Why most automation projects fail before a single workflow is built
The process in the brief is not the process
Every automation brief describes an idealised version of the work. The real process contains a spreadsheet somebody maintains privately, a WhatsApp group where exceptions get resolved, and two steps that exist because of a system retired four years ago. Automate the brief and you will ship something that breaks on the first real case.
Watch the work before you model it
An hour spent sitting with the person who does the job is worth a week of requirements gathering. You will find out where the data really comes from, which field everybody ignores, and what happens when a customer sends something unusual. That last case is not an edge case — it is a Tuesday.
Delete before you build
The cheapest automation is the step you remove. In most mapping sessions, between a fifth and a third of the steps turn out to serve no current purpose. Removing them costs nothing to run and nothing to maintain, and it makes the remaining automation simpler to build and easier to explain.
Agree the measure first
If you have not recorded cycle time, touches per case or error rate before the project, you will have an opinion about whether it worked rather than an answer. Two weeks of baseline measurement is the cheapest insurance any automation project can buy.
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