By Artem Korsakov ·
In a small company, one person often receives requests, transfers information to a spreadsheet, and clarifies the status with the executor. Each action seems short. But the manager has to constantly monitor that the chain does not break. It is worth starting with one such chain that the team already knows how to perform manually.
When manual work is suitable for automation
Business process automation starts with clear operations. A good candidate repeats regularly, is performed according to recognizable rules, and leaves a verifiable result. For example, after a request there should be a card with contact details, task description, and responsible person. The manager can open it and understand whether everything is filled in.
Write down several operations for a regular work week:
- transfer of information from a form to a working system;
- distribution of requests among employees;
- approval of internal applications;
- preparation of a document according to an approved template;
- answers to repetitive organizational questions.
For each operation, note the frequency, execution time, and typical errors. If work occurs rarely or each case is unlike the previous one, first figure out the process itself.
How to choose one task from the list
Compare candidates by four signs. How often does the operation repeat? Are source data available? Can you verify the result? Who will use the solution every day?
Подпись: Illustrative example for a service company. Transferring requests from the form passes all four signs. For answers to employee questions, recorded rules are needed first.
Suppose a service company receives requests via a form, after which the dispatcher copies them to a spreadsheet. The first version can save requests directly to a general list. Schedules for trips, inventory, and automatic spare parts selection remain separate tasks for now. This way, the boundaries of the project are clear to both the owner and the executor.
The example is conditional. The composition of a specific project is determined after familiarization with data and existing systems.
When AI is needed
Transferring filled fields, assigning a known responsible person, and sending notifications can be done by rules. AI is useful when source information comes in free text: you need to extract a request from an email, find a fragment of instructions, or prepare a draft answer.
At the same time, employee verification remains. If the assistant misunderstood the address or quantity, the error should not automatically go into further work. For the first version, it is convenient to first show the extracted data to a person who confirms them.
What to record before development
Describe the process in ordinary words: where the task comes from, who processes it, what should be the result, and what exceptions occur. Attach anonymized examples, including incomplete and erroneous requests.
Separately agree on the scope: one source, a list of fields, employee roles, and action in case of failure. Based on this description, the executor will evaluate the first working version. How to describe the goal and users is discussed in the article how to describe a task for a digital product. The approach is the same for automation.
What to check in already paid software
Before ordering a new product, open the process together with an employee. Where do they start work: in 1C, CRM, spreadsheet, or email? What information is already available in this system? Where do they have to switch and repeat input? Look for a specific gap between two actions.
For example, in smart process Bitrix24 (a CRM and collaboration platform) fields, stages and permissions are configured. Check if this feature is available in your tariff. If this is enough for an internal registry, it is worth configuring it first. A separate interface makes sense when the existing one prevents an employee from performing a necessary action or is not suitable for an external user.
In a conditional service company, requests are already recorded in CRM, but the technician sends the result of the trip to a chat. Here, the first product can be a report form from a phone: request number, result, photo, next action. Creating the entire client accounting again for this task is not required.
What the first project card looks like
Fill out one example before talking to the executor:
- Process: transfer of trip result to dispatcher.
- Input: assigned request and technician's message.
- Result: report is linked to the original request, dispatcher sees incomplete actions.
- Exception: technician did not specify a number; report remains under review, not attached to similar clients.
- AI: offers a short description of the completed work from the technician's text, preserving the source.
- Verification: technician confirms the description, dispatcher accepts the result.
The example shows exactly what will change in work.
Подпись: Illustrative example. AI compiles a short report and notices that there is no request number. The dispatcher links it to the request. If the owner of the report and completion rules are not yet established, agree on them first. Otherwise, automation will simply speed up the transfer of unclear messages. The first acceptance criterion here is simple: every sent report can be found, it is linked to the correct request, and incomplete cases are visible to the responsible person.
How to understand that implementation is useful
Compare identical operations before and after launch. Consider time for corrections, control, and exception resolution. If input has become faster, but verification takes the same amount of time, there is no noticeable savings yet.
It is also necessary to understand who pays for services, updates settings, and resolves errors. Freed time will allow the team to take on more tasks. Salary expenses will not decrease by themselves.
In trike_dev, you can start with the analysis of one process and verification of a specific scenario. See data transfer example or request approvals to discuss the actions you need.
Related reading: Automation Budget: how to choose a project and not overpay; Technical specification for automation: what to describe to the customer.
Частые вопросы ### Is a new CRM needed?
Not necessarily. First, check the existing system and its capabilities. Sometimes the desired result is achieved by configuring already available functions.
Can you automate only one stage first?
Yes. The stage must have clear boundaries and a result that employees use immediately after launch.