Software solutions should reduce the complexity that we are “exposed to.” When it all boils down, that is the expectation; that is the sales pitch; it is the input to the ROT (Return-On-Investment) calculation. They should hide the complexity and repetition from your staff, increasing efficiency and accuracy.
Often, initially, that is what it looks like. As things progress though, the underlying complexity is often revealed again causing all sorts of problems that kill the value of the project. Sometimes these issues can even imperil an organization’s ability to function, because what was a ‘difficult process’ has now become impossible.
The key here is “exposed to.” It means that your organization can NOT get away with being ignorant of what the complex system does, how it should work and whether it is working as planned.
Clients often approach technical solution providers with the request: “We just want this process to be simple and work.” Sometimes that is an appropriate expectation, because the process is very simple and mind-numbingly repetitive. More often than not, this request is a VERY tall order, because the process is not simple, the client doesn’t really have a handle on how it is or should be done manually in the light of day, much less hidden under the covers.
There are situations where it is clearly appropriate to automate a process:
- Repetitive simple task on high volume operation
- A complex process with VERY well defined rules, regardless of transaction volume
We sometimes find that the automation project itself is relatively simple, but the process to be automated is not well defined. In fact, ‘not well defined’ can be an understatement. During interviews with the organization’s staff we find that there is no agreement on how the process is actually done. That one of the real underlying issues is this lack of consistency.
In the end, it turns out that the success of a project and much of the real work and value that we provide, is in identifying and documenting the complex process.
Maintain a clear understanding of the underlying process.
Once the process has been formalized and automated, the staff of the organization MUST maintain a clear understanding of the now hidden workings of the process. If that oversight is not maintained, there is a very high risk that the process will, at some point, stop working properly.
If not detected, these errors could become costly in many ways: Calculations incorrect; clients under or over billed; vendors over paid; employees paid incorrectly; web orders sent incorrectly and on and on.
An important part of any project and its documentation is to design and incorporate reliable oversight mechanisms into the operating process. Ideally these parts of the process should bring errors to light quickly and obviously without a lot of calculating and data collection require by end users.
In the end, automation can help deal with complexity, but the organization must take ownership of managing the complex processes even thought they have been automated.
Tags: automate, complex, efficiency, proccess
