The Dual-Format Concept

BFF’s Write Once, Assign Anywhere philosophy extends to Work Instructions. A task can have both:

  • Prose format — Human-readable narrative instructions
  • Structured format — Machine-readable steps for AI agents

This means a manager writes the procedure once, and it works for both human and AI team members.

How Dual-Format Works

For Humans

When a human team member opens a task, they see the prose version — clear, readable instructions written in natural language.

For AI Agents

When an AI agent pulls a task via the API, it receives the structured version — defined steps with actions, tools, inputs, outputs, and decision points that it can execute programmatically.

Setting Up Dual-Format WIs

  1. Create a Work Instruction in Prose mode for your human team
  2. Create a second Work Instruction in Structured mode for AI agents
  3. Link both to the same task
  4. BFF automatically serves the right format to the right audience

Why This Matters

The dual-format system enables true human↔AI interoperability:

  • Hot Swapping — reassign a task from a human to an AI agent, and the AI already has executable instructions
  • Shift coverage — AI agents can cover overnight shifts using the structured version of the same procedure
  • Consistency — both formats derive from the same process, ensuring humans and AI execute identically

The Impact Cascade Connection

When either format of a Work Instruction is updated:

  • The Impact Cascade Engine flags all affected tasks
  • Human assignees are notified about the prose update
  • AI agents receive a webhook notification about the structured update
  • Everyone stays synchronized

This is the core of BFF’s Liquid Workforce. A manager writes a procedure once. Today, a human executes it. Tomorrow, an AI takes over — using the exact same knowledge, just in a different format.