Give the Specialist a Flight Envelope

Analyze this business requirement before proposing technology. Restate the desired outcome, triggering event, required inputs, decisions, actions, users, frequency, latency, risk, and definition of success.

Compare at least these implementation patterns: ordinary application logic, deterministic automation, SQL analysis, document retrieval, RAG, a tool-using agent, and a human-led workflow assisted by Codex. Explain which parts require reasoning and which should remain deterministic.

Recommend the simplest architecture that satisfies the requirement. Include tradeoffs, operational cost, security, observability, failure recovery, and human-review needs. Do not recommend an agent merely because the request uses the word agent.