Published April 17, 2025
Something breaks.
An automation stops running.
No one’s sure why.
“Can someone check the automations?”
“Did someone change something?”
“Why aren’t the timesheets going out?”
Support ticket lands on Fred. Fred didn’t build this. But Fred owns it now — along with five other hats. He restarts it. It works. Maybe.
If Fred’s out, it’s Rita’s problem. She managed the build two years ago. Does she still have the consulting firm’s contact?
You’ve got 40 flows.
No documentation.
No owner.
No alerting.
No visibility.
There are copies of copies. Names like V2.Feb2022_Timesheets.
Is that the one running in prod?
Was it updated?
Is it safe to delete?
No one knows, so no one touches it.
One flow has been failing for months.
Another is stacked with errors.
Another is throwing an error from a service no one uses anymore.
This isn’t broken.
This is default.
The problem isn’t your stack.
This isn’t unique to you.
You’re not crazy.
You’re just the one holding the mess.
You didn’t choose chaos.
This is the no-code default state.
Want to get out of this mess?
Start with an automation audit — or keep reading Field Notes for more.