AI workflow requirements and acceptance checklist
v1 · 2026-10-11
Use this resource to define requirements. It is not a tested case study. Adapt the criteria to your task and risk; no result is guaranteed.

01 · Task and operator
[ ] Write down one recurring task, its operator, reviewer and stop decision owner. Avoid automating the entire business at once.
[ ] Record the current steps, frequency, time spent, rework and common failures. Mark unknown values as unmeasured; do not present estimates as a baseline.

02 · Inputs and data boundaries
[ ] List required inputs, sources, formats and permissions. Start with synthetic or anonymized examples. Keep customer data, credentials and trade secrets out of public demos.
[ ] Confirm external model calls, processing location, storage, retention and deletion. Pause integration if these boundaries are unresolved.

03 · Outputs and human judgment
[ ] Define one inspectable output: fields, format, evidence references, missing values and uncertainty. Specify which actions only produce drafts.
[ ] Assign human review points. An authorized person confirms sending, publishing, payments or changes to business records. The confirmation step should be cancellable.

04 · Acceptance and examples
[ ] Prepare fixed examples: normal input, missing fields, conflicting or stale sources, insufficient permissions and tool failures. Write expected outcomes before running.
[ ] Check factual accuracy, format completeness, traceable evidence and human takeover separately. Agree on pass criteria and cost limits in advance; generation success alone is insufficient.

05 · Baseline and comparison
[ ] Compare the current method and AI workflow on the same tasks, inputs and criteria. Record sample count, successes, time and cost, including failures.
[ ] Report results as successes / total, with model, tool and version details. Small samples are only signals; one smoke run cannot establish efficiency or training gains.

06 · Failure, retry and takeover
[ ] Set timeout, retry, cost and stop limits. After an external write fails, inspect its status before retrying to avoid duplicate messages or records.
[ ] On failure, show the reason, completed steps, sources and next owner. Keep a path to finish the task manually.

07 · Scope and pilot plan
[ ] Confirm deliverables, exclusions, timeline, fees, data use and acceptance owner in writing before starting a prototype or pilot.
[ ] Start with one workflow and controlled examples. Check saving, retrieval, refresh, recovery and source visibility. Passing tests does not establish live-store or production validation.

08 · Review and next step
[ ] Assign a review date and owner. Use the same criteria to continue, revise or stop. Expanding scope requires new evidence and agreement.
[ ] Keep a short record of changes, examples and outcomes, failure causes, cost, unverified points and next steps. Retain unfavorable results.

Task card
Task:
Operator / reviewer:
Current process and unmeasured baseline:
Inputs / sources / processing location:
Output format and evidence:
Human confirmation points:
Fixed examples and expected outcomes:
Pass criteria / sample count:
Time / cost limits:
Failure, retries and takeover:
Deliverables / timeline / fees:
Review date / owner:
Continue, revise or stop criteria:

Synthetic example: take meeting notes without personal information and return decisions, actions, owners and unresolved items, with a source quote for each entry. Mark missing owners as unresolved; do not guess or email automatically. Verify evidence for each item, retained conflicts and marked omissions, and compare against a human-produced result. This example has no actual run results.