# Research workflow pilot

Richie Lin · Portfolio sample · September 2026

Illustrative sample · Planning estimates

A fictional planning scenario. Every minute estimate below is an assumption for comparing workflows, not observed performance or time saved in the Wayfair/Extern project.

## The brief

Should a team automate part of its weekly competitor research report?

## Worked example

Scenario estimates per reporting cycle. Validate with actual pilot observations

| Activity | Manual scenario | Proposed pilot | Proposed owner |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Collect approved sources | 45 min | 15 min | Analyst + scheduled workflow |
| Normalize research fields | 25 min | 10 min | Workflow + exception review |
| Check sources and AI summaries | 20 min | 25 min | Human reviewer |
| Prepare the decision summary | 10 min | 10 min | Analyst |
| Total planning estimate | 100 min | 60 min | No measured savings claimed |

## Recommendation

Pilot collection and formatting. Retain human approval of the interpretation.

The model suggests a 40 minute difference per cycle under the stated assumptions. First observe the current workflow, then compare three pilot cycles for time, accuracy, coverage, and review effort before expanding.

## Make the workflow inspectable

Approved source list → collection → structured fields → AI assisted draft → exception queue → human review → research sheet. Preserve source URL, observation date, original observation, summary, reviewer, and status.


## Define acceptance before starting

Proposed criteria: every published observation has a source and review status. Factual errors are corrected before release. The pilot preserves agreed source coverage. Median hands on time improves without increasing unresolved errors.


## Plan for exceptions

Route missing pages, extraction failures, contradictory sources, and unsupported summaries to review. Keep the manual reporting template available so a failed automation does not block the operating review.

- Analyst owns the question and report.
- Reviewer approves the interpretation.
- Workflow owner investigates recurring failures.
- Record changes to prompts or extraction rules between cycles.

## Learning note

Automation should earn its place through a measured pilot. Include review effort, exceptions, and the cost of incorrect output in the comparison.

## Files and sources

- Process and estimate CSV: operations-pilot.csv


Related experience: https://richielin.com/pages/wayfair

View online: https://richielin.com/pages/samples/operations-pilot