Question
How do I practice reliability optimization?
Quick Answer
Pick one agent (habit, routine, automated behavior) that you consider important but that fails more than 20% of the time. Map every instance in the last 30 days where it fired and where it didn't. For the failures, identify the specific condition that broke it — fatigue, travel, interruption, ambiguity, emotional state.
Now design one structural change that addresses the most common failure mode. Implement it for two weeks and track the new firing rate.
Common pitfall: Treating reliability as willpower instead of engineering. When an agent fails, the instinct is to try harder next time — set a louder alarm, make a firmer commitment, feel guiltier about the miss. This is the equivalent of telling a server to 'just not crash.' It does not address the structural reason the agent failed. Every reliability problem has a structural cause. Find the cause, change the structure.
This practice connects to Agent Optimization — building it as a repeatable habit compounds over time.
Learn more in these lessons
- Reliability optimization
A reliable agent works every time, not just when conditions are perfect.