VANKPA
The decision
Stop rules define situations where an automated workflow must not continue. Write them before enabling consequential actions. Missing authority, conflicting records, unavailable systems, and unusual requests may require a pause rather than an improvised answer.
In practice
A customer request outside the published service area should not automatically produce a commitment. The workflow can gather context and route the exception. Give the person receiving it enough information to decide without reconstructing the whole process.
- List prohibited actions, uncertainty conditions, and system failures.
- Test each stop rule and the recovery path.
- Assign an owner for exceptions and make repeated pauses visible so the team can improve the workflow's inputs or rules.
When to take the next step
Write stop rules before allowing a workflow to make commitments or modify records. Start with the cases the business would never want handled without authority.
Questions clients ask
Does stopping mean the automation failed?
Not necessarily. A well-designed pause can protect the business and expose a decision that needs authority.
Who resumes the work?
A named person with the required permission should approve the next action or close the exception.