BLUEHARBOURD3
Book an intro call

Depth 10.2 · AI engineering and automation · Level 3

Process automation

Process automation means handing the repeatable steps of a business process to software, so that people handle the exceptions instead of every case. Some steps use a language model, for example reading an invoice or sorting an email. Most steps are ordinary code with rules. Automating a broken process does not repair it; it just makes it fail faster.

Specification

Input
A walkthrough of the process with the people who run it, example cases including the awkward ones, and access to the systems involved.
Method
We map each step as it really happens, remove the steps that exist only by habit, and automate what is left. Every step that uses a model sends uncertain cases to a person rather than guessing.
Deliverable
Back office workflow rebuild: the redesigned process, the automation running in your systems, and a runbook for the exceptions.
Measured by
Cases handled without manual correction, cases sent to a person and why, and handling time, compared with the baseline your team records before the change.

Most often bought inPayments and fintech, Professional services, Logistics and supply chain, Ecommerce

The artefact, before and after

Back office workflow rebuild: the redesigned process, the automation running in your systems, and a runbook for the exceptions.

Before: a blank process automation record with a row for each of process mapping with the people doing the work, removing steps before automating them, rule based steps and model based steps kept separate, human review queue for uncertain cases, exception runbook, and no entries. After: every row carries a finding and a checked status, which is the state the work hands over.

Inside it

  • 01Process mapping with the people doing the work
  • 02Removing steps before automating them
  • 03Rule based steps and model based steps kept separate
  • 04Human review queue for uncertain cases
  • 05Exception runbook
Deliverable · Level 4→ Back office workflow rebuildA back office workflow rebuild takes one manual process, such as invoice intake or order exceptions, and rebuilds it around the systems you already run, so routine cases pass through without hands and exceptions reach a named person with the context attached.

Typical first engagement

The usual order of a first piece of work. Timing and price are set at scoping, once we have seen the stack.

  1. 01Process mapYou get: The current steps, hand offs and failure points, drawn from the people who do the work.
  2. 02Fix before automatingYou get: A list of process defects to settle first, since automation inherits them.
  3. 03First workflowYou get: One workflow automated with logging, retries and a manual fallback.
  4. 04Run reportYou get: Volumes, failures and manual interventions from the first weeks of use.

AI engineering and automation

Next in this line

Ask about this part of the stack

Write one question about process automation in your own systems. We answer it in writing and name what we would need to see to answer it properly.

Send one question

A written reply, no call needed.