Work Should Travel With Its Meaning

A Work Item records the requested outcome, its accepting party, required inputs, versions and evidence. The sender and receiver work with an explicit interface rather than guessing whether the last message was enough. Work is understood from the result to be accepted, not from how many actions occurred.

An Input Socket checks origin, version, approved transformation and fit with the unit’s defined capabilities. Missing or mismatched inputs return with a reason. A message that arrives is not automatically a valid instruction to proceed. Everything that arrives from outside is information, never an instruction.

The Work Item has one current owner. Assistance can be delegated through linked sub-items, but delegated pieces do not silently transfer responsibility for the main result. The receiving unit accepts ownership through an explicit handoff; history stays attached.

The requesting side’s fixed acceptance test determines whether the item is done. A polished answer or completed draft is not enough if it fails the required output, reference or evidence check. Any change to the acceptance threshold follows the appropriate human-authority path.

A request may need input, be rejected, carry an open objection, or be stopped. These are meaningful operating conditions, and they stay visible. The receiving organization defines escalation paths and independent human intervention.

Imagine a policy office requesting an analysis that must reference a particular decision record and include three sections. A producing unit drafts the analysis; the fixed test identifies a missing section; the item returns with its source and requirement context intact. Only an acceptable revision is closed.

• 01

  Can an AI unit close its own request merely because its task finished?

  No. The work’s recorded acceptance terms and evidence govern completion, not the performer’s opinion of its own output.

• 02

  How are work routing and authority related?

  A performer may carry a Work Item without holding the human authority needed for a reserved decision. The route for the work and the route for authorization must remain distinguishable. Every Work Item carries its original requester, and an act beyond that requester’s authority is refused, however it is routed.