Business asks for automation but lacks process clarity. How do you handle this?

< 1 min read

First, I would ask the stakeholders to walk through the current process step by step.
Automation works best when the process is clearly defined and consistent.
I would document the workflow, including inputs, outputs, and decision points.
During this discussion, I often find gaps or variations in how different teams perform the same task.
In one project, the team wanted automated reporting but their data preparation steps were different each week.
We first standardized the process before building the automation.
I would then confirm the agreed process with stakeholders to ensure alignment.
Only after the process is stable would I design the automation solution.
This approach prevents building automation on an unclear or inconsistent workflow.

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