DA9: Running automation for a business
Documentation and handover
🎯You'll be able to
Write a handover pack someone else can run the automation from: what it does, systems, data, runbook and how to change it.
🏠The everyday picture
When you hand your house keys to a neighbour while you travel, you leave a note: which key is which, when to water the plants, and who to call if the geyser leaks. A workflow needs the same kind of note.
📘What it really is
- A handover pack for each automation includes:
- what it does, in plain words, with a simple diagram;
- triggers, systems and data it touches;
- credentials list (DA6): account, access, owner, renewal;
- alerts: who receives them and what to do for common ones;
- runbook: steps for known problems ("401 from accounts: reconnect the credential, then retry from the alert link");
- how to change it safely: copy, test with pinned data, publish at quiet times;
-
contacts for each tool's support.
-
In the workflow itself: clear node names, sticky notes on tricky parts, and comments in code steps (DA5).
- A walkthrough call, recorded if the client agrees, where a staff member runs a test themselves.
- Keep the pack with the client, in their shared drive, not only on your laptop.
📝A worked example
Part of Sharma Textiles' runbook for the order workflow:
| Alert | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "No orders processed since ..." | Shop webhook changed or workflow off | Check workflow is active; check shop webhook URL is the production URL |
| "401 from accounts" | Credential expired or revoked | Reconnect in n8n credentials; retry from link |
| "Signature failed x3" | Someone probing the webhook, or secret changed | If the secret wasn't changed, tell Ravi; no action on orders needed |
| "Pin code invalid" | Customer typo | Fix the address in the shop; retry the run |
Three months after handover, Priya fixes a 401 in five minutes using the runbook, without calling you.
🌍Where it's used
- Every client handover.
- Staff changes: a new employee takes over the automations.
- Audits and investors: showing that critical processes are documented.
📝Case scenario
A business's freelancer becomes unreachable, and its workflows start failing. Nobody knows what they do or where the credentials are. You spend two days rebuilding the picture. Afterwards you write a handover pack, move all credentials to company accounts, and store everything in the client's shared drive so this doesn't happen again.
🖱️Try it
Write a handover pack for your Sharma Textiles order workflow: plain description, systems, credentials list, alert owners and a runbook with at least four common problems.
⚠️Common mistakes
- Writing for yourself. Sign: the pack uses node names, not business words. Fix: test it on someone who knows the business but not n8n.
- No "how to pause" section. Sign: staff can't stop a misbehaving workflow. Fix: put pausing and safe re-running at the top of the runbook.
🛠️For your project
Start from the starter capstone/handover-template.md. Capstone acceptance test 2 gives your runbook to a friend to follow.
✅Quick check
What is a runbook?
Show the answer
Step-by-step instructions for handling known problems and alerts.
Where should the handover pack be stored?
Show the answer
With the client, in their own shared drive or system.