Start with the actual sources
Automation fails when a tidy workflow diagram replaces the messy truth. The useful details live in inboxes, spreadsheets, messages, databases, and the habits of the people doing the work. Supervisor starts there. It maps the sources and records which one wins when two records disagree.
Learn the exceptions
The normal path is easy to automate. Exceptions reveal the real operating rules. Watch when a manager overrides a threshold, when a customer needs a different response, and when a task waits for information from outside the company. These moments define the guardrails.
Automate after the explanation is clear
Before an action runs, a person should be able to explain why it is safe. That explanation needs a source, an owner, a limit, and a recovery step. Once those parts are explicit, automation becomes easier to trust and easier to repair.