The 3 questions that set a baseline before you turn on an agent
A short template for measuring time, failure rate and human hours before you turn an autonomous agent loose on an existing process.
What you get
A three-question template that proves in numbers whether the automation helped, not just that it "feels" better
Who it is for
For anyone who wants to run an autonomous agent on a real process without finding out a month in that nobody actually trusts it.
1. Why you even need this
An analysis published this week found that only about 7% of companies are running a real autonomous agent in production. Everyone else is stuck in a pilot that never took off, a project that got abandoned, or an automation nobody really trusts.
- The most common reason: the team bolted an agent onto an existing process without stopping to ask "how do we do this today, without the agent, in numbers?"
- Without a baseline (an opening measurement) you cannot prove the automation helped, you can only "feel" that it is better.
2. First question: how long does this take today?
Measure the real time the process takes right now, without the agent. Time it (or check the log) across 5 to 10 real runs and write down the average.
time_today: 4.5h3. Second question: how many times does this fail today?
Count the incidents, exceptions and manual fixes from the last week or two. A real number out of a real number of runs, not "it happens sometimes."
error_rate: 12%4. Third question: how many human hours does this cost today?
Measure how much time a person actually spends on this process in a normal week: not just running it, but also fixing it, checking it and answering questions about it.
human_effort: 6h_week5. What it looks like together
One simple baseline.md file, before you touch the agent:
- After you turn on the agent, measure the same three numbers again.
- If they did not improve, the automation did not work, even if it "looks cool."
- If they improved, you have real proof, not a gut feeling.
baseline.md
time_today: 4.5h
error_rate: 12%
human_effort: 6h/weekHow to use this now
Copy these three lines into a file, fill in real numbers, and only then start building. That is the difference between being in the 7% that actually run an autonomous agent, and being another abandoned project.