Agent readiness worksheet for one workflow

The worksheet plans one repeating task for an AI agent before anything is switched on, from the level each action starts at to the weekly minutes and cost of checking the agent's work. Once it is filled in, the sheet shows which actions can start above draft, what the agent has to score before an action moves up, and whether the weekly read fits the time set aside for it. The levels are numbered: 1 is read only, 2 is draft, 3 is act after approval and 4 is act then notify, as the levels guide explains.

The task

One line for each:

The task, as a verb and an object, for example "confirm next week's appointments": ______
What starts it: a message, a schedule or a person asking: ______
What done looks like: ______
Who approves it and answers for it: ______

Its actions and starting levels

Each action the task takes gets a row. An action that is hard to undo, reaches someone outside the company, or moves money or commits the company starts no higher than level 3.

Action	Easy to undo within a day	Reaches someone outside	Moves money or commits the company	Starting level
Example: read the calendar	Yes	No	No	1
Example: draft a confirmation email	Yes	No	No	2
Example: send the confirmation	No	Yes	No	3
Action:
Action:
Action:

Readiness score before a move

One point for each yes, scored for one action before it moves up one level.

Question	Point
1. This task had a written promotion rule before it started
2. The record covers at least as many items as the rule names
3. No serious error in that record: no wrong person, wrong number or unintended promise
4. Recent edits were light, touching wording and never facts
5. Rejections do not keep giving the same reason
6. The model, instructions and tools stayed the same during the record
7. The system enforces the new level through the access the agent holds
8. Every action at the new level will write a receipt
9. The stop switch for this task was tested within a month of this score
10. The task's week still fits the time budget at the new level

Reading the score:

Score	What follows
10 points	The action moves up one level, with the date written on the grant
8 or 9 points	The missing items get fixed, then the action is scored again
7 or fewer	The action stays at its level and the tally continues
A missing point on question 3, 7, 8 or 9	The move is blocked whatever the total

Approval card checklist

Each request the agent sends shows:

the action in one line: what happens, and to whom
the exact content that will go out
what triggered it, and which instruction it followed
links to the evidence it used
who receives it, what changes and whether it can be undone
what this item cost, if known
approve, edit and reject, with a short reason required on reject
batches only for items of the same kind; anything unusual on its own card

The approvals guide explains each line.

Stop switch checklist

It only stops. Nothing on its screen can start work.
One stop for a kind of action, such as all sending, and one for the whole agent.
A phone reaches it in about thirty seconds.
Half-finished work has a written fallback, such as a note to anyone already contacted.
The agent cannot turn it off, delay it or change it.
Last tested on: ______
Who else can press it during an absence: ______

Receipt checklist

Each action writes a receipt at the time it happens, with:

what it did, in plain words
the date and time, with time zone
where it acted
what started it
how it ended: done, failed, stopped or undone
the agent, the person who approved and the people it reached
the instructions version, the model and the tools
links to the evidence
the reason the agent gave, written at the time
tokens in and out, and the price used
The agent can add receipts and cannot change them.
Receipts are kept for ______ months, set by the records policy.

The audit trail guide explains each field.

Weekly time and cost

Two formulas:

Minutes per week = requests per week times minutes per request, plus the minutes for the weekly read.
Cost per completed action = the task's model and tool cost for the week divided by the actions that finished and were not rejected.

The example column is made up and assumes batched requests, which is how one takes about 12 seconds.

Line	Example (made up)	Yours
Requests per week	120
Minutes per request	0.2, about 12 seconds per request
Minutes in the approval queue	24
Minutes for the weekly read	15
Minutes per week	39
Time budget per week	45
Fits the budget	Yes
Model and tool cost for the week	$6.00
Actions completed and not rejected	111
Cost per completed action	about 5.4 cents

A week over budget holds every action at its current level until the week fits again.

The written rules

Promotion rule: an action moves up one level when ______ items in a row need at most a light edit and none has a factual error.
Demotion rule: one serious error drops the action one level at once.
Grant end date: each grant ends on ______ unless it is renewed from the record.
Actions that never go past approval: ______
Reset rule: a change of model, instructions or tools starts the record again.
Signed and dated by the person who answers for this task: ______