Case Note 02 / AI / Automation
Designing the agent before choosing the framework.
How to reduce an ambitious AI-agent concept to a useful operating contract before implementation choices create momentum in the wrong direction.
Approach
Define one outcome
Start with a workflow result that can be observed, not a list of capabilities the agent might perform.
Design the context
Specify which sources matter, how fresh they need to be and what the agent should do when information conflicts.
Split permission from capability
A model may be capable of an action without being authorized to perform it.
Create explicit stop conditions
Identify external communication, financial impact, unusual decisions or ambiguous states that require escalation.
Measure the workflow
Compare the agent-assisted process with the current baseline: time, rework, quality and review effort.
Outcome
The agent becomes narrower, but more useful: fewer accidental permissions, clearer human checkpoints and a pilot that can actually prove whether the workflow improved.
Autonomy is not the objective. The objective is a better operating model — autonomy is only one design variable inside it.