How to define, assign, and review an AI-assisted operating task

1. Define the operating problem

A task should correspond to one problem or decision. Before collecting large volumes of files, write down seven items:

• Object: which asset, project, tenant, customer, department, or operating process?
• Time: when did the issue occur, and when is a decision required?
• Change: what moved away from the normal state or plan?
• Question: explain a cause, compare options, or decide an action?
• Options: which directions are already being considered?
• Constraints: what cannot change—budget, contract, time, permission, or customer commitment?
• Responsibility: who provides evidence, who reviews it, and who decides?

Example

An anchor tenant requests a 15% rent reduction or plans to leave in 60 days. Compare retention, conditional rent relief, and replacement leasing. Explain the possible effects on rent, vacancy, footfall, fit-out time, and neighbouring tenants. Leasing, operations, and finance verify the evidence before the project leader decides on Friday.

2. Organise evidence and the task

Classify every material item as a verified fact, a provisional judgement, or missing information. For each source, retain its owner, date, applicable asset, unit, definition, and current version.

Set four boundaries

• Deliverable: issue list, option comparison, management memo, or execution plan?
• Limit: which actions, spend, commitments, or external communications are prohibited?
• Approval: who reviews, who approves, and which team receives the work next?
• Verification: which data, on what date, will show whether the action worked?

For the first conversation, a material index and de-identified samples are enough. Do not send complete contracts, personal data, passwords, or confidential records through a public channel.

3. Review the judgement and execution

Separate conclusions supported by company facts, conclusions supported by external context but still requiring project validation, and questions where the available evidence is insufficient.

Review checklist

1. Can every important source be traced?
2. Are dates, units, scope, and metric definitions consistent?
3. Which assumptions does the conclusion depend on?
4. Could another explanation fit the same evidence?
5. Can the plan be executed within budget, time, staffing, contract, and system constraints?
6. Has the authorised person approved the action?
7. How and when will the result be checked?

4. Preserve the operating record

Keep the adopted version, approver, approval time, owners, deadlines, completion criteria, and review date. After execution, record actual spending, operating results, exceptions, and any uncertainty that remains. A polished deliverable is not evidence that the judgement was right; only the later result can test it.

See the cross-functional workflow for a worked scenario, or review the project questions.