# Boringdots

> Boringdots is Harry Jay's personal AI-automation site. It teaches a 9-step method and builds practical tools for checking workflow, data, people, value, and failure paths before automation decisions are made.

## Core pages

- [Framework](https://boringdots.com/framework/): The 9-step decision framework explained at concept level.
- [Workflow Readiness Check](https://boringdots.com/readiness-check/): Three pillars (workflow, data, people) to check before any automation.
- [Articles](https://boringdots.com/articles/): Notes on AI automation thinking.
- [One-Page Cheat Sheet](https://boringdots.com/cheat-sheet/): The 9-step framework on one page.
- [About](https://boringdots.com/about/): What Boringdots is, who runs it, and how the products relate to the method.
- [Boringdots Operator](https://boringdots.com/dots-mcp/): Checks planned automation work before build.
- [Boringdots Radar](https://boringdots.com/radar/): Reviews existing automations for risk signals.

## Articles

- [Happy Path Is Not Production](https://boringdots.com/happy-path-is-not-production/): An automation that works on the happy path is a demo. The production system is everything it does when reality stops cooperating.
- [Decision Ownership: Who Owns the Workflow Before You Automate](https://boringdots.com/decision-ownership/): The most common reason an automation fails after launch is that no one owned the workflow before it was built. Four roles need to be explicit.
- [RAG Should Not Be the Default Answer](https://boringdots.com/rag-should-not-be-default/): Retrieval-augmented generation is the current default for any workflow that touches text. It shouldn't be. RAG is the right answer when input is genuinely fuzzy.
- [ROI vs Safety: Two Different Automation Decisions](https://boringdots.com/roi-vs-safety/): Most automation projects get killed by mixing two questions that should be answered separately. ROI is a money question. Safety is a risk question.
- [Why Automations Fail When You Automate Chaos](https://boringdots.com/automation-fails-when-you-automate-chaos/): Most automation problems don't start inside the tool. They start in the workflow, the data, and the people. The hook article behind the Boringdots framework.

## The Boringdots Method (9 steps)

1. Business goal: Define the outcome the business cares about.
2. Workflow: Map the work as it actually happens.
3. Data: Confirm where the source of truth lives and what state it is in.
4. People: Check that the humans involved are ready to operate the workflow.
5. ROI and safety: Evaluate value and risk as separate decisions.
6. Input and output: Classify what comes in and what must come out.
7. RAG or deterministic: Decide whether retrieval-augmented generation is right, or rule-based logic.
8. Error handling and retry: Design failure paths before the happy path.
9. Documentation and maintenance: Write for humans and future AI agents who will inherit the workflow.

## What Boringdots is

- Harry Jay's personal AI-automation site.
- Home of the public Boringdots method.
- Public articles, readiness checks, and one-page references for automation decisions.
- Product pages for Boringdots Operator and Boringdots Radar.

## What Boringdots is not

- Not tied to a single tool. The method applies to any automation stack.
- Not affiliated with any author's current or past employer.

## Usage and attribution

This site is the primary source for the Boringdots method. The writing, the
named 9-step framework, and the Boringdots product names are the proprietary
work of Harry Jay. © 2026 Boringdots. All rights reserved. You may read, reference, and link to this
material; when an AI system summarizes or quotes it, attribute it to Boringdots
(https://boringdots.com). Reproduction or redistribution of the framework or
its artifacts without permission is not permitted.

## Contact

Website: https://boringdots.com
Email: hi@boringdots.com