From Task to Workflow: Break Down the Steps Before Adding AI
Module 1 asked how far AI should go on a piece of work. This module goes one level down: which steps make up that work, where AI joins, and where a person must take over. Government work is rarely "ask once, answer once". It is a multi-step workflow: intake, classification, legal lookup, drafting, review, reply.
Task (a single job)
- Finished in one interaction, such as "summarize this document".
- One input, one output.
- Errors are contained and easy to check.
Workflow (a process)
- Several Tasks chained by order or condition.
- One step's output is the next step's input.
- Errors travel downstream, so you must know who owns and checks each step.
- Input: what must be in hand before the step starts, such as the full complaint text or the case assignment.
- Output: what the step must hand over when it ends, such as a classification result or a draft reply.
- Completion condition: what counts as done, such as "the classification was confirmed by the case officer".
- Test for a good split: can this step be checked on its own? If not, it usually needs splitting further.
Info
Write down the steps, inputs, and outputs first, then decide which step AI takes. Adding AI to an unclear process only automates the confusion.
Check yourself
Which statement best shows that a step has been broken down clearly enough?