AI WRITING CLEANUP AUTOPSY CARD Use this card to diagnose one representative output that required substantial cleanup. The goal is to identify where the cleanup originated and what should change next. ============================================================ 1. ASSIGNMENT ============================================================ Writing job: ____________________________________________________________ Artifact reviewed: ____________________________________________________________ Audience: ____________________________________________________________ Owner: ____________________________________________________________ Approver: ____________________________________________________________ Manual baseline to an approved final result: ____________________________________________________________ AI-assisted generation or editing time: ____________________________________________________________ ============================================================ 2. CLEANUP LEDGER ============================================================ FACTUAL REPAIR Wrong, unsupported, outdated, or overly certain claims: ____________________________________________________________ Time or effort: ____________________________________________________________ MISSING-CONTENT REPAIR Required sections, context, qualifications, examples, or source material restored: ____________________________________________________________ Time or effort: ____________________________________________________________ MEANING REPAIR Changed certainty, lost limitations, altered implications, or meaning that no longer matched the source: ____________________________________________________________ Time or effort: ____________________________________________________________ EDITORIAL REPAIR Generic language, repetition, weak structure, poor transitions, excess headings, bland conclusions, or tone mismatch: ____________________________________________________________ Time or effort: ____________________________________________________________ DELIVERY REPAIR Formatting, links, citations, tables, markup, metadata, transfer, or handoff problems: ____________________________________________________________ Time or effort: ____________________________________________________________ SYSTEM UPKEEP ALLOCATION Instructions, templates, examples, sources, integrations, permissions, review rules, configuration, or fallback maintenance: ____________________________________________________________ Time or effort allocated to this assignment: ____________________________________________________________ ============================================================ 3. REWRITE TAX ============================================================ What AI-created material had to be replaced rather than improved? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ [ ] Whole section deleted [ ] Conclusion rewritten [ ] Argument rebuilt [ ] Original reasoning restored [ ] Unsupported elaboration removed [ ] Generic example replaced [ ] Tone change undone [ ] Other: __________________________________________________ Was the cleanup mainly refinement or reconstruction? [ ] Refinement [ ] Mixed [ ] Reconstruction ============================================================ 4. REPLAY LOOP ============================================================ Number of corrective AI passes: ____________________________________________________________ Did a corrective pass create another problem? [ ] No [ ] Yes What happened? ____________________________________________________________ At what point would manual repair have been cheaper than another AI pass? ____________________________________________________________ Local Replay Breakpoint for future work: ____________________________________________________________ ============================================================ 5. FAILURE TRACE ============================================================ Hardest failure to detect: ____________________________________________________________ Where did the failure originate? [ ] Source material [ ] Assignment or brief [ ] Reusable instructions [ ] Drafting [ ] Editing [ ] Review placement [ ] Delivery or integration [ ] Other: __________________________________________________ Where was the failure detected? ____________________________________________________________ Could the failure have been caught earlier? [ ] No [ ] Yes If yes, where should the check move? ____________________________________________________________ Was the problem friction or failure? [ ] Friction [ ] Failure Did the problem create downstream work for another role? [ ] No [ ] Yes Role affected: ____________________________________________________________ ============================================================ 6. DIAGNOSIS ============================================================ Choose the primary diagnosis. [ ] UPSTREAM INPUT PROBLEM Repair the sources or assignment. [ ] INSTRUCTION PROBLEM Repair and retest the reusable instructions. [ ] REVIEW-PLACEMENT PROBLEM Move inspection earlier. [ ] TOOL-FIT PROBLEM Restrict or replace the tool for this task. [ ] STAGE-FIT PROBLEM Move the automation point between drafting and editing, or return the stage to manual work. [ ] ACCEPTABLE CLEANUP Keep the workflow because the complete finishing burden remains preferable to the manual baseline. Evidence for the diagnosis: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ============================================================ 7. NEXT ACTION ============================================================ [ ] Keep the workflow [ ] Repair and retest [ ] Restrict inputs, outputs, claims, or audience [ ] Move the review earlier [ ] Move the automation point [ ] Replace the tool for this task [ ] Return this stage to manual work What specifically changes next? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Decision owner: ____________________________________________________________ Review date: ____________________________________________________________ What would trigger another cleanup autopsy? ____________________________________________________________ RULE TO REMEMBER Fast output only counts when it makes the finished job easier.