The Four-Question Automation Filter

The pre-build decision evaluation framework for any automation initiative: 

• Does a human need to make a judgment call at any step? 
• What breaks if this automation produces an incorrect output? 
• Is this process stable enough to automate without frequent reconfiguration?
• What is the audit trail requirement?

A “yes” to question one, a critical consequence in question two, a “no” to question three, or a stringent requirement in question four signals that the process should not be automated yet.