Library/T-08
The Toil Test and the Rule of Three
Decide whether a recurring task should be automated, delegated or left alone.
Automate · VestT-08
The pattern it solves
Automation is proposed for work that is really judgment, or judgment is spent on work that is really a rule.
Signals you need it
The same event keeps arriving and gets the same response.
Use it when
Before building any automation.
What it takes in
One recurring task and a record of the last several times it happened.
What you end up with
A verdict — automate, write a rule and delegate, or keep — and the rule if there is one.
The steps
- 1.Rule of Three — has this happened three or more times with essentially the same response? If yes, a rule probably exists — write it down.
- 2.Toil Test — score it on six traits — manual, repetitive, automatable, reactive, leaves nothing lasting, grows with the business.
- 3.Most traits → automate. Few traits but a rule exists → delegate with the rule. Few traits and no rule → it is judgment; keep it.
- 4.Track exceptions to the rule; if they are common, the rule is wrong.
How it returns time
Turns repeated instances into a rule, so only exceptions reach a person.
What to measure
Instances per week handled by the rule; exception rate.
What to measure, before and after. Not what anyone achieved — there are no client results to report.
Where it comes from
The Toil Test is adapted from Google's Site Reliability Engineering definition of toil. The Rule of Three is a Time Operators working heuristic — a starting threshold, not a tested one.
What it fixes
The leaks this addresses
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