06-reference

write with ai snowball automation framework

2026-07-15·reference·source: Write With AI·by Mitch Harris
ai-workflowsclaude-skillsautomationno-codesnowball-framework

Why this is in the vault

Cross-post from AI Dispatch (Mitch Harris) via Nicolas Cole's Write With AI. Mitch Harris is the operator behind 200+ Claude skills powering a 7-figure business — the same scale and approach RDCO is building toward. The "Snowball Automation" 4-step framework is a practitioner's methodology for first-automation design, applicable to RDCO skill and workflow onboarding contexts.

Cross-promotional relationship: Nicolas Cole is introducing Mitch Harris's new newsletter (AI Dispatch) and his "Claude Fundamentals 5-Day Sprint" course (enrollment opened July 13th). No paid third-party sponsor, but the piece is a promotional vehicle for the Sprint.

The core argument

Start with the smallest, most obvious repetitive task — not the biggest pain point. Four steps:

  1. Pick Your Snowball — smallest/most obvious repetitive task; shipping an automation beats strategizing about the perfect one
  2. Begin With The End In Mind — define "Done" before opening your AI; resist scope creep (one output, one workflow, no chaining into slideshows or LinkedIn posts)
  3. Work Backwards To The Trigger — two types: Scheduled (consistent time interval) or Responsive (event-triggered); scheduled is the better first automation
  4. Interview Prompt — a copy-paste prompt that walks you through the full Snowball design: Done state → tool detection → trigger → action → output → logging → "next snowball" suggestion

Example used: Claude Desktop + iMessage automation that texts a plant-watering reminder on the 1st of each month, built in under 10 minutes.

Mapping against Ray Data Co

The ~/.claude/skills/ library is already the production version of this framework — RDCO's 200+ skills already follow exactly the trigger→action→output→log pattern Mitch describes. The "Snowball" framing is useful for externalizing that approach: it's the vocabulary RDCO needs when communicating skill-building methodology to phData clients or in Sanity Check content aimed at practitioners not yet at RDCO's scale.

The Scheduled vs. Responsive trigger taxonomy maps directly to RDCO's infrastructure: LaunchAgent cron jobs (scheduled) vs. iMessage/Discord channel agents (responsive). Worth borrowing as plain-language vocabulary in any future documentation or client pitch on the RDCO agent stack.

The interview prompt in Step 4 operationalizes what RDCO's skillify skill already does but in a more accessible, conversational format — worth extracting as an onboarding artifact for introducing new collaborators to skill creation.

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