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Module 03 — Automation without chaos

Triggers, actions and checks

You'll turn the process card from lesson 3.1 into a one-page automation spec that any tool — or any person — can follow.

  • 3 min read + 20 min exercise
  • Lesson 2 of 3
  • Free · No sign-up

The problem

Automation tools all look different, but they work the same way underneath. People who skip that part and start clicking build something that works in the demo and breaks the first time a customer does something unexpected.

Why it matters

If you can describe an automation on paper, you can build it in any tool, hand it to a freelancer, or run it by hand when the tool breaks. The spec is what you own. The tool is replaceable.

1 Four parts, every time

TriggerThe event that starts it: a form is submitted, a booking is made, a quote is marked sent, a date arrives.
ConditionsThe filters: only if the booking is more than 24 hours away; only if the customer hasn't replied.
ActionsWhat happens: send this message, add a row, notify this person, create a task.
CheckHow you'll know it worked — and how you'll know when it didn't.

2 Step by step

  1. Name the trigger precisely

    “When someone is interested” isn't an event. “When a new row appears in the lead log” is. If you can't point to the moment, the automation can't either.

  2. Turn your exceptions into conditions

    Every line in your exceptions log from lesson 3.1 becomes a condition — or a reason to hand the task to a person.

  3. List the actions in order

    One action per line. If an action sends something to a customer, paste the exact text from your answer bank. No “something like…”.

  4. Add the check

    Decide what proves it ran — a log row, a copy in your sent folder, a daily summary — and who looks at it, when.

  5. Choose the simplest tool that can run it

    Many automations need nothing new: an email rule, your form's confirmation message, your calendar's reminders, away messages in the WhatsApp Business app. When two apps need to talk, connectors like Zapier or Make do exactly this: when something happens in one app, do something in another.

Example · illustrative

Three common automations, written as specs

TriggerOnly ifThenCheck
Contact form sentAlwaysSend acknowledgement, add a row to the lead log, notify the ownerEvery form email has a row
Booking createdStarts in more than 24 hoursReminder 24 hours before, asking for access detailsReminders sent = bookings
Quote marked sentNo reply after 3 daysCreate a follow-up task for the ownerNo quote older than 3 days without a task

Notice the third one: it doesn't message the customer. It reminds a person. Often that's the safer first automation.

Your exercise · about 20 minutes

Write your automation spec

Template · Automation spec
NAME:
TRIGGER (one event):
ONLY IF (conditions):
-
THEN (actions, in order):
1.
2.
MESSAGE TO CUSTOMER (exact text, from the answer bank):

CHECK (what proves it ran · who looks · when):
IF IT FAILS (who does it by hand):
TOOL:
OWNER:

If it doesn't fit on one page, don't build it yet.

Your next action

Build a test version that sends only to you, and run it three times before any customer sees it. Lesson 3.3 is the checklist.