The 10-Minute Monthly Review That Caught Four Silent Failures in Our Automation

Description and use

A monthly 10‑minute review uncovered four silent failures in automation, enhancing reliability and oversight.

Problem

Small automation jobs often fail silently, producing incorrect output without detection for weeks.

Outcome

Four jobs, four findings, twelve minutes; improved reliability and accountability.

Workflow

• List every automation job
• For each job answer: last run, last human review, consequence of silent stop
• Kill or fix one issue per review

Evidence

Four jobs, four findings, twelve minutes. That’s a normal haul.

Source

If an automation has none of these, it isn’t an automation — it’s a liability with a cron entry.

Source