Block anatomy

Ten blocks. One operating system.

A block is the smallest unit of automation that does a single, named job. Stack the right ones and a document workflow becomes a system: machine-fast where it can be, human-slow where it must be, recorded throughout.

See the system Read the blocks

Pipeline: 7 blocks
Continuous: 1 block
Cross-cutting: 2 blocks

A block, drawn

Every block has a back face it reads from, a top face where its work happens, and a front face it writes to. The ports on the edges are where blocks connect.

The system

How the ten fit together.

Seven blocks form the pipeline. One block, Track, runs in parallel because deadlines do not wait for the pipeline to be ready. Two blocks, Audit and Learn, sit underneath and behind everything: one records what happened, one feeds the lessons back upstream.

Three kinds of block

Not all ten do the same kind of work.

Pipeline

01 – 07

Ingest
Extract
Verify
Calculate
Generate
Review
Route

These seven move work forward, one stage at a time. Each one takes the previous block's output and produces the next block's input. A file becomes a record, a record becomes a number, a number becomes a draft, a draft becomes a signed document.

Continuous

Track

Track does not sit in the pipeline. It runs alongside, watching every record that has a date attached and producing reminders or escalations before deadlines pass. It is the only block that produces output without a human or another block triggering it.

Cross-cutting

09 – 10

Audit
Learn

Audit and Learn touch every other block. Audit records what they did and who authorised it. Learn watches reviewer decisions and feeds the corrections back into the rules upstream, so the system improves without re-engineering.

The ten blocks

One block at a time.

For each block: what it consumes, what it produces, and the threshold at which the manual version stops paying for itself. If two of these describe a real bottleneck in your firm, you have your starting stack.

01 pipeline

Ingest.

Pulls files in from where they actually arrive.

Inputs: PDFs, scans, forms, emails, spreadsheets, portal exports.
Outputs: Structured file intake with source references.
Use when: Work starts outside your system of record.

Block 01 3 in · 1 out

02 pipeline

Extract.

Turns unstructured input into structured records.

Inputs: Ingested files.
Outputs: Names, IDs, dates, clauses, amounts, metadata.
Use when: You re-type data from documents more than twice a week.

Block 02 1 in · 3 out

03 pipeline

Verify.

Cross-checks data against sources and flags issues.

Inputs: Extracted records, source files, rulesets.
Outputs: Verified records, exception list with reasons.
Use when: Data comes from multiple sources, or errors carry cost.

Block 03 3 in · 2 out

04 pipeline

Calculate.

Applies rules and compliance logic to produce numbers.

Inputs: Verified records, rulesets.
Outputs: Fees, tax, duty, timelines, risk scores.
Use when: The same calculation is repeated across many matters.

Block 04 2 in · 3 out

05 pipeline

Generate.

Produces the working output you hand off.

Inputs: Calculated records, templates.
Outputs: Reports, filing packs, drafts, summaries, updates.
Use when: A human is assembling outputs from copy-paste.

Block 05 2 in · 3 out

06 pipeline

Review.

Gives a person controlled approval over machine output.

Inputs: Generated outputs.
Outputs: Approved outputs, corrections, escalations.
Use when: Final signoff must stay with a qualified human.

Block 06 1 in · 3 out

07 pipeline

Route.

Moves work to the right person, queue, or next step.

Inputs: Approved or flagged items.
Outputs: Task assignments, state transitions.
Use when: Work sits in inboxes or gets forgotten.

Block 07 2 in · 2 out

08 continuous

Track.

Watches deadlines and time-sensitive events.

Inputs: Extracted dates, filing windows, SLA rules.
Outputs: Reminders, countdowns, escalation triggers.
Use when: Deadlines exist and missing one has consequences.

Block 08 3 in · 2 out

09 cross cutting

Audit.

Records what happened, when, and on whose authority.

Inputs: Every action from the other blocks.
Outputs: Evidence pack, version history, action log.
Use when: You operate in a regulated or high-accountability context.

Block 09 3 in · 2 out

10 cross cutting

Learn.

Captures reviewer corrections and feeds them back into the rules.

Inputs: Review decisions, error patterns.
Outputs: Ruleset updates, extraction refinements.
Use when: You want the system to improve without re-engineering it.

Block 10 2 in · 2 out

Where to start

Pick the bottleneck. We will pick the blocks.

A workflow mapping session takes one hour and ends with a stack: the smallest set of blocks that fixes the part of the process that hurts the most.

Map my workflow Why blocks, not tools