BITSER in Practice: Why We Paused Automation and Locked Governance First

Thanks to Frank for introducing the BITSER framework.

We applied it this week while building a CRE tax-analysis system, and it reshaped the order of operations in a meaningful way.

Instead of jumping into automation, we locked the governance layer first:

A single source of truth for property data
Deterministic eligibility (YES / NO / NEED INFO only)
Explicit language controls so nothing reads as advice, guarantees, or marketing
Outputs that a broker could include in an OM and a CPA could review without rewrites

The takeaway was simple: most AI systems fail not because of tooling, but because rules, inputs, and language aren’t constrained early enough.

Automation comes next—but only after the system survives expert review in a live deal.

Appreciate the discipline BITSER enforces. It’s a useful reminder that in high-stakes workflows, governance is the product.

8 comments