Document automation spec worksheet

The hard part of document automation isn’t software — it’s that most businesses have five versions of the document and no single one they’d all agree is the real one (Automating proposals, reports, and PDFs). This worksheet is the afternoon of decisions that makes the project buildable. Fill it in yourself, or paste it into an AI and have it interview you section by section.

The worksheet

# DOCUMENT AUTOMATION SPEC: [document name, e.g. "Client proposal"]

## 1. THE VERSION WE'D PICK IF WE HAD TO PICK ONE
Which existing example is the best one we've ever sent? [file/date]
What makes it the best? [2-3 reasons]
What's wrong with it that we'd fix while we're here? [list]

## 2. THE VARIABLE PARTS
List every part that changes per client/job, and where that value LIVES today:
| Variable            | Source today            | Should come from        |
| client name         | retyped from email      | CRM record              |
| [line items]        | [copied from estimate]  | [estimate system]       |
| [dates, totals...]  | [typed, sometimes wrong]| [computed]              |

## 3. THE FIXED PARTS
What must NEVER change without an owner's decision?
[legal terms, guarantees, pricing structure language, brand elements]

## 4. THE NARRATIVE PARTS (if any)
Which sections need fresh writing per document, and what are the rules for
them? [point to your playbook for that writing]

## 5. THE WORKFLOW
Trigger: [what event means "this document should exist"?]
Review: [who approves before it goes out? what are they checking?]
Delivery: [how does it reach the client, and where is it filed?]

## 6. DONE MEANS
[e.g. "A proposal generates from a CRM record in under 2 minutes, with zero
retyped values, and has been correct on 10 consecutive real jobs."]

Making it stick

Section 2 is where the value hides — every “retyped from email” row is a future error you’re deleting. Sections 3 and 6 are what you hand to whoever builds it (with The project-scoping interview prompt output, a builder can quote this accurately instead of guessing).