Make workflows portable by naming tools with alternatives…

When This Fires

• When documenting workflows that others will use with different tool stacks
• When your own tools change and you need to adapt existing workflows
• When vague workflow instructions produce confusion about which tools to use
• Complements Handoff workflows need finer granularity than personal… (handoff granularity) with the specific technique for handling tool references

Common Failure Mode

Over-abstraction: "Process the data using an appropriate tool." What tool? What counts as appropriate? The person following this instruction has no starting point and no criteria for selection. The workflow author removed specificity in pursuit of generality and achieved neither — the instruction is too vague to execute and too generic to guide tool selection.

The Protocol

(1) For each tool-specific step in your workflow, write three elements: Tool (the specific tool you use), Capability (what the tool does in this step — the essential function), and Alternatives (other tools that provide the same capability). (2) Format: "Use [Tool] ([Capability]). Alternatives: [Alt1], [Alt2] — any tool that [Capability description]." (3) The capability description is the interface — it tells the reader what to look for in an alternative. (4) Test: could someone substitute their preferred tool and still complete the step? If yes, the capability description is adequate. If no, you've missed a tool-specific requirement that needs to be made explicit. (5) Update alternatives when you discover new tools or when existing ones change capabilities.