Make room for judgment in a workflow

Find the decisions between the steps

A process diagram may show a request moving from one system to another. The person doing the work may describe something quite different: checking whether information is plausible, deciding which exception matters and knowing who to call when a request does not fit.

Before automating the workflow, ask that person to explain a recent ordinary task and a difficult one. Focus on the cues they used and the decisions they made. A sequence of clicks records actions. It may not capture the judgment that made those actions appropriate.

Separate rules from unresolved questions

Some decisions can be written as explicit rules. Others depend on context, incomplete information or authority that belongs to a particular role. Record the distinction. If two experienced people make different choices, investigate why before encoding either choice as the default.

This work can expose gaps in the process itself. A team may need a clearer definition, an agreed approval limit or a better source of information before it needs automation. Resolving that uncertainty gives both people and software a sounder basis for action.

• Which facts are required before work can proceed?
• Which exceptions can be resolved using an agreed rule?
• Which decisions require a named person’s approval?
• What should happen when information is missing or contradictory?

Give review a real place in the workflow

If an AI output needs human review, specify what the reviewer can see and what they are expected to check. A person cannot provide meaningful oversight if the interface hides the source information or gives them no way to correct the result.

NIST’s AI RMF Core calls for defined responsibilities in human-AI configurations and oversight. In a workflow, that means making responsibility concrete: a review point, a decision owner and a route for escalation. It also means allowing the person to stop the process when the evidence is insufficient.

Prepare for handover

Document the ordinary path and the exceptions together. Let another member of staff work through representative tasks using the guidance. The questions they ask can reveal assumptions that the original process owner no longer notices.

When we implement a change, staff preparation is part of the work. People need to understand the new tools, their decision rights and the support available after handover. Capturing judgment helps an organization share responsibility without pretending that every situation can be reduced to a fixed rule.