Written by: David Carneal – Digital Efficiency Consulting Group – DECG

Read Time: 3 min

Automation without process clarity is like installing a jet engine on a shopping cart. You’ll definitely move faster. Direction optional.

Before you automate, you need to know what’s really happening: who touches the work, what data is used, and where the handoffs break.

What to map (keep it simple)

  • Trigger: What starts the process?
  • Inputs: What data/documents are required?
  • Steps: Who does what, in what order?
  • Decisions: What rules determine the next step?
  • Outputs: What does ‘done’ look like?
  • Exceptions: What goes wrong most often?

The three handoffs that cause the most pain

  1. Data handoffs: Information moves between systems via copy/paste or retyping.
  2. People handoffs: Work sits in someone’s inbox waiting for attention.
  3. Decision handoffs: Approvals that aren’t clearly defined, so they stall.

A quick workshop format (60 minutes)

  1. Get the people who do the work, not just the people who approve the work.
  2. Map the happy path first (the normal flow).
  3. Then list exceptions (the messy stuff).
  4. Capture rules: what makes a record valid, invalid, or escalated.

What you’re hunting for

  • Steps that exist only to compensate for missing data
  • Redundant approvals
  • Rework loops (fixing the same issue repeatedly)
  • Manual validations (people eyeballing what a rule could check)

Once you can point to those steps, automation becomes obvious: validate inputs earlier, route decisions cleanly, and generate outputs automatically.

The deliverables that make automation easier

  • Process map: one page showing steps and handoffs
  • Rule list: validations, approvals, and exception definitions
  • Data dictionary: what each field means and where it comes from
  • Exception list: top 10 failure modes and how to handle them

How to avoid ‘analysis paralysis’

Don’t map every process in the company. Map one high-volume workflow first. Your goal is a usable picture, not a museum exhibit.

  • Timebox it: 60 minutes for the first pass
  • Use real examples: bring a recent order/invoice/case to walk through
  • Decide ownership: one person owns the rules going forward

A simple way to document rules

Create a table with three columns: ‘Rule,’ ‘Reason,’ and ‘What happens if it fails.’ Keep it living, owned, and reviewed monthly.

  • Rule: Required field X cannot be blank
  • Reason: Downstream system needs it to create a record
  • Fail action: Block submission and show message

Make it stick: turn the map into an SOP

Once mapped, write a short SOP that matches the new flow. If the SOP is longer than two pages, it’s probably a sign the process still has too many steps.

Questions to ask the team (to surface the real pain)

  • When does this process feel slowest?
  • Where do mistakes usually get discovered (and how late)?
  • What information do you wish you had at the start?
  • Which approvals add real value vs. just delay?

These questions uncover the hidden work: the rework, the chasing, the clarifying. That’s the stuff automation helps you delete.

CTA: One small improvement today: write your top 10 validation rules for a key workflow. Those rules pay you back before any automation is built.