Input-System-Action Process

“Input-System-Action Process,” or ISAP, is a process for determining where systems can be automated to increase workflow efficiency.

Input

So what is an Input? Well, an input is any external information acquired to stimulate a System-Action response.

• Someone pings you on Slack and asks you to do something
• You have a GitHub issue assigned to you
• You receive an email that you have to take some action on
• Or maybe you just decide yourself that you need to do something

These are all Inputs. They come in many forms, and our workflow will tend to suffer when we receive so many that we can’t keep track of them.

That means it’s time to develop a System.

System

A System is the single- or multi-step process by which we catalogue and organize acquired information in order to perform an Action. So, for example, if someone pings us on Slack and asks us to do something, a System might be adding that task to our todo manager of choice.

Some other examples might be:

• Adding a note to a specific note file
• Updating a spreadsheet (or other document)
• Sending a Slack message to someone else
• Sending an email

It can be any number of things, but it’s important that you know, when a given Input occurs, you use the right System to trigger Action.

Action

Action, simply put, is the fulfillment and completion of said task. Once the task is complete, we return to the Input to notify of completion.

• We directly tell someone the task is complete
• We close the issue in GitHub (or mark the task as complete in whatever project-management software)
• We respond to an email

So how is this useful? Well, it helps to develop personal workflow systems and identify areas where automation can be incorporated to increase efficiency.

So let’s look at an example.

Whenever a GitHub issue is assigned to me, I receive an email. Once I get the email, I’m able to then add the issue to my todo manager of choice, complete the task, check off the task, and then close the GitHub issue.

Let’s break this down into the Input-System-Action Process.

• Input: The GitHub issue being assigned to me
• System: Adding a task to my todo manager
• Action: Completing the task (always the same)
• Response: Closing the issue in GitHub

To automate this ISAP, I was able to use an IFTTT recipe to automatically add any GitHub issue assigned to me to my Todoist inbox. Now, once I complete the task, I check it off, and close the issue in GitHub just the same. Ideally, when I complete the task in Todoist, it would automatically close the GitHub issue. But alas, one step at a time to improve our efficiency.

There are hundreds of ways you can optimize and increase your workflow efficiency through ISAP and automation. But the first step is identifying those workflows in order to automate them.

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