Unit 03.00: Sorting actions by whether you could undo them

This sort takes ten minutes and decides most of the design that follows.

Safe, cheap, expensive, irreversible

For each action, what undoing it involves. That answer determines whether it needs a gate, an undo path, or nothing.

The table below sorts six actions.

ACTION                          WHAT UNDOING IT INVOLVES     CLASS
read the invoice record         no effect                    safe
write an internal note          delete the note              cheap
move a ticket to another queue  move it back                 cheap
issue a refund                  reverse it, with a fee       expensive
email the customer              cannot be undone             IRREVERSIBLE
delete a record                 cannot be undone             IRREVERSIBLE

2 of 6 are irreversible: email the customer, delete a record

Two of the six are irreversible, and those two are the entire subject of Module 6. The other four can be given to the agent with varying degrees of care.

"Issue a refund" sits in between: reversible with a fee, which is a different category from both. It probably wants a gate and definitely wants a ceiling on the amount, but it does not need the same treatment as an email that cannot be recalled.

The mistake this prevents

The mistake is sorting by how consequential an action feels rather than by whether it can be undone. Deleting a test record feels minor and is irreversible; posting a large internal note feels significant and is one click to remove.

Takeaway

Sort every action by what undoing it involves. Irreversible actions get gates; the rest get validation and limits.

Mark complete