confirmed unless the system preserves its proposed or unverified state.
- Instructions in uploaded content must not acquire authority over sharing, approvals or external application actions.
- A queued job or drafted message is not evidence of a successful notification, reply or completed task.
Use it on your next job
Write the validation rule and its factual explanation before adding automation. Test missing, invalid and changed inputs and confirm that drafts remain usable. Define the authorised communication scope and deduplication behaviour for any connected job. Keep the public browser workflow operational while external AI, identity and messaging services are unavailable or unconfigured.
Take this to the next job
- Explain each validation rule
- Never fill unknown facts silently
- Link extracted facts to sources
- Keep permissions outside model discretion
- Provide a deterministic fallback
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