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Hey, I'm Dan Stoll
Builder. Fixer. Occasional automator of things that shouldn't take that long. I write about technology and document the journey of making things work better.
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From SOPs to Workflows
Twenty-five years of taking messy human processes and making them executable. It started in the Signal Corps and hasn't stopped since.
Recent Posts
View allThings That Shouldn't Take That Long
A ten-week quote, a rough version built in an afternoon, and what that says about where the time in modern work really goes.
Pattern of the week: Saga with Compensating Transactions
When one process spans several systems and fails halfway, you need a planned way back. Pair every step with an undo, and accept that undo is not the same as rollback.
Workflow Patterns
View allStop calling a failing dependency before it drags you down with it. After a threshold of errors, open the circuit, fail fast for a cooldown period, then cautiously let traffic back in.
Coordinate a multi-step business transaction that spans several systems by pairing each step with a rollback action. If a later step fails, run the rollbacks in reverse to restore a consistent state.
Route purchase requests, expense reports, and financial approvals through different approval chains based on the dollar amount. Low-value requests skip senior approvers; high-value requests get more scrutiny.
Let's Build Something
New articles and workflow patterns, posted as they're written. Have a question or an idea? Get in touch.