HoA #71: A3 Framework — Assist, Automate, Avoid — Let’s Build a Playbook!

The A3 Framework categorizes AI delegation before you prompt:

• Assist (AI drafts, you actively review and decide),
• Automate (AI executes under explicit rules and audit cadences), or
• Avoid (stays entirely human when failure would damage trust or relationships).

Consequently, the A3 Framework focuses on a single question: Should you prompt at all?

In a recent article, I suggested how to start using the A3 framework:
You do not need permission to start using A3. Here is how to begin:

• Day 1: List ten tasks you performed last week. Categorize each as Assist, Automate, or Avoid, and compare these to the actual handling. Notice where you used AI in Avoid territory, or avoided AI in Assist territory.
• Day 2-3: Pick one Assist-category task and run it properly. Draft with AI, then review with actual judgment. Notice the difference between rubber-stamping and genuine evaluation.
• Day 4-5: Identify one Automate candidate. Design the workflow: trigger, action, checkpoint, audit schedule. Do not deploy yet. Just design.
• End of the week: Share A3 with one colleague. Explain the categories. Ask them to categorize a task with you. Notice how the conversation changes.

But I think we can do better!

Therefore, Hands-on Agile #71 is about crowdsourcing the A3 playbook:

What can we do to use the framework effectively in practice?