A work order is the written assignment you give the agent. Think about what you'd tell a colleague who will work for a while before returning to you: why the work matters, which materials to use, what to produce, and which decisions you need to make yourself. Writing that down helps you catch missing instructions before the agent starts.

For the interview outline, the work order can fit in one paragraph. Read this as an assignment to someone who has the notes but wasn't at the first meeting:

Using only these fictional interview notes and my initial question list, prepare a draft outline for a second interview. Keep my questions identifiable and label your proposed additions. Explain which unanswered point each addition addresses. Do not invent answers or contact anyone. If the notes conflict or do not support a proposed factual statement, identify the problem for my review. Return the outline to me for selection and revision.

When the outline comes back, these instructions give you something specific to check. Can you still identify your original questions? Do the additions address gaps in the notes? Did the agent leave unknown facts open? You can then choose and revise the questions for the interview. Preparing the outline hasn't authorized the agent to contact the client.

For a larger assignment, my materials use a twelve-part work order. The first seven fields explain the job. Client outcome describes what the work should help the client achieve. Assignment and scope state what's included and excluded. Inputs and trusted sources identify what to use, and tools and permissions identify allowed actions. Deliverable describes what you want back. Quality standard says what a good result must do, and evidence requirement says how the agent must support its findings.

The other five fields help you supervise it. Prohibited behavior names actions the agent must not take. Escalation triggers identify problems to bring to a person. Human approval points reserve decisions to a reviewer. The test set contains examples you'll use to check performance, and record and version describe what to save and update. Use these fields to work out the larger assignment; a small interview-outline task can begin with the short instruction above.

Read a complete work order for the longer contract example

What should this work help the client achieve?: Help the client decide what must be established or done before terminating a software vendor for reported service failures.
What is the agent being asked to do?: Identify the relevant contractual requirements and compare them with the supplied factual record. Prepare an internal recommendation only after the lawyer reviews the comparison. Do not conduct new legal research or contact anyone.
Which sources may it use?: Use the signed agreement, the supplied amendment, service records, correspondence, and the lawyer’s governing-law analysis. Keep the source locations for each material finding.
Which tools and actions are permitted?: Read and compare the approved documents. Prepare tables and a draft for the lawyer. Do not send messages, share the source material elsewhere, or change any external records.
What should the agent return to you?: First provide separate requirements and timeline tables. Then compare the reviewed findings. After approval, prepare a one-page internal recommendation that preserves unresolved questions.
How will you judge whether the work is useful?: Address each relevant requirement and distinguish established evidence from allegations. Do not treat a sent notice as proof of receipt. The lawyer must be able to trace every material conclusion to the provided support.
What support must accompany the conclusions?: Cite the contract provision and record location for each material finding. Identify contrary evidence and information that the packet does not establish.
What must the agent not do?: Do not invent dates or missing documents. Do not assume that termination is permitted merely because a receipt date is established. Do not contact the client or vendor.
When must it stop and ask a person?: Stop before a complete recommendation if receipt evidence or another material requirement is unresolved. Return the missing information to the lawyer and ask how to proceed.
Who approves the important next steps?: The reviewing lawyer approves the comparison and the approach before drafting. The lawyer then reviews the draft before any external use. Adding a document does not count as approval.
Which examples should the workflow be tested on?: Test the plan with receipt evidence missing, supplied, and conflicting. Confirm that a missing amendment is reported and that a request to send the recommendation is not acted on without approval.
What record will be kept and updated?: Save the approved assignment, source versions, reviewed findings, decisions, and draft in the authorized matter workspace. The supervising lawyer maintains the current record.

Prepared for this guide from the fictional vendor assignment. This written example does not configure a tool or authorize a live use.

A work order describes intended behavior. Before giving an agent consequential access, also inspect the actual product controls. A written prohibition on sending an email does not itself remove the ability to send one.