How to pick the first process to automate: a five-question test

You probably have dozens of processes you could automate. The first one matters more than the rest, because it decides whether your team trusts the approach. These five questions help you choose well.

Why the first choice matters

Pick something too large or too risky and one bad week can sour the whole effort. Pick something too small and nobody notices it worked. You want a process that matters to the people who do it, and that can survive an imperfect first few weeks.

The five questions

1. 1Does it repeat often? Count how many times it happens in a normal week. Time saved adds up only if the work comes round often.
2. 2Can someone explain the rules? A person who does the job well should be able to describe how they decide, even if it takes a while. If nobody can, the process needs describing before it needs automating.
3. 3Do the inputs already exist digitally? Emails, documents, spreadsheets and records in a system are fine. Paper on a desk is a different first project.
4. 4Can a person tell whether the result is right? If a reviewer can look at the output and say yes or no, you can measure the work and improve it.
5. 5Are early mistakes cheap to catch? With a person reviewing every result, a wrong draft costs a moment. If a mistake would reach a customer or move money before anyone sees it, choose a safer process first.

How to read your answers

• Five yes answers: a strong first candidate.
• Three or four: workable, but close the gaps first. The 'no' answers tell you what to prepare.
• Fewer than three: consider improving the process itself before automating it.

What to do with a no

• Rules unclear: write down ten real examples and what was decided in each. Patterns appear quickly.
• Inputs on paper or in someone's head: capture them first, even in a simple shared sheet.
• Results hard to judge: agree in advance what a good result looks like, and who decides.
• Mistakes costly: begin with the preparation step, such as drafting or checking, and leave the final action to a person.

An illustration

Imagine an operations team that receives supplier invoices by email. It repeats every day (yes). The clerk can explain how she matches them to purchase orders (yes). The invoices arrive as PDFs and email text (yes). A colleague can check a match at a glance (yes). And with a person approving each match, a wrong one costs a minute, not a payment (yes). Five yes answers: a good first process. This is an illustration, not a client story.