Procedures are step-by-step instructions that AI agents can follow to complete complex tasks. They create a framework for solving problems in a consistent manner while enabling continuous improvement through analysis and adaptation. Procedures are a guideline, if they don't work the agent can adapt to the situation.

Core Concepts

A procedure is a flowchart-style guide that an agent can follow to complete a task. Each procedure is stored in its own directory and contains files that separate different concerns:

Discovery: Quick identification of relevant procedures
Execution: Clear steps and dependencies
Analysis: Understanding of effectiveness and issues
Evolution: Natural path to optimization and training

Directory Structure

procedures/
└── example_procedure/
    ├── description.md # Quick discovery info
    ├── procedure.md   # Main procedure flow
    ├── reasoning.md   # Analysis and rationale
    ├── history/       # Usage records
    │   └── 20250106_131420_405/
    │       ├── iteration_20250106_131423_051.xml
    │       └── iteration_20250106_131424_226.xml
    └── training/      # Optional training data
        ├── short_description_of_goal
        │   ├── iteration_20250106_131423_051.xml
        │   └── iteration_20250106_131424_226.xml
        └── another_goal
            └── ...

File Purposes

description.md

Contains a short description and keywords that help agents find relevant procedures. This file should be quick to read and clearly indicate the procedure's purpose and applicability.

Send an email using the users email account.

- communication
- gmail

procedure.md

The main file loaded when executing the procedure. Contains:

Mermaid diagram showing the procedure flow
Referenced procedures
Prerequisites for execution

# Sending an Email

## Referenced Procedures
- web usage (ITB)
- managing user information

## Prerequisites
- If the email requires attachements, these should be available as files in the SIA filesystem

## Flow
```mermaid
    ...
```

reasoning.md

Documents why the procedure works the way it does. Contains:

Design rationale
History of uses and outcomes
Notes about successful and failed executions
Analysis of issues and improvements

New analysis is appended after each use of the procedure.

history/

Contains timestamped directories for each use of the procedure. The timestamp comes from the ID of the script that loads the procedure.md file.

Usage Flow

Discovery

When an agent needs to complete a task:

Search through description.md files
Match keywords to task requirements
Identify relevant procedures

Execution

Once a procedure is selected:

Load procedure.md for execution
Follow the flowchart
Copy iterations to new history subdirectory
Analyze execution success and issues
Append findings to reasoning.md

Optimization

During idle time:

Review procedure usage patterns
Identify improvement opportunities
Generate training data if appropriate
Update procedure flow if needed