The Automation Playbook
How to choose, build and run automations that keep working, in 16 A4 pages.
Who it's for
- You build automations in n8n, Python, Salesforce Flow or code and want them to keep working after the first week.
- You are about to put an AI step into a workflow and want to know where it helps and where plain rules are safer.
- You hand automations over to a client or a team and need a checklist for the day they run unattended.
Not for you if you are looking for importable workflows: those are in the Free Dev Automation Pack.
What's inside
One PDF, a cover and 15 pages with one idea per page. It follows a single automation from idea to retirement: pick the process, map it, split rules from AI, write prompts as contracts, guard the outputs, put people in the loop, keep state, handle errors, secure it, choose the tool, measure honestly, launch with a 24-item checklist and review it while it runs. A worked lead-intake example comes back on several pages.
The playbook contains no productivity or time-saved figures. The few results-style numbers in the measuring example are labelled as invented.
- The Automation Playbook (PDF, A4)
- 1
- automation-playbook.pdf
Files
In the zip · 4 files · 495 KB
- CHANGELOG.md
- LICENSE.md
- README.md
- automation-playbook.pdf
Setup
Requirements
- A PDF viewer (any browser or PDF reader)
- Optional: a printer, or a doc or spreadsheet, for the worksheets on pages 3 and 14
- Enter your email below. The download link arrives by email.
- Unzip the download and open
automation-playbook/automation-playbook.pdf. - Read page 2: its table is the whole method on one page and points to the page for each step.
- On page 3, write down three processes you do by hand, check them against the two gates and score them. The highest score that passes both gates is your first automation.
Time to first result: about 10 minutes.
Tested with
Clean-install test passed on 2026-10-01 (darwin-arm64, node 20.20.2, npm 11.17.0): extract, base, pdf, docs, acceptance. No network access was used.
Licence
You may use this pack in unlimited personal and commercial projects, including client work. You may not resell, redistribute, sublicense or share the pack itself, in whole or in part, including as a template, starter kit or course material. To share it, link to the download page instead.
The full licence is in LICENSE.md inside the zip. Site terms: /terms.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. You enter an email address so I can send the download link. Joining the newsletter is a separate, optional box, and the download never depends on it.
I have the 11-page playbook from January 2026. Is this the same?
No. This version is a complete rewrite; none of the old text or figures carry over. Replace the old file.
Can I share it?
Send people to this page so they can get their own copy. Please don't re-host the PDF; the licence below has the details.
Can I use it for client work?
Yes. Use the method and the checklists in your own and your clients' projects.
How do I get updates?
Request a new link on this page any time; it always points to the latest version. Changes are listed in the CHANGELOG inside the zip.
Where do I ask a question?
Use the contact form.