Write agent actions as procedures a stranger could follow…

When This Fires

• When writing the Actions component of any agent documentation (Document every agent with five components)
• When reviewing existing agent documentation for executability
• When an agent fires but the action step "doesn't feel clear enough to do" in the moment
• When coaching someone whose behavior change commitments are vague

Common Failure Mode

Writing principles instead of procedures: "Engage deeply with the material" instead of "Read one page. Write one sentence summarizing the main claim. Write one question the claim raises." The principle sounds good in planning mode but is unexecutable in execution mode because "deeply" and "engage" require real-time judgment that the agent should have pre-committed.

The Protocol

(1) Write the action steps in numbered order. (2) For each step, apply the stranger test: could someone unfamiliar with your context execute this step without asking you what you mean? (3) If any step fails the stranger test, decompose it further or replace abstract terms with concrete ones. "Review your goals" → "Open the goals document, read each goal aloud, and rate current progress 1-5." (4) Include physical actions where possible: "open," "write," "say," "move to" — these are unambiguous. (5) Test by executing the steps literally, following only what's written. Where you fill in gaps from memory, the documentation is incomplete.