
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Given the function $$f(x)= \begin{cases} \left( \frac {1}{2}\right)^{x}-7 & (x<0) \\ \sqrt {x} & (x\geq0)\end{cases},$$ if $f(a)<1$, determine the range of the real number $a$.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user