Clients ask us to automate a process. We ask to watch it for two weeks first, and the request almost always changes.
A process trace records every step, exception and handoff with timings. Written down, most processes reveal steps that exist only because a previous system could not do something — steps that should be deleted rather than automated.
The trace also surfaces the exceptions, which is where automation projects go to die. If 18% of cases are exceptions and the plan only handles the happy path, the project will not deliver its business case.
The output is a map with three colours: automate, keep human, delete. The deletions are usually the cheapest win on the page.
If you cannot measure the change, you cannot defend the system that caused it.
If this is the kind of problem you are working on, we are usually happy to compare notes — even when it does not become an engagement.
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