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Process Runbook / SOP

How the automation works day-to-day: what is automatic, what needs a human, how exceptions are handled, and who to contact.

4 pagesPDF · Operations
FS-DOC-03Operations

Process Runbook / SOP

NDA Workflow

[YourCompany.com] · Legal Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]

This runbook is the day-to-day operating guide for the automated NDA Workflow. It tells you exactly what the system does on its own, where your team's attention is needed, and what to do when something goes wrong. FullSpec has built and configured the full automation end to end. Your role is to manage the single human checkpoint, keep templates current, and use this document as your reference if the process ever needs to be paused, corrected, or handed to a new team member.

01Process overview

The NDA Workflow automates every step of handling a non-disclosure agreement request from first submission through to a fully executed, filed copy. When a requester submits the intake form, three agents take over: the Intake and Classification Agent logs the request and selects the right template; the Approval and Routing Agent sends the draft to the designated internal approver via Slack and chases automatically if there is no response; and the Signature and Completion Agent manages the DocuSign envelope, files the executed PDF, updates HubSpot, and notifies the requester. The only step that requires a human decision is reviewing a redlined document if the counterparty sends one back. Everything else runs without manual input.

Process name
NDA Workflow
Trigger
A new NDA intake form is submitted by a requester (salesperson, partner manager, or vendor contact)
Final output
A filed executed NDA in Google Drive, an updated HubSpot record, and a confirmation email sent to the requester
Agents running
Intake and Classification Agent, Approval and Routing Agent, Signature and Completion Agent
Tools involved
Notion, Google Drive, Slack, DocuSign, HubSpot, Gmail
Weekly volume
Approximately 5 NDA requests per week (20/month)
Human checkpoint
Legal review of counterparty redlines only. All other steps are fully automated.
Process owner
Legal Ops Manager (see Section 04 for contact details)
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02Step-by-step: what happens and who acts

What you actually need to do: The only step that requires action from your team is Step 6, reviewing a redlined document returned by the counterparty. All other steps run automatically without any input from you. You will receive a Slack notification at Step 6 if and when this situation arises. For a standard NDA where the counterparty signs without changes, your team does not need to touch the process at all once the intake form is submitted.
Step
What happens
Who acts
Type
1. Intake form submitted
A requester fills in and submits the NDA intake form, providing party name, relationship type (mutual or one-way), and their own contact details. This submission is the trigger that starts the entire workflow automatically.
Requester
Human
2. Request logged and NDA classified
The Intake and Classification Agent reads the form data, determines the correct NDA type, and creates a new record in the Notion tracker with the status set to Draft. No manual logging is needed.
Intake and Classification Agent
Automated
3. Template selected and populated
The agent selects the correct NDA template from Google Drive based on the NDA type identified in Step 2. It merges the party name, address, effective date, and governing law into a named copy of the document and saves it to the correct folder.
Intake and Classification Agent
Automated
4. Approval request posted in Slack
The Approval and Routing Agent sends a Slack message to the designated internal approver. The message includes a direct link to the populated draft in Google Drive and two action buttons: Approve and Reject. The approver must use these buttons to advance the workflow.
Approval and Routing Agent
Automated
5. Automated 24-hour reminder sent
If the approver has not clicked either button within 24 hours, the agent automatically sends a follow-up Slack reminder. This removes the need for anyone to manually chase the approver.
Approval and Routing Agent
Automated
6. Counterparty redline review (if needed)
If the counterparty returns a redlined version of the NDA rather than signing as sent, the workflow pauses and the system notifies the legal reviewer via Slack with the redlined document attached. The reviewer reads the proposed changes and decides whether to accept, reject, or negotiate. Once a decision is made, the reviewer updates the workflow to proceed or close the request.
Legal Ops Manager
Human
7. DocuSign envelope created and sent
Once internal approval is confirmed, the Signature and Completion Agent creates a DocuSign envelope from the approved document. The envelope is sent to the internal signatory first. Once the internal signature is captured, it is automatically forwarded to the counterparty for their signature.
Signature and Completion Agent
Automated
8. Signature status monitored
The agent monitors the DocuSign envelope lifecycle. If the counterparty has not signed within a set period, an automated reminder is sent through DocuSign. There is no need for anyone to log in and check manually.
Signature and Completion Agent
Automated
9. Executed NDA filed in Google Drive
When DocuSign confirms that all parties have signed, the completed PDF is automatically saved to the correct folder in Google Drive using a standardised naming convention. No download or manual upload is required.
Signature and Completion Agent
Automated
10. HubSpot updated
The associated HubSpot contact or deal record is automatically updated with a signed NDA activity log, a link to the executed file in Google Drive, and the execution date.
Signature and Completion Agent
Automated
11. Completion email sent to requester
A confirmation email is sent via Gmail to the person who originally submitted the intake form. The email confirms that the NDA is fully executed and includes a direct link to the filed copy in Google Drive.
Signature and Completion Agent
Automated
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03Handling exceptions

Situation
What the system does
What you do
Intake form is submitted with missing or incomplete data (for example, no party name or NDA type not selected)
The workflow does not advance past the intake step. The automation detects the missing fields and sends an email back to the requester listing exactly what information is needed before the process can continue.
No action needed unless the requester contacts you directly for help. If they do, direct them back to the intake form and ask them to resubmit with the missing information filled in.
A duplicate NDA request is submitted for the same counterparty (an active or recently completed NDA already exists in Notion)
The Intake and Classification Agent checks the Notion tracker for an existing record matching the party name and NDA type. If a match is found, the workflow pauses and sends an alert to the process owner via email flagging the potential duplicate.
Review the flagged request in Notion. If it is a genuine duplicate, close the new request and notify the original requester. If it is a new agreement for the same party, update the record in Notion to reflect that and manually restart the workflow from the approval step.
The correct NDA template cannot be found in Google Drive (the NDA type submitted does not match any stored template)
The agent is unable to populate a document and the workflow pauses at Step 3. A Slack alert is sent to the process owner explaining that no matching template was found for the NDA type submitted.
Add the missing template to Google Drive in the correct folder, following the established naming convention. Then contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com so the classification logic can be updated to recognise the new template type before you restart the request.
The internal approver does not respond in Slack even after the 24-hour automated reminder
After the reminder fires and 48 hours have passed with no action on the approval buttons, the system sends a final escalation alert to the process owner via email, noting that the request is stalled at the approval stage.
Contact the approver directly to request a decision. If the approver has changed or is unavailable, update the designated approver in the Slack workflow configuration (or contact FullSpec support to assist). Once approval is given verbally or by other means, you can manually trigger the next step by pressing the Approve button in the original Slack message.
The counterparty does not sign the DocuSign envelope and the envelope expires
DocuSign's automated reminders fire at scheduled intervals during the signing window. If the envelope reaches its expiry date without a signature, DocuSign marks it as Void. The Signature and Completion Agent detects this status change and updates the Notion record to Expired, then sends an alert to the process owner.
Contact the counterparty directly to understand whether they still intend to sign. If they do, log into DocuSign and resend the envelope from the same document, or ask FullSpec support to re-trigger the signature step from the automation. Update the Notion status manually if the request is being abandoned.
One of the connected tools is unavailable (for example DocuSign or Slack has an outage)
The automation platform retries the failed step up to three times with a five-minute interval between each attempt. If all retries fail, the workflow pauses at the affected step and the process owner receives an email alert identifying which tool is unavailable and which NDA request is affected.
Check the status page of the affected tool to confirm whether it is a known outage. Do not attempt to process the NDA manually through DocuSign or email during the outage unless the delay is critical. Once the tool is back online, the workflow can be restarted from the paused step. Contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com if the retry does not resume automatically after the tool recovers.

04Who to contact and when

Fill in the rows marked with placeholders once your team is confirmed. Keep this table updated whenever roles change so that anyone stepping in can reach the right person without searching through email threads.

Role
Name
How to reach them
Process owner (Legal Ops Manager)
[Your name]
[Your email and Slack handle]
Internal NDA approver
[Approver name]
[Approver email and Slack handle]
Head of Sales (secondary requester contact)
[Rep name]
[Rep email]
Operations Director (escalation for stalled approvals)
[Director name]
[Director email]
DocuSign account admin
[Admin name]
[Admin email]
FullSpec builder
FullSpec team
support@gofullspec.com
FullSpec support (errors, restarts, config changes)
FullSpec support
support@gofullspec.com
For any situation where the automation has stopped unexpectedly and you are not sure whether to intervene, always contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com before taking manual action. Intervening at the wrong point in the workflow can cause duplicate records in Notion or duplicate envelopes in DocuSign.
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05Ongoing maintenance

When
What to do
Who
Whenever an NDA template changes (new version, updated governing law, revised clauses)
Replace the old template file in Google Drive with the updated version, keeping the same filename and folder location. If the filename must change, contact FullSpec support so the classification logic can be updated to point to the new file. Never leave both versions in the same folder.
Process owner, with FullSpec support if filename changes
Whenever a data source changes (new HubSpot fields, Notion database restructure, new intake form questions)
Notify FullSpec support before making structural changes to HubSpot properties, the Notion NDA tracker database, or the intake form field layout. Changes to field names or IDs can break the automation silently. FullSpec will update the workflow mappings to match.
Process owner notifies FullSpec; FullSpec makes workflow changes
Monthly spot-check (first week of each month)
Review the last 20 Notion NDA records and confirm that statuses are accurate, executed copies are present in Google Drive, and corresponding HubSpot records have been updated. Flag any gaps to FullSpec support.
Process owner
Weekly error-log review
Check for any paused or failed workflow runs in the automation platform dashboard. FullSpec will have set up an error summary notification, but a quick manual scan takes under five minutes and catches anything that may have been missed.
Process owner
When a team member changes roles or leaves
Update the Slack approval routing to point to the new approver. Update the escalation contact in this runbook. If the process owner changes, notify FullSpec support so alert destinations can be updated in the automation configuration.
Process owner (outgoing or incoming) with FullSpec support for config updates
Quarterly volume review
If the monthly NDA volume has changed significantly (for example grown from 20 to 40+ per month, or dropped below 10), review whether the current automation tier and tool plan limits are still appropriate. Share updated volumes with FullSpec so the workflow can be scaled or adjusted if needed.
Process owner with FullSpec
The single most common maintenance issue for this process is an NDA template being updated in Google Drive without the filename being preserved. When a new version is saved under a different name, the automation cannot find it and every new request stalls at the template selection step with no obvious error message. Always keep the filename identical when replacing a template, and contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com if a name change is unavoidable.
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