The questions that connect model capability to a dependable business workflow.
The first design question for an AI workflow is what work it should perform. A request to "improve operations" is too broad to establish permissions, evaluate behavior or identify failure.
A narrower task is easier to engineer. For example: assemble the evidence for a stock transfer, compare approved options, and prepare a recommendation for the planner.
Define the context.
The workflow needs to know which records it may use, how current they are and how conflicting information should be handled. Availability, existing commitments and transfer constraints have specific business meanings. Those meanings must remain consistent across the sources.
Missing information should be visible. The workflow needs a defined response when evidence is incomplete, rather than treating uncertainty as permission to proceed.
Define the authority.
Reading a record, recommending an action and changing a system are different permissions. A workflow should receive only the access required for its assigned task.
Identify the actions that need human approval and the conditions under which execution is allowed. Preserve a record of the input, recommendation, approval and outcome appropriate to the task.
Design for failure.
An external service may be unavailable. A tool call may fail or return an ambiguous result. A source may change while an action is waiting for approval.
The workflow needs to handle these cases deliberately. In particular, repeating a request must not unintentionally create duplicate business transactions. Human intervention and recovery should be part of the design.
Evaluate the whole workflow.
A fluent answer does not establish that a business action is correct. Evaluation should cover representative cases, exceptions, permissions and the behavior of connected tools.
Model and provider selection follows these requirements. A useful system may combine AI with deterministic checks, existing applications and human judgment. Each component has a defined role, and the result is assessed at the level of the business task.