Business automation: where to start when everything is manual
Automation only pays when it removes a step nobody should be doing. The trick is choosing the first one carefully, because an automated bad process is harder to fix than a manual one.
By Saleem Ahmed · · 6 min read
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Start with the handovers
Time is rarely lost inside a task; it is lost between tasks. Look for the points where information is retyped, chased or forwarded, because those are cheap to automate and easy to measure.
- Enquiries retyped from an inbox into a spreadsheet or CRM
- Quotes and documents rebuilt by hand for every client
- Status updates chased by email
- Reports assembled manually each week or month
Write the process down first
Before any tooling decision, write the current steps in order with the person responsible for each. Most teams find two or three steps that exist only because of a system limitation that no longer applies.
Simplify the process on paper, then automate what remains. Skipping this step is the most common reason automation projects deliver less than expected.
Automate in visible slices
Deliver one working slice at a time, keep a manual fallback until the slice has run for a few weeks, and monitor the exceptions rather than only the happy path. Exceptions are where automation quietly breaks trust.
About the author
Saleem Ahmed, Director of CodeCue Technologies
With an MSc in Project Management and degrees in Computer Science, Saleem has led a 40+ person in-house team delivering software, mobile and AI projects for international clients since 2018.
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