Agent-Ready Workflow Documentation Checklist

Use one copy for one workflow. Complete the template from observed work and recent cases. The operating record should show the measurable outcome, the work people actually perform, where judgment enters, which evidence controls the decision, where authority changes, who owns the exception, and how failures update the workflow.

The 10 sections

1. Workflow identity and measurable outcome.
2. Evidence used to build the document.
3. Workflow map.
4. Operator judgment interview.
5. Context and access inventory.
6. Decision-rights map.
7. Exception register.
8. Quality and refresh loop.
9. 15-statement readiness check.
10. Release gate.

The 15 readiness statements

The scoring scale is 0 for no evidence, 1 for mostly informal, 2 for documented, 3 for owned and tested.

Outcome clarity

The workflow has a measurable finish line and one person accountable for the result.

• One named person owns the business outcome this workflow is meant to produce.
• The team can state the baseline, target, and time window for that outcome.
• The workflow has a clear starting event, finish condition, and out-of-scope boundary.

Workflow truth

The documented process matches the work people actually perform, including the workarounds.

• The workflow was captured by observing recent work, including the differences from the written policy and ideal process.
• The documented workflow includes the common exceptions, workarounds, and judgment calls.
• Different versions across teams or sites are reconciled into one standard or explicitly named as valid variants.

Context and system access

The information, examples, and permissions required to do the work are known and available.

• Every system, field, document, and source needed to complete the workflow is inventoried.
• Required access and permissions are defined for each step, including restricted information.
• Approved examples show what a good decision, weak decision, and edge case look like.

Decision rights and exception ownership

The workflow says what can proceed, what needs approval, and who owns the unusual case.

• Each decision is assigned a permission mode: observe, recommend, act with approval, or act autonomously.
• Risk, confidence, or dollar thresholds state when a human must take over.
• One named person owns exceptions and can make the final call without an approval hunt.

Evaluation and refresh loop

Quality is measured, failures become evidence, and the workflow changes when the work changes.

• A quality measure tests the result of the workflow, not just whether every step was completed.
• Failures and overrides are logged in a form the workflow owner can review.
• A named owner reviews performance and refreshes the workflow on a fixed cadence.

Download the printable PDF.

Frequently asked questions