Task Checklist

01Understand

Done means — write the observable proof: a dashboard, a log line, a test. Not "I applied the change." Why — keep asking until I hit the real driver. The ticket is often a symptom. Right task? — is there a better fix, or a way to remove the need entirely? Current state — read the config, the dashboard, the last incident. Don't work from memory. Constraints — cost, compliance, change windows, dependencies, existing conventions. Unknowns — list them, and mark which must be resolved before I start.

02People

Ownership — who owns what I'm touching, and who consumes it downstream? Consult now — message the people I'll need before I'm blocked, not after. Inform — heads-up before, not surprise after. Already solved? — search Slack, tickets, wikis and git history first. Gates — security review, change approval, cost sign-off.

03Plan

Steps — outline the approach before touching anything. One alternative — if I picked the harder path, know why. Rollback — how do I undo this? If there's no answer, building one is the first task. Stage it — one region, one instance, one canary before everything. The check — decide how I'll verify before I change anything. When — the real deadline, and the safe window to do it in. Timebox — how long before I escalate? Pick the number now. Clear the way — if a cleanup makes this change easy, do that first and separately.

04Do

Work in small, reviewable increments. Stay in scope — improvements I spot go in the notepad, not into this change. Show progress where the team can see it. Re-plan when reality stops matching the plan. Escalate at the timebox. Stuck and quiet is the expensive failure.

05Verify

Run the check I defined. Confirm it works; don't infer it. Look at what I didn't mean to change — error rates, latency, cost, permissions. Confirm the rollback path still works. Watch it long enough for the risk involved before calling it done.

06Close

Update the runbook now, while it's fresh. Note what surprised me. That's where the real knowledge is. Leave it better — the clearer name, the missing alert, the stale comment. File tickets for the bigger things. File them; don't do them now. Say it's done in terms of the outcome, not the mechanics. Third time by hand? Then the automation is the task. Write that ticket.