Working with others
Where to start automating
The first thing worth leaving to run itself, and why that one.
The short answer is chasing: reminders at days 3, 7 and 12. It gives back the most time, can break the least, and needs no explaining.
Why that one and not another
| Criterion | Automatic chasing |
|---|---|
| How much time does it return? | A lot: it is the most repetitive work there is |
| What if it fails? | Little: one reminder too many or too few |
| Does anything need deciding? | No: it is a clear rule with no exceptions |
| Is the effect visible? | Within two weeks, in delivery |
Important
The four answers together are what make it first. An automation that returns a lot but could break something serious is not first; one that breaks nothing but returns nothing is not either.
The order for the rest
- 1
Automatic chasing
Spaced reminders. Week one.
- 2
Expiry warnings
With margins based on who renews each item. Week two.
- 3
One of the dull rules
Open a task when something has been stuck too long.
- 4
And only then, the rest
Once the first three have run a month with nobody touching them.
Watch out
Do not start with what decides. Approving, rejecting or blocking someone are your decisions, and automating them before trusting the rest is the fastest way to have to backtrack.
How to know it worked
If two weeks later you have forgotten it exists, it is working. An automation you have to watch daily is solving nothing: it is moving the work from one place to another.
Worth knowing
Every automatic action consumes just as if a person did it. A rule firing a thousand times spends a thousand: check the breakdown in the first month, not the sixth.
›What if my case is different?
The criterion still applies: high return, little harm if it fails, no decisions.
›Can I automate several things at once?
You can, and then you will not know which caused what. One at a time.
›Can it be switched off?
Yes, at any moment.
A real case
The situation
A company wants to automate document approval to move faster.
What you do
- Starts with automatic chasing
- Leaves approval with a person
What you get
Recovers most of the time without delegating any decision it answers for.
The situation
Automation starts with the company's most complex process.
What you do
- Starts with what repeats weekly and needs no judgement
- Measures how much time it consumes today before touching it
- Checks at four weeks whether the saving is real
What you get
The first automation pays for itself in a month and gives a basis for choosing the second.
The situation
Something that happens three times a year is automated.
What you do
- Counts the repetition before investing
What you get
Effort goes where it pays.
The situation
A process that still changes weekly is automated.
What you do
- Stabilises the process before automating it
What you get
The automation is not rebuilt monthly.
The situation
It is automated by copying the paper circuit, dead steps included.
What you do
- Removes steps that existed only because of paper
What you get
The new process is shorter than the one it replaces.
The situation
What decides is automated instead of what chases.
What you do
- Automates requesting, chasing and warning
What you get
The repetitive disappears and the judgement stays.
The situation
Nobody measures whether the automation helped.
What you do
- Compares against the time it used to take
What you get
The next decision is taken with data.
The situation
Five things are automated at once and none works well.
What you do
- Builds one, verifies it and moves to the next
What you get
Each is understood and can be fixed.
This article answers
- what should i automate first
- recommended first automation
- where to start with automation
- automating without complications