# Worked examples

Three fictional documents, run through the test in `README.md`. Not real client documents.

## Example 1: monthly billing summary from one ad platform

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Same layout every time? | Yes. Same columns, same order, every month. |
| 2. Same wording, not just numbers? | Yes. Same headers every time. |
| 3. Same source or template file? | Yes. It's an export from the same platform, same format. |
| 4. Would you hear about a layout change first? | Yes. The platform announces export changes ahead of time. |
| 5. Could you write the rule once and have it hold? | Yes. "Total spend is always row 12, column C." |
| 6. Does a person need to read it to understand it? | No. Once the rule is written, reading it is mechanical. |
| 7. Does it ever hold something different in kind? | No. Always numbers in the same shape. |

**Result:** fixed template. Plain code reads this one. No AI, nothing to guess.

## Example 2: a client's email asking for a scope change

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Same layout every time? | No. It's an email, written freehand. |
| 2. Same wording, not just numbers? | No. Every client writes it differently. |
| 3. Same source or template file? | No. |
| 4. Would you hear about a change first? | No. There's nothing fixed to change. |
| 5. Could you write the rule once? | No. There's no fixed place for anything. |
| 6. Does a person need to read it to understand it? | Yes. You have to understand what they're actually asking for. |
| 7. Different in kind, not just amount? | Yes. One email might add a task, another might just be a question. |

**Result:** needs reading. Use AI to draft a first read of what's being asked, with a person checking it before anything changes in the scope.

## Example 3: a vendor invoice that mostly follows a template but sometimes doesn't

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Same layout every time? | Mostly. Same template, but the vendor occasionally adds a line by hand. |
| 2. Same wording, not just numbers? | Mostly. The extra hand-added lines use different wording each time. |
| 3. Same source or template file? | Yes, as a starting point. |
| 4. Would you hear about a change first? | No. The hand-added lines show up without warning. |
| 5. Could you write the rule once? | Only for the template part. The hand-added lines break the rule. |
| 6. Does a person need to read it? | Sometimes, only for the added lines. |
| 7. Different in kind sometimes? | Yes, on the hand-added lines only. |

**Result:** a close call, and that's the honest answer. Plain code reads the fixed part of the template. The occasional hand-added line still needs a person to read it, and it's not worth building AI just for that one line: flag it and let a person handle it directly.