Automating automation

At Independent IP we have made automation a mantra. Wherever we can, we automate manual processes so we can lower our costs, run the show with as few people as possible and ultimately have our customers benefit from all this by paying a competitive fee for a better platform.

Despite this, there are always a couple of stepping stones before reaching the ultimate goal -- an automated process.

DOING; in the first phase, the lifecycle of a process starts out as an activity not formally defined that someone is repeatedly doing. At this point in time, we are not or only partially aware of it.

IDENTIFYING; in the second phase, we are aware of the activity and it will be described in a document or flow diagram. At this point in time we are aware of the costs, both current and when scaling up. This is also the moment that we draft wishes to have the process automated.

STANDARDIZING; the third phase is when the process can be performed by other people as well. Standardization has kicked in.

AUTOMATING; finally, the whole process is automated.

Starting a new process immediately in phase 4 usually never works. This is for various reasons:
- the process has not had the chance to gain real business value because it is still a product of the mind
- the process has not been repeatedly tried and improved upon, so it may not be the best way to do things
- the process does not yet exist, so we do not know very well what we try to accomplish

Move slowly and do not rush through the phases. Respect the ripening of processes to yield the best harvest.

In the end it is about automating automation and doing that in the most effective way.