How do you identify and develop new automation opportunities or ideas in your domain or function?

1 Assess your current processes

The first step to finding new automation opportunities or ideas is to understand your current processes and how they are performed. You can use various tools and methods to document, map, and analyze your processes, such as flowcharts, diagrams, checklists, or process mining software. The goal is to identify the inputs, outputs, steps, roles, dependencies, variations, and pain points of each process, as well as the time, cost, and quality metrics. This will help you spot the gaps, inefficiencies, errors, or risks that can be addressed by automation.

2 Prioritize your automation candidates

The next step is to prioritize your automation candidates based on their feasibility, impact, and value. You can use different criteria and frameworks to evaluate and rank your automation candidates, such as the complexity, frequency, volume, variability, and standardization of the tasks, as well as the expected benefits, costs, and risks of automation. Some common examples of automation candidates are data entry, validation, extraction, or transfer; report generation, formatting, or distribution; email or notification sending or receiving; invoice or order processing or reconciliation; and scheduling or booking appointments or events.

3 Define your automation goals and requirements

The third step is to define your automation goals and requirements for each automation candidate. You need to specify what you want to achieve and how you will measure the success of automation, such as reducing errors, saving time, increasing productivity, or improving customer satisfaction. You also need to define the functional and technical requirements for automation, such as the data sources, formats, and quality; the business rules, logic, and exceptions; the integration, security, and compliance needs; and the user interface, feedback, and support features.

4 Choose your automation tools and methods

The fourth step is to choose your automation tools and methods that best suit your automation goals and requirements. There are various types of automation tools and methods available, such as macros, scripts, bots, workflows, or platforms. Each one has its own advantages, limitations, and use cases. You need to consider factors such as the ease of use, scalability, flexibility, reliability, and maintainability of the automation tools and methods, as well as the availability, skills, and training of the automation developers and users.

5 Design and test your automation solution

The fifth step is to design and test your automation solution using your chosen automation tools and methods. You need to follow the best practices and standards for automation design and development, such as using clear naming conventions, commenting your code, modularizing your tasks, handling errors and exceptions, and documenting your solution. You also need to test your automation solution thoroughly and iteratively, using different scenarios, data sets, and environments, to ensure its functionality, accuracy, and quality.

6 Implement and monitor your automation solution

The final step is to implement and monitor your automation solution in your domain or function. You need to plan and execute the deployment, transition, and adoption of your automation solution, involving the relevant stakeholders, such as the process owners, users, customers, and managers. You also need to monitor and evaluate the performance, outcomes, and feedback of your automation solution, using the metrics and indicators you defined in the previous steps. You need to review and update your automation solution regularly, to ensure its relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?