A recommendation becomes risky when it can be mistaken for work that someone has already approved or accepted.
Keep the work states separate
The important chain is simple: suggested, reviewed, approved, assigned or actionable. These are different states, even when the words appear close together in a task list.
A recommendation should never become work for someone merely because it was written clearly or generated by a system that appears confident.
Where AI fits
AI can create the suggested state and help prepare the review state by separating evidence, uncertainty, and the next human decision.
The human decision
People review, approve, assign, or reject work. AI must not silently jump an item from suggestion into an actionable state.
The lesson
A suggestion is not an assignment. The handoff between those states needs a visible human decision.
The Build Log companion shows how a constrained suggestion state protected a downstream queue from being flooded with unvetted work.
AI Skills
Use this lesson with the AI assistant you already use
A suggestion is not an assignment. The handoff between those states needs a visible human decision.
Paste the prompt, share only the context needed to answer it, and treat the result as a draft for your review. Do not include confidential information or let an AI assistant make changes without your approval.
Optional: for a visual report and saved memory, run /dxdev first.
Don’t have it? Get it at dxdev.com/skills/dxdev. The prompt works without it.
dxdev LESSON · paste into your AI agent
LESSON: 2026-04-28_suggestion-is-not-approval
WHAT TO SHARE:
A de-identified recommendation, supporting evidence, current state, and the role that can review it.
ASK YOUR AGENT TO:
1. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions and unanswered questions.
2. Identify whether the item is suggested, reviewed, approved, or actionable.
3. List evidence and uncertainty needed for the next state.
4. Name the authorized human transition.
RETURN:
A recommendation, state, owner, and next-decision table.
BOUNDARY: Do not change records, contact anyone, route work, publish content, or act in an external system. A person must review the evidence and approve every consequential step.
