Discovery: Steps in the Automation Journey
Introduction
It’s the small details that make the biggest difference. One of those details is automation. We can’t always depend on humans to do our work and we can’t always depend on machines either. With the advent of automation you can create a system where machines and humans both work together, and automate the processes which we need to keep track of. It’s fun, it’s exciting and it can really help your business grow!
Moreover, it is hard to automate all processes that are carried out by a developer but it is also essential to automate the process of the code creation, since the automation of this process can be very helpful to the developer. Automation can improve the ability to write code quickly, accurately, and without mistakes. You can automate the process of the creation of the different codes for the website. It is useful because it can be very problematic if it is not done correctly. It is necessary to have the right automation software in order to be effective. It is recommended to automate a procedure if it is done often.
Table of Content
- Beginning your Automation Journey
- Start with a comprehensive discovery stage.
- Identify
- Qualify
- Assess
- Prioritize
- Manage
Beginning your Automation Journey
When you begin your automation journey, you’re likely to be met with several challenges. However, there are several things you can do to make this process easier. First, it’s important to develop a plan for testing and deploying automation solutions. You need to map out all of the different applications, platforms and systems you want to target, and figure out how they will fit into the bigger picture. If you don’t map out this process, you could waste a good amount of time and money and not get the results you were hoping for.
Start with a comprehensive discovery stage
The automation approach must start with a comprehensive discovery stage. The key to automation is using software to execute repetitive, mundane tasks. Therefore, it’s essential to first understand the problems your team is trying to solve. For example, by using surveys to collect data related to pain points or workflow issues, you can establish a baseline for the current state. Once you know the issues, you can select the ones that would benefit most from automation.
The first part of the process is to understand your business and what it needs from an automation perspective. Who are the main users of the software? What do you need to achieve as a business? Find out what triggers your business process. Learn what you need from a lead management perspective, as well as what you need from a campaign perspective. You will also need to understand how your business process works. You don’t want to automate a process that is already running smoothly.
Let’s briefly consider each step.
Identify
When exploring opportunities for automation, businesses should consider technical feasibility, but also focus on long-term value. If you can create an automated business process that saves you time, but costs you more up front, you’re not really improving the business. It’s important to spend time ensuring that your new automated process is saving you money that you can then spend later. For example, you might spend $100,000 on employee automation to replace employee salaries, but if it’s saving you $200,000 in payroll costs, you’re saving the company $100,000! If you use this money to develop a new product or service, you can increase your market share and keep growing your business!
While it seems like identifying your automation needs is a complicated undertaking, it’s actually easy. First, you need to analyze the market and identify any opportunities for automation. Next, you can take a deep dive into how to implement automation and whether your business is ready for it. If you find an opportunity for automation, the next logical step is to find a software provider that aligns with your business’s needs.
Qualify
To qualify an automation use case for a process, you must examine the current approach in detail, through documentation, actual data, and a step-by-step demonstration. When you’re exploring alternatives, it’s helpful to examine what works and what doesn’t work in the current process. You can then brainstorm ways to improve on it and develop a more robust and efficient process. Not only does this give the business a sound foundation, it also gives users an efficient way of working. Automation can save time, reduce human error, reduce cost, and increase the quality of the product or service that is being delivered. Thus, it’s critical that you gain a thorough understanding of the process before developing a new process.
You can’t just start doing something without knowing how it works. That’s why it’s so important to review the data involved in a process. It’s not enough to just do it over and over again, you need to see the numbers behind it so you can apply it to your specific situation. See how other people in your industry do it and use that as a template for your own ventures. If you don’t take the time to learn and review, then you’re just going to head off in the wrong direction and be scammed. If you do take the time to properly review and learn, you’ll be well-versed in the task and well-prepared to take on anything thrown at you.
Assess
To predict the future of automation, you must first choose what to automate. You need to choose which elements of your business or product to automate. If you do this, you can accurately measure the various benefits of applying these automation elements and this will prove how they deliver value in the short and long term. To choose the best opportunities for automation, you must first identify key tasks and features of your product or business which you can test and apply automation to. You must find the highest value targets for automation. Identify key tasks, features or products for automation based on two criteria. For each criteria, you must state how you will measure the benefits of applying automation.
Moreover, when teams pursue automation, the teams should assess how automation adds value. This is done by including metrics from the beginning, teams will have a clear idea of how automation adds value when they’re ready to begin. That way teams can prepare metrics that prove they’re on the right track and will add value to the project.
Prioritize
Automation is a powerful tool for increasing the efficiency of your business. Especially when it allows you to do repetitive tasks quickly and easily. But, not all automation is created equal. It takes a keen eye to identify the best use cases for automation and it takes a great deal of skill to implement them correctly. Identifying what you will use automation for, who will use the tool, what the metrics will be for success, and what type of leadership you have all play a significant role in how automation will be used in the business. For example:
- How to maximize the benefit of automation in your business?
- Identify what takes up the majority of your time or resources, prioritize those based on key metrics, identify the business leaders that are open to change.
You must do the due diligence work to understand the solution design, key metrics, change management requirements, leadership priorities, etc. before making any decisions about automation use projects. Think through the business process areas where automation is most likely to provide the greatest value and do a gap analysis to determine what automation capabilities are in place and what is not in place. Look at the capabilities of the existing system. Consider what gets measured, what matters, and what matters more.
Manage
Managing the automation steps of the Multi-step funnel is a lot easier than you might think. All you have to do is keep track of which step you’ve activated and which step the user is currently on. Monitor the right user in your list of users and take the appropriate action. This way, you’ll never lose track of which user is on which step. Furthermore, you’ll always know who to reward accordingly and who to follow up with.
Conclusion
Automation is a vital step to take when dealing with any business. Without it, one would need to do all their work manually, which would require a lot of time and effort! However, automating things can be difficult to get used to at first, so here is how to adjust to managing them. Create a checklist for your team of what you want to automate and how you want to do it. Once the list is complete, give them a deadline when you want it done and put reminders on your calendar when it’s time to check in. Once the deadline passes and everything is set and done, monitor your team and their progress regularly and address any issues that may arise. To make it easier for you, get more out of your business without having to do more work, you need to get on Integromat’s platform. Integromat has tools that help you get things done with less than an hour of work. You can run reports, sync databases, automate payments, automate business processes, and much more. If you’re looking to automate your business processes, enroll in our Integromasters course and learn how to survey your processes, create flowcharts, and plan out the fine details. It’s only an hour a day for six months, so you can fit it in your busy schedule. By the end of the course, you’ll have everything you need to automate your business so it runs smoothly even when your team is on vacation or sick!