Map the AI-Assisted Step

Unit ID: PAW-M10-U02 Estimated active time: 20-25 minutes

Be specific about what changes

"We'll use AI for this" is not a design. The useful version names the step, the input, the output, and what happens to the time saved.

Define the handover in both directions

Two things need writing down: exactly what the person hands to the tool, and exactly what comes back.

Ambiguity in either is where the workflow leaks — a missing input means the tool guesses, and an undefined output means the reviewer does not know what to check.

The assisted-step specification

ASSISTED STEP

Replaces:        which current step
Input from:      who, in what form
Input contains:  the exact fields
Prompt/pattern:  which one, which version
Output:          format and required sections
Goes to:         who reviews it
Review level:    from the table in unit 08.00
If it fails:     what the person does instead
Time saved:      estimated, then measured

The "if it fails" line is the one that keeps the workflow honest. Every assisted step needs a manual path, or the process stops when the tool is unavailable or wrong.

Measure the time, do not assume it

The estimated saving and the measured saving are often different, particularly once review is counted.

Measure both the generation and the review on three real runs. If the total is not lower than the manual route, the honest conclusion is that this step should not be assisted.

Keep the assisted step narrow

A step that does one thing is easy to review and easy to replace. A step that drafts, decides, and formats at once is neither.

Where a step is doing three things, split it — even though that means more prompts.

Mini practice

Specify one assisted step fully, including the failure path.

Run it three times and measure generation and review separately.

Compare the total against doing it manually once.

Mark complete