AIWorkDex
Operations Practice

Publish one owned operational instruction

Give authorised workers one findable, current instruction with a named owner and review signal.

Preparation
One consolidation session plus a findability check with representative workers.
Difficulty
Easy
Task
Create one source of truth
Back to the Task: Create one source of truth

Before you start

Get what you need before you start

  • Choose one instruction that causes repeated location or freshness questions.
  • Identify its accountable owner and authorised audience.
  • List known copies, source policies, and retention requirements.

Steps

Work through the method

Use the listed inputs and tools. Check the evidence when you need to verify a step.

  1. Inventory the current copies

    List every known page, file, template, and chat reference. Record its owner, audience, last change, and conflicts with other copies.

    Why it matters: Choosing a canonical page without finding conflicts leaves stale instructions in circulation.

    Input
    Search results, folder links, chat references, current workers, and source policies.
    Output
    A copy inventory with conflicts, owners, access, and last-known use.
    Tools in this stepNotion

    Evidence for this step

  2. Publish the canonical instruction

    Write the purpose, audience, scope, prerequisites, ordered actions, exceptions, source links, owner, last-reviewed date, and next review trigger in one location.

    Why it matters: Ownership and scope help a reader judge whether the instruction applies and who must resolve a gap.

    Input
    The copy inventory, source policies, tested steps, and authority map.
    Output
    One canonical instruction with owner, scope, sources, exceptions, and review trigger.
    Tools in this stepNotion

    Evidence for this step

  3. Redirect conflicting copies

    After the owner confirms the canonical page, replace duplicates with a stable pointer or archive them under the retention policy. Preserve required history.

    Why it matters: A new source of truth cannot work while equally plausible old copies remain active.

    Input
    The approved canonical page, copy inventory, retention policy, and change permissions.
    Output
    Redirected or archived copies plus a change record.
    Tools in this stepNotion

  4. Test findability and freshness

    Ask authorised workers to find the instruction from their normal starting point and explain its owner, review state, and gap-reporting route. Fix each failed path.

    Why it matters: A page can be correct yet still fail when workers cannot find or interpret its freshness signal.

    Input
    The canonical page, representative workers, search terms, and normal entry points.
    Output
    A findability record, repaired links or labels, and the next review date.
    Tools in this stepNotion

    Evidence for this step

Success checks

Check the result before you finish

  • Only one active page claims canonical status.
  • The page lists its owner, audience, scope, sources, and review trigger.
  • Known duplicates redirect or follow the approved retention path.
  • Representative authorised workers can find it and report a gap.

Failure modes

Watch for these problems

  • A verified badge replaces source checking. Reopen the underlying instruction and validate it with the owner.
  • A stale duplicate stays editable. Redirect or restrict it after retention review.
  • The page is public to the wrong audience. Repair permissions before sharing the canonical link.
  • Search succeeds only with the exact title. Add worker language, aliases, and links from normal entry points.

Tools

Choose the tools you need

Sources

Read the sources behind this practice

Check what each source supports and where the advice has limits.