Is this process worth automating?
Ten questions, three minutes. Pick one process that eats your time, answer honestly, and get a clear verdict plus the first things to fix. It will sometimes tell you not to bother, and that is the point.
- 1
Does this task happen at least once a week?
Frequency is what pays back the build. Something done twice a year rarely justifies automating.
- 2
Does it add up to two hours a week, or more, across everyone who does it?
Time saved is the headline benefit. Small tasks need to be very frequent to matter.
- 3
Could you write the steps down so a new hire could follow them without asking you?
If you cannot explain the rules, a system cannot follow them. This is the most common blocker.
- 4
Is the input usually structured, such as forms, spreadsheets or standard emails?
Structured input automates cheaply. Wildly varied input needs AI and more careful testing.
- 5
Is the process the same from one month to the next?
A process that keeps changing costs more to maintain than it saves.
- 6
Can you tell whether the result is correct without redoing the work?
If you cannot check the output, you cannot safely trust a system to produce it.
- 7
Do the tools involved connect to each other, or let you export and import data?
Systems with no integration or export are expensive to link and easy to break.
- 8
Is a mistake cheap to fix, or does a person review the result before it matters?
Automation can repeat an error many times quickly. Stakes decide how much safety you must build in.
- 9
Does speed matter, such as replying to a lead or chasing a payment?
Where delay costs money, automation pays back fastest, because it never sleeps or forgets.
- 10
Do you know who will own and maintain it after it is built?
A system nobody owns quietly breaks. APIs change, credentials expire, rules shift.
Answer all ten questions to see your score.
Why these ten questions
Most automation projects that fail were never good candidates. They ran too rarely, changed too often, or relied on rules nobody had written down. These questions test for exactly those problems before any money is spent.
A high score does not guarantee success, and a low one is not a verdict on your business. It tells you where the risk sits so you can deal with it first.
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