| name | bus-workflow-automation |
| description | Designs repeatable business workflows, runbooks, checklists, SOP automation plans, intake processes, escalation paths, QA steps, handoffs, and operational playbooks. Use when the user asks to create a runbook, automate a manual process, standardize operations, document a workflow, define triggers and roles, or map exceptions and approvals. |
Workflow Automation
Use this skill to turn repeatable business operations into reliable workflows, runbooks, and automation-ready procedures.
Workflow
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Define the process boundary.
- Identify the trigger, objective, start state, end state, frequency, volume, and business owner.
- Note systems, teams, inputs, outputs, and required approvals.
- Keep the workflow scoped to one repeatable process unless the user asks for a broader operating model.
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Map the current or desired flow.
- List each step in order with role, system, input, output, and decision point.
- Separate human judgment from deterministic work.
- Identify handoffs, waiting states, rework loops, and escalation points.
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Design for reliability.
- Add validation checks, acceptance criteria, audit trail needs, and failure handling.
- Define exception paths for missing data, SLA misses, rejected approvals, duplicate requests, and ambiguous ownership.
- Include QA steps for high-risk or customer-facing work.
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Identify automation opportunities.
- Mark steps as manual, assisted, or automatable.
- Recommend automation only where inputs are structured enough and failure modes are understood.
- Preserve human approval for judgment-heavy, legal, financial, security, or brand-sensitive decisions.
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Produce an operational handoff.
- Write steps as commands or checks that an operator can execute.
- Include roles, SLAs, escalation paths, and definition of done.
- Keep the result project-agnostic unless the user provides specific tools.
Output
Use references/runbook-template.md for runbooks, SOPs, and automation design handoffs.
