AI automation walkthroughs

Work through reviewed refinement, dependency handoff and template-based epic delivery.

Prepare safely

Use the private SAMPLE project and fictional Harbor work. You need project manager rights to configure/publish chains and the appropriate reviewer role to approve. Site AI and project automation must already be enabled for a real run; do not weaken free-only controls to follow this guide.

The sample workflows cover AI-assisted tasks, dependency handoffs and Agent delivery epics. Their existence does not imply their chains are enabled. Inspect current published settings. A simulation proves configuration paths, not model quality or a successful committed run.

Walkthrough 1: reviewed ticket refinement

Use case: refine the portal upload story without silently replacing the team's requirements.

1. Open the AI-assisted sample workflow draft and select its manual refinement chain, or create a manual chain for the intended ticket workflow.
2. Add AI generate with a ticket-refinement task. Ask for a clear description, acceptance criteria and unanswered questions based on the ticket; prohibit inventing decisions.
3. Add a field update using the prior-output picker for description and acceptance. Keep the ticket in AI-assisted mode so generated edits require review.
4. Simulate with the upload ticket and check references. Save/publish only after validating the chain.
5. Start the manual chain from the ticket's automation controls. Inspect the generated artifact and pending approval.
6. Compare the proposal with the current description, correct unsupported assumptions through the available review flow, and approve only the intended change.
7. Inspect the updated fields and history after completion.

For a stale-approval exercise, add a relevant comment before approving an old proposal. Expect freshness validation to reject it. Retry to produce a new proposal and review again. Do not assume a previous approval covers new source content.

Walkthrough 2: dependency handoff

Use case: notify the upload owner after its validation prerequisite finishes, without automatically taking ownership or moving status.

1. Record the validation ticket as a blocker of the upload ticket.
2. Configure a blockers-resolved chain on the upload workflow.
3. Start with a Condition that checks the target is unfinished. Route the false branch to the end.
4. On the true branch add an AI summary, followed by Notify/handoff using the summary's supported output.
5. Simulate while the blocker is unresolved, then inspect the path after resolving it.
6. For a real run, enable/publish deliberately and resolve the fictional prerequisite. Inspect the run and the intended recipient's eligible notification.

The handoff informs the next owner. It does not inherently transition the target, assign a different person or deploy anything. Reopening the blocker before unfinished actions commit can pause the run because related state is rechecked.

Walkthrough 3: epic delivery from a template

Use case: turn a reviewed Harbor feature brief into consistent child work.

1. Publish a Feature delivery template with a compatible epic root and implementation/test/review children. Define the feature parameter and owner slots.
2. In the epic workflow, use AI generate for a proposed brief/criteria. Connect an explicit Approval node for the project manager.
3. Add Create from template, pin the reviewed template and map the current epic as its existing root where supported.
4. Map the feature parameter from a validated upstream output and assign slots to eligible people.
5. Add a final owner notification, then simulate and inspect the complete configuration before publishing.
6. Start a real run only when enabled controls permit it. Review the proposal, approve the exact frozen work and inspect instantiation progress.
7. Verify children, dependencies and mapped ownership, then inspect the final notification/run history.

Agent mode permits only the configured eligible outputs; explicit approval still pauses. Template creation and protected generated changes remain subject to their approvals and rights. If a step fails after creating some children, retry/resume the recorded operation; cancellation does not roll back those tickets.

Verify and troubleshoot

• Nothing starts: check trigger, published enabled chain, ticket workflow assignment, project/site enablement and mode assumptions.
• Source unavailable: check the publisher's current rights and referenced template/model/recipient access.
• Awaiting approval: inspect explicit versus implicit reviewer eligibility and whether the proposal is stale.
• Budget-blocked: inspect existing shared limits; wait/reset or retry after resolution, without enabling paid inference.
• Partial work: inspect committed steps before retrying; use the saved instantiation/run instead of duplicating it.

Production examples and any simulation captures are labelled in screenshot captions. A documented path is not a promise that every model or budget is currently available.