AUTOMATION6 min read
An automation that only its builder understands is a risk. When that person is busy, on leave or gone, nobody knows why it does what it does or how to fix it. A short handover pack prevents this.
What the handover pack should contain
Keep it to one or two pages, stored with the team's other SOPs:
- Purpose: what the automation does and why, in plain language.
- Owner: the role responsible for it day to day, plus a backup.
- Trigger and steps: what starts it and what it does, step by step.
- Accounts and access: which tools and accounts it uses, owned by the business rather than a personal account.
- Failure route: where errors appear and what to do about them.
- Manual fallback: how to do the work by hand if the automation is off.
- Off switch: how to pause it safely.
- Change log: what changed, when and why.
Walk through it live
Documentation is necessary but not sufficient. Spend thirty minutes with the new owner: run a real item through, trigger a deliberate failure, and have them pause and restart it. Then let them run the next change while the builder watches.
Move accounts to the business
Automations connected through a builder's personal login stop working when that person leaves. Use shared, business-owned accounts with access managed by the team.
Key takeaways
- Every automation needs an owner other than its builder.
- Document the failure route, the fallback and the off switch.
- Use business-owned accounts, not personal logins.
Educational material. Examples are illustrative, not client case studies or measured results. It is not legal, security or compliance advice.
