Paths / Make Your Workflow Visible / What a Workflow Image Must Prove
Lesson 1 of 5 • 10 min

What a Workflow Image Must Prove

Learn the Canon rule for useful images: show the object, decision state, proof, or owner.

Canon treats images as operating artifacts. A useful image does not decorate a lesson, deck, or handoff. It makes the work visible enough that an operator can decide what should happen next.

The rule is simple:

If the image cannot answer an operational question, do not use it.

Workflow proof map showing object, state, proof, owner, and next action.
A Canon learning image should prove the workflow, not merely illustrate it.

The four questions

Before creating a workflow image, ask:

  1. What object, workflow, or system is being mapped?
  2. What can run, needs review, or must stop?
  3. What policy, contract, receipt, trace, eval, or screenshot proves the claim?
  4. Who owns the next step?

For an operator, this matters because the image becomes a shared instruction surface. Codex, a teammate, or a client should be able to look at it and understand the work boundary without needing a separate explanation.

Operator exercise

Pick one workflow you want Codex to help with. Write four short lines:

Object:
State:
Proof:
Owner:

If one line is empty, that is the lesson. The image is not ready yet because the workflow is not ready yet.

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