07 / Ways of Working
Automated check
A machine verdict: tests, builds, type checks, linting. Pass or fail, no opinion, no flattery. The cheapest quality you will ever buy, and the thing that makes leaving an agent alone safe.
How you’ll hear it
“How do we know it did not break anything?”
“The automated checks run on every change.”
Avoid
Relying on people to catch what a machine check could.
The longer version
An automated check is a pass-or-fail test: a build, a test suite, a validation rule. It is cheap, fast and impartial, and it is what makes giving agents more autonomy safe.