BOB’S BUSIEST DAY
Protocol Life
ACT I
INT. COMMUTER TRAIN — EARLY MORNING
A crowded commuter train rattles through the city. Half the passengers are already working on their phones or laptops.
BOB, mid-40s, soft-spoken, slightly hunched, unlocks his phone. A prompt appears:
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Session expired. Please sign in.
Bob re-enters his password. A verification code arrives, expires, and arrives again. He completes the process.
He scrolls through emails: meeting reminders, policy updates, overdue training notices. He sighs, pockets the phone, and looks out the window.
The train slows. Bob stands and exits with the flow of commuters.
EXT. CORPORATE PLAZA — MORNING
A glass office tower dominates the plaza. Workers badge in, some holding coffee, others checking phones.
Bob walks toward the entrance, shoulders slightly raised.
INT. COMPANY LOBBY — MOMENTS LATER
Bob badges through a turnstile. It flashes red, then green. He nods at the security guard, who barely acknowledges him.
He steps into an elevator. MARIA, late 30s, friendly in a restrained way, stands inside.
MARIA
Morning, Bob.
BOB
Morning.
Maria badges to select her floor. The elevator screen hesitates before accepting.
MARIA
IT pushed new access updates last night. Supposed to make things easier.
Bob badges. After a beat, the panel lights up, and the elevator ascends.
INT. OFFICE FLOOR — CONTINUOUS
An open-plan office under bright overhead lights. Bob sits at his desk and logs in.
A password reset message appears:
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Your password must be changed.
Below, a list of requirements:
Minimum 14 characters
At least one uppercase letter
At least one lowercase letter
At least one number
At least one symbol
Bob creates a password. Rejected. He adjusts and tries again. Rejected. He opens a password manager and generates a new one. Accepted.
His inbox loads: dozens of unread emails — “Action Required,” “Updated Workflow,” “Reminder: Access Review Due,” “Reporting Deadline.”
Bob scrolls briefly, then closes the window.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM — 9:30 AM
A small group joins the “stand-up.” No one stands. Laptops open, styluses tapping.
TEAM LEAD
Let’s keep updates brief. Who wants to start?
A SOFTWARE ANALYST speaks.
SOFTWARE ANALYST
Yesterday’s environment refresh failed. Retrying this morning.
A BUSINESS ANALYST follows.
BUSINESS ANALYST
Waiting on Finance to confirm the new reporting fields.
The Team Lead nods.
TEAM LEAD
Bob?
Bob clears his throat.
BOB
I tried finalizing the metrics report, but someone updated the source sheet while I had it open. That locked the file and triggered a workflow ticket. The ticket needed new metadata fields. The reviewer is out this week. So I’ll have to re-run everything once the new snapshot stabilizes.
A quiet beat. No one is surprised, or seems to care.
TEAM LEAD
Alright. Let’s mark that as blocked.
She moves a sticky note on the wall-mounted Kanban board.
INT. HALLWAY — CONTINUOUS
Bob walks down the hall. His phone buzzes with a text.
TEXT FROM ALICE:
HR needs your training confirmation this morning. They’re prepping for the compliance review.
Bob types back: Sure.
He pockets the phone and enters a small side room.
INT. FOCUS ROOM — MINUTES LATER
A small, quiet room with a single desk. Bob logs into the training portal.
He clicks through slides. Completes a short quiz.
A message appears:
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Submitted — Awaiting Manager Approval.
Bob stares at the spinning confirmation icon, then closes his laptop.
INT. OFFICE KITCHEN — 10:15 AM
Bob pours coffee. A wall-mounted dashboard cycles through system health metrics. Several tiles flash red.
Two colleagues stand nearby.
COLLEAGUE 1
Warehouse delay again.
COLLEAGUE 2
We should just assume this every Monday.
Bob glances at the monitor.
All phones in the room suddenly buzz.
SYSTEM ALERT:
Incident Channel Activated — Severity: High.
Bob sets down his barely touched coffee and walks out.
INT. INCIDENT ROOM — 10:20 AM
People gather around a conference table. Laptops open. A large monitor displays:
“Ingestion Failure: Schema Mismatch Suspected.”
INCIDENT LEAD
Overnight batch didn’t clear. Two files appear to have changed format without documentation.
DATA ENGINEER
Vendor acknowledged making updates. They’ll send corrected versions.
ANALYTICS LEAD
If data isn’t stable by early afternoon, reporting deadlines will slip.
SECURITY ANALYST
We’ll need an audit entry noting the undocumented change.
Bob listens and nods.
INCIDENT LEAD
Okay, next update in thirty. Follow the channel.
The room disperses.
INT. DESK AREA — 10:50 AM
Bob sits at his workstation. A new email awaits:
SUBJECT: Access Review Due Today
Bob opens the review portal. A list of users and their permissions appears.
He clicks through each:
Approve.
Approve.
Remove.
Escalate.
Approve.
One set of permissions requires signing into a separate dashboard. A fresh MFA prompt appears.
Bob completes it, then continues.
INT. OFFICE KITCHEN — 11:15 AM
Bob reheats his coffee. The microwave’s door requires extra pressure to close.
Two engineers chat nearby.
ENGINEER 1
Vendor still hasn’t posted the corrected schema.
ENGINEER 2
They said they’re waiting on internal sign-off.
Bob nods quietly and sips coffee.
His phone buzzes.
TEXT FROM ALICE:
HR still can’t see your training. Could you send them a screenshot?
Bob dumps his coffee and leaves.
The microwave makes a loud DING. Bob opens to see coffee is boiling.
INT. DESK AREA — 11:25 AM
Bob takes a screenshot of the training portal and emails it to HR.
Within seconds, HR replies:
HR REP (EMAIL):
Thanks, Bob. It will update once your manager approves.
Bob closes the message gently, as though handling fragile glass.
Notifications continue in the incident channel:
“Ingestion at 40%.”
“Two invalid rows found.”
Bob opens none of them.
INT. BREAKOUT ROOM — 11:45 AM
Bob opens the metrics report again.
A banner appears:
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
New file template available. Update?
He clicks “Update.”
The formatting shifts.
Tables resize.
Text reflows.
Bob begins fixing layout manually, cell by cell.
A calendar notification appears:
Weekly Team Sync at 12:30 — Add Agenda.
Bob opens last week’s agenda and updates the template with new items.
INT. OFFICE KITCHEN — 12:10 PM
Bob heats lunch. The aroma of reheated pasta fills the small space.
Two ANALYSTS discuss mapping tables and whether they should be locked down or editable.
Bob watches the microwave countdown like a metronome.
INT. DESK AREA — 12:25 PM
A message from the Data Engineer:
DATA ENGINEER (CHAT):
Tables repopulated. Safe to re-run.
Bob refreshes the report. Two fields fail validation. He confirms the correct values, overrides them, and updates the narrative summary.
He saves the new draft.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM — 12:30 PM — WEEKLY TEAM SYNC
A group appears both in person and on screens.
TEAM LEAD
Bob, can you walk through the metrics update?
Bob presents calmly: the ingestion delay, the template changes, the validation fixes, and the final totals. The team nods.
TEAM LEAD
Please upload the final version with the period tag.
BOB
Already done.
They move on.
ACT II
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM — 12:45 PM
The weekly sync wraps up. People close laptops and stand.
TEAM LEAD
Okay, thanks everyone. Stay close to the incident channel this afternoon. Bob, if anything changes on the report, just flag it.
BOB
Will do.
The room empties. Bob checks his calendar — a chain of afternoon blocks stacked tightly.
He leaves.
INT. DESK AREA — 1:00 PM
Bob sits, scanning new emails.
SUBJECT: “Q1 REVIEW MEETING MATERIALS”
SUBJECT: “Updated Vendor List — Please Confirm Your Tools”
SUBJECT: “Incident Channel — Next Steps”
SUBJECT: “Reminder: Shared Drive Restructuring”
He opens the incident email.
INCIDENT LEAD (EMAIL)
We’ll need a consolidated impact note by end of day. List all reports affected, what was delayed, and whether any decisions may have used incomplete data.
Bob drags a 30-minute “FOCUS” block into his calendar.
INT. IT VENDOR REVIEW CALL — 1:15 PM
A video meeting. Multiple windows: VENDOR REP, PROCUREMENT LEAD, IT SECURITY, BOB.
VENDOR REP
We adjusted the export format to align with our new reporting engine. Functionally the content is equivalent.
IT SECURITY
We need advance notice for changes to files feeding critical systems.
VENDOR REP
Understood. We’ll submit a change notice at least 48 hours in advance.
PROCUREMENT LEAD
Can you revert to the old format temporarily?
VENDOR REP
We can provide a compatibility export during the transition.
IT SECURITY
And it needs to be logged in the vendor register.
The call continues in careful, neutral tones. Bob listens.
PROCUREMENT LEAD
Bob, any concerns on your side?
BOB
As long as the format stays stable and documented, we’ll adjust. We just need lead time.
The call winds down.
INT. DESK AREA — 1:45 PM
Bob opens the internal vendor register. Another login prompt. He authenticates.
A form appears.
He enters: vendor name, system impacted, type of change, date, owner, approval reference.
He saves.
A banner appears: “Saved as Draft — Pending Owner Review.”
Bob notes it mentally.
INT. INCIDENT ROOM — 2:00 PM
A smaller follow-up group gathers.
INCIDENT LEAD
The ingestion job is complete. Validation passed. No customer-facing systems were affected.
ANALYTICS LEAD
Some dashboards displayed incomplete numbers for about two hours this morning.
FINANCE REP
Did anyone rely on those numbers?
TEAM LEAD
We didn’t. We stalled one discussion until numbers were refreshed.
INCIDENT LEAD
Okay. Impact is internal only. Bob, can you handle the report inventory?
BOB
Sure. I’ll list everything that depends on that pipeline and what was delayed.
INCIDENT LEAD
Let’s close this by late afternoon.
Everyone disperses.
INT. OPEN OFFICE — 2:30 PM
The afternoon is quiet.
Bob opens a shared document: “Reports Dependent on Warehouse Ingestion.” Several users edit simultaneously.
He scrolls to his section labeled “Operational Metrics & Activity Dashboards.”
He fills in columns: report name, owner, frequency, dependent tables, impact.
A popup appears: “This document is being edited by multiple users.”
The screen stabilizes. Bob continues and saves.
INT. SMALL MEETING ROOM — 3:00 PM — ONE-ON-ONE
Bob sits across from MANAGER, early 40s.
MANAGER
How’s your day?
BOB
Busy. The incident pushed a lot of things around.
MANAGER
Thanks for staying on top of the metrics.
(beat)
HR pinged me. I approved your training just now.
BOB
They asked me for a screenshot earlier.
MANAGER
Yeah, following the “process.”
They share a weary smile.
INT. DESK AREA — 3:30 PM
Bob receives an email from HR:
SUBJECT: “Compliance Status Updated”
HR REP (EMAIL)
Your training status is now complete.
He archives it.
Another email arrives:
SUBJECT: “Documentation Reminder — Update Your SOPs Before Friday.”
Bob opens the checklist and finds his SOP page tagged “Outdated — Last Reviewed 11 Months Ago.” He notes the updates required.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM — 4:00 PM — CROSS-FUNCTIONAL CALL
Participants from ANALYTICS, FINANCE, OPERATIONS, and IT appear on-screen.
FINANCE LEAD
Are today’s numbers final and consistent?
ANALYTICS LEAD
Yes. The ingestion issue is resolved.
FINANCE LEAD
Bob?
BOB
The pipeline completed successfully. Validation issues were corrected. The totals match last week’s baseline with normal variance.
OPS MANAGER
No need to notify external partners?
BOB
No. Internal delay only.
FINANCE LEAD
Let’s lock numbers by tomorrow afternoon.
Bob nods.
INT. DESK AREA — 4:45 PM
Bob creates a blank document titled: “Incident Summary — Warehouse Ingestion Delay.”
He writes:
Timeline
Root cause
Systems affected
Steps taken
Impact
Preventive actions
He cross-checks timestamps from the incident channel.
A comment appears:
INCIDENT LEAD (COMMENT)
Looks good. Can you add a section on delayed reports and confirm no customer-level impact?
Bob adds it.
INT. OFFICE KITCHEN — 5:10 PM
Bob rinses his mug. MARIA enters.
MARIA
Long day?
BOB
Feels like three.
MARIA
Saw a slide — new data monitoring tool coming next quarter.
BOB
Does it replace anything?
MARIA
Not really. Just connects the things we already have.
INT. DESK AREA — 5:20 PM
A message appears:
INCIDENT LEAD (CHAT)
Need final confirmation all dependent reports are updated.
BOB (CHAT)
Metrics report updated and tagged. No changes expected.
A moment later:
OPS ANALYST (CHAT)
Can we get a short paragraph for our weekly summary?
Bob extracts one from the incident summary and sends it.
INT. INTERNAL WIKI PAGE — 5:35 PM
Bob updates his outdated SOP page: new text, new screenshots, corrected ownership.
A banner appears: “Unsaved changes.”
He clicks Save.
A green checkmark appears.
INT. QUIET PHONE BOOTH — 5:50 PM
Bob calls his partner.
BOB
Hey. Yeah, I’m still here.
(pause)
No, nothing major. Just a lot of small things that all needed to get done.
(pause)
The training? No, it wasn’t hard. The system just didn’t think I was finished.
(pause)
I’ll be home soon. Save me some dinner if you’re eating.
(pause)
Of course — phone stays off tonight.
He ends the call gently.
INT. DESK AREA — 6:00 PM
The office is quieter now. Bob closes his open applications one by one.
He logs out of email. Declines “Stay signed in for faster access.”
He signs out of the workstation.
A prompt appears:
“Install pending updates now or remind later?”
He selects “Remind tomorrow.”
He shuts down.
Bob gathers his things, looks at the floor one last time, and walks toward the exit.
ACT III
INT. LOBBY STAIRS — 6:05 PM
Bob descends a short flight of stairs toward the lobby. He moves smoothly.
The office hum fades behind him.
INT. COMPANY LOBBY — CONTINUOUS
Bob badges out. The turnstile accepts immediately.
He nods to the security guard and steps outside.
EXT. CORPORATE PLAZA — EARLY EVENING
Bob walks toward the train station. The plaza is alive with coworkers leaving, some animated, others exhausted.
His phone buzzes.
He ignores it.
He keeps walking.
INT. TRAIN STATION PLATFORM — EVENING
Bob waits among commuters. Some type furiously, others scroll, some stare into space.
A familiar work email notification appears on Bob’s phone:
SUBJECT: “Follow-Up Needed: Incident Summary”
Bob stares at it, then deliberately turns the phone face-down in his palm.
The train arrives.
He boards.
INT. COMMUTER TRAIN — CONTINUOUS
Bob sits. The seat is warm from the previous passenger.
He opens his laptop bag slightly, looks at the laptop inside, then shuts the bag again.
A new message arrives:
TEAM LEAD (TEXT):
“Thanks for handling things today — let’s sync tomorrow morning.”
Bob reads it. He doesn’t answer.
He lets the message sit unacknowledged.
The train moves. His eyes close briefly.
INT. BOB’S APARTMENT — LATER
Bob enters quietly, dropping his bag near the door.
The apartment is modest, lived-in. Coats near the wall, grocery bags tucked into one another, a plant that could use more water.
Bob kicks off his shoes.
INT. KITCHEN — CONTINUOUS
Bob reheats dinner left on a plate, wrapped in foil.
He stands at the counter while the microwave hums.
DING.
He removes the plate, sets it on the table.
He takes a bite. It’s simple but grounding.
INT. KITCHEN TABLE — MOMENTS LATER
Bob’s phone buzzes again. He flips it to see the screen without picking it up.
SUBJECT: “Reminder — Password Security Training Pending”
He locks the phone, screen down.
He continues eating.
INT. LIVING ROOM — NIGHT
Bob sits on the couch, lights dim.
His partner passes through the room.
PARTNER
Long day?
Bob nods once.
BOB
Just… a lot of little things.
PARTNER
That’s how they get you.
Bob smiles faintly.
PARTNER (CONT’D)
You said you’re turning your phone off tonight?
BOB
Yeah.
He switches the device fully off. The screen goes black.
His shoulders settle, just slightly.
INT. BOB’S BEDROOM — LATER
Bob changes slowly, folding clothes neatly.
He sits on the edge of the bed for a moment.
His mind wanders through fragments of tasks: unfinished SOPs, tomorrow’s sync, lingering comments in the incident summary.
He lets them pass.
He lies down and closes his eyes.
INT. OFFICE FLOOR — FLASH FORWARD (MORNING IMAGINING)
The office appears as it will tomorrow: screens lit, dashboards updating, coworkers arriving with fresh coffee.
An email notification blinks: “REVIEW NEEDED.”
Another: “ACTION REQUIRED.”
A third: “SYSTEM UPDATE AVAILABLE.”
We understand Bob will face them again.
BACK TO SCENE — BOB’S BEDROOM — NIGHT
Bob sleeps.
The apartment is quiet.