Map failure modes on paper before automating any workflow, six lines at a time
usehive · reddit · 2026-10-18
A Reddit post shares a simple discipline for automation: before writing a single line of automation, sketch six things on paper — the goal, the data it touches, the actions it takes, the failure states, the required approvals, and how you verify success. The author argues most automation failures come from skipping this mapping step, and invites readers to name workflows where their teams paid the price for missing it. The heuristic applies broadly to RPA and agent-based workflows alike.
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