Every step needs a clear input and output

Each step in a workflow should have an obvious answer to two questions: what does it need to run, and what does it hand off when it's done. If you can't answer both, that step probably needs more thought before you build it.

This habit catches problems early. I've seen a step that's supposed to send a confirmation but was never told which email address to use fail quietly, and nobody finds out until someone complains they never heard back. Thinking through inputs and outputs for every step is like checking that each hand in a relay race actually has the baton before the next runner takes off.

It also makes a workflow far easier to debug later, since you can check each handoff on its own instead of guessing where things went wrong.

Try this today: pick one workflow and write down, for each step, exactly what goes in and exactly what comes out.