Progress sharing from private notes to team docs to public…
Progress workflow sharing from private notes to team documentation to public templates only after the current level is validated—premature publication of under-tested workflows creates more problems than value.
When This Fires
- When creating a workflow you plan to share beyond yourself
- When tempted to publish a workflow template after only personal testing
- When a shared workflow generates more confused questions than successful executions
- Complements Test shareability by having an unfamiliar person execute… (shareability testing) with the staged progression that determines when to test
Common Failure Mode
Publishing personal workflows directly as public templates: "Here's my productivity system!" The author's 20 implicit assumptions are invisible to them but block every public adopter. The template looks polished but is practically unusable without the author's verbal commentary.
The Protocol
(1) Private stage: Use the workflow yourself for at least 10 executions. Refine until stable (Give each workflow change 3-5 executions before deciding…). Document for your own future self. (2) Team stage: Share with 2-3 trusted people. Have them execute without your help (Test shareability by having an unfamiliar person execute…). Collect all stumble points. Fix documentation gaps. Re-test until someone can execute cold. (3) Public stage: After team validation, add tool alternatives (Make workflows portable by naming tools with alternatives…), fixed/flex markers (Mark shared workflow steps as fixed (deviation breaks it)…), and context-independent explanations. Remove all team-specific assumptions. (4) Each stage has a gate criterion: Private → Team gate: "Workflow has 10+ personal executions and is stable." Team → Public gate: "At least 2 unfamiliar people have executed successfully without help." (5) If a workflow doesn't need to go public, stop at the team stage. Not everything needs to be a public template.