Automate recurring work

Hand off work your team does regularly, such as a weekly business review, monthly variance analysis, or planning update. Describe the task to Addison, or start from an analysis you want to repeat. You don’t need a standalone report or playbook first.

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Choose work worth repeating

Start with one task and the project containing its data. For example:

• a weekly revenue or merchandising review;
• a monthly budget-versus-actual analysis;
• an inventory, margin, or pipeline exception report;
• a planning model refreshed with the latest actuals.

If you’re reproducing an existing review, upload it as a reference. It can show Addison the structure your team expects; each run should use data for its own reporting period.

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Create the workflow with Addison

A playbook holds the instructions for the work. The workflow adds its schedule and delivery. You can ask Addison to build both rather than configuring them by hand.

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Review the settings

Check the project, schedule, and timezone. If you want delivery, supply the intended email addresses or Slack destination and confirm them in the editor. Schedule the work after its source data is expected to be ready. A workflow run doesn’t refresh an uploaded file or synchronize every upstream dataset. Keep the reporting period relative to each run, such as “the prior complete week,” rather than a fixed date.

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Test and refine the work

You can test the analysis on its own with Run Playbook, or test the whole workflow with Run now. Open the result and check that:

• the reporting period, data, and business definitions are right;
• the output answers the question and highlights meaningful changes;
• important findings trace to their sources, with missing inputs and uncertainty made clear.

Run the available verification checks and review the results. A successful workflow run means the steps completed, not that the analysis passed verification. If something needs to change, ask Addison to update the playbook instructions for future runs:

Put the largest dollar variances first, explain the drivers by region, and flag missing plan data instead of treating it as zero.

Test again after revising. If you have another complete period available, try it to check that the instructions work beyond the original example.

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Check the first scheduled run

Confirm that Next run matches the schedule you intended. The workflow’s Runs list shows each execution and its status. Review the first scheduled output and confirm delivery succeeded. If you’re replacing an existing process, check that both aren’t sending the same review. Before retrying a run, check whether it already delivered its output. Agree on who will check failures and keep the instructions up to date. If the schedule or audience is wrong, deactivate the workflow while you correct it.

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