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Map the workflow before you automate it
Automating a process you only half understand makes mistakes faster. Map it first.
Start with the trigger
What event starts the work: a form, an email, a date? Write it as one sentence.
List the owners
For each step, name one person or role who is responsible. If two people think a step is theirs, nobody owns it.
Spell out the exceptions
The happy path is easy. Ask what happens when information is missing, a customer changes their mind, or a system is down. Decide who is told and what they do.
Decide what stays manual
Some steps need judgement or a signature. Keep those as an explicit approval step and record who approved.
Test with real cases
Run five real examples through the map on paper before you build anything, including one that went wrong last month.