Automation Control Plane (ACP)
Workflow Observability, Reliability, and Debugging for Scalable RevOps
A first-class reliability and observability layer for Attio Workflows (and AI-driven actions) that makes automation safe to scale with run logs, retries, alerting, version management, and auditability.
Target Segments
- Primary: SMB (51-250 seats)Where automations become critical and silent failures kill trust and create RevOps burden
- Stretch: Mid-market (251-1,000 seats)Where governance + reliability is a purchase gate and automation runs at higher volume
Why Now
- • Competitive analysis flags workflow observability as a scaling-critical gap
- • HubSpot explicitly documents workflow testing/troubleshooting—Attio must match or exceed
- • "Automation that's debuggable" is a top cross-vendor buyer priority
- • AI-driven workflow steps are increasing, making auditability more important
- • Silent workflow failures cause churn and revert teams to manual processes
Objectives
Make Automation Debuggable and Trustworthy
RevOps can quickly identify, understand, and fix workflow failures
Reduce Silent Failures
Eliminate scenarios where workflows break without anyone knowing
Enable Safe Scaling of AI-Driven Automation
Support more workflow runs without proportionally increasing incidents
User Personas
RevOps / Sales Ops
Owns routing, hygiene, lifecycle definitions; needs debuggable automation and auditability to maintain confidence
VP Sales
Wants pipeline visibility and forecast accuracy without "ops drama" or manual workarounds
Sales Manager
Needs to trust deal states and understand why fields changed
AE (Sales Rep)
Wants tasks and next steps to be correct; needs clarity when automation changes a record
Admin (Workspace/Security)
Needs permission controls, SSO/MFA, and governance expectations met
Functional Requirements
Core capabilities required to deliver on the stated objectives.
Workflow Run Explorer
Per-run and per-step logs showing status, timestamps, inputs/outputs, error messages. Includes AI step provenance if AI used.
Retry + Re-run Controls
Admin can retry failed run; idempotency prevents duplicates. Uses idempotency keys for external actions.
Alerting: Failure Rate + SLA Breach
Alerts delivered to chosen channel (email/Slack/webhook) with link to runs when thresholds exceeded.
Audit Trail for Workflow/AI Changes
Field history shows source + actor + workflow version + AI policy ID. Addresses governance gap.
Versioned Publishing + Rollback
Workflows have Draft/Published states; can rollback to previous version. Lightweight "environments" substitute.
Test Mode / Simulation
Run workflow on sample records without applying writes. Include "diff" preview of what would change.
Dead-Letter Queue + Replay
Failed runs can be queued and replayed after fix for transient failures.
Workflow Health Dashboard
Aggregated failure reasons, MTTR, throughput. Filter by workflow/team.
Run Log API + Webhooks
API access to run logs + webhook on run status change. Enables external monitoring.
Advanced Policies (Maintenance Windows, Rate Limits)
Configure rate limiting + quiet hours. Useful for mid-market.
Success Metrics
| Metric | Baseline | Target | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workflow-Run MTTR | TBD (baseline in pilot) | -50% | |
| Weekly Workflow Runs/Workspace | TBD | +30% | |
| Unnotified Failures Rate | TBD | Near-zero (<0.1%) | |
| % Active Workspaces with Healthy Automation | N/A | North Star metric |
Rollout Plan
Alpha (Design Partners)
Select 2-3 customers with 5+ workflows and known automation pain. Validate Run Explorer, retry, and basic alerts.
Beta
Expand to 10-20 customers (SMB heavy automation + a few mid-market stretch). Add versioned publish/rollback, health dashboard v0, alerting wizard.
GA
Add DLQ/replay + test mode. Full support readiness with runbooks. Expand rollout.
Want the full artifact?
Email me to request a PDF of this complete PRD with all requirements and specifications.