A simple way to map a manual handoff

Most manual handoffs live in people’s heads. Someone knows to check the inbox, forward the file and ping a colleague, but nobody has written it down. Mapping the steps first makes the automation much easier to build.

Walk it once, step by step

Sit with the person who does the task and watch them do it. Write down every tool they open, every decision they make and every message they send. Ask why at each step. You will often find steps that exist only out of habit.

Mark the decisions

Circle every point where the person uses judgment. These are your approval steps. Everything else is a candidate for automation. Keep the first version small, and add the harder cases once the simple path runs well.

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