We live in a time like no other — an era in which technology is constantly transforming the way we think about business processes. As the capabilities of software improve, so does the potential for what can be achieved through automation.
 
Salesforce has led the charge in providing a platform that contains powerful tools for building automation in the cloud. Features like Workflow Rules and Flow have put simple business automation tasks in the hands of administrators for years, and the recent addition of Lightning Process Builder is on track to make the platform even more powerful without needing to involve developers. When these features are combined with the scalable data storage capabilities of the platform and customization potential provided by Visualforce and Apex, the possibilities for achieving business value through automation are nearly endless.
 
Many customers are realizing this potential and leveraging the platform to improve their processes through automation. Process automation can drive business results by accomplishing three keys: 

• It creates new efficiencies. Process automation allows employees to focus on high-value activity and leave the manual work to the system 
• It increases customer satisfaction. As a result of process efficiencies, response times will get faster — and customers will notice. 
• It inspires innovation. Organizations need to show employees how much easier the platform can make their jobs to drive adoption.

If you’re seeking to transform your business by pursuing process automation, here are some guidelines to help you get started:

1. Identify automation candidates.
   Processes that are good candidates for automation tend to be predictable, repeatable, and involve objective decisions. These criteria lend themselves best to automation because they can be translated to business logic with relative ease. Any process that is dynamic, never done the same way twice, or involves subjective decisions is not a good candidate for automation. 
2. Understand your process.
   It’s never a good idea to automate a bad process. Once you’ve identified a candidate for automation, take the time to understand it in detail the areas that need improvement, because they are sure to be found. As you do this analysis, focus on understanding and documenting the process roles, key decision points, desired outcomes, and decision criteria, as a careful understanding of these factors form the basis for defining how the system should work. Finally, plan for which parts of the process make sense to automate, with a focus on where the highest value can be achieved. A helpful principle to apply when making this determination is the 80/20 rule, which states that the focus should be placed on automating the activities that drive the best and most frequently occurring outcomes, rather that the outliers that don’t produce as many results. 
3. Start with the basics.
   Before you start building robust automation, it’s critical to have a strong foundation in place. This foundation is primarily composed of the data model (objects and fields) and the security model (roles, profiles, and security settings). It’s easy to let these things fall by the wayside in the pursuit of robust automation, but the importance of these foundational elements cannot be overstated. Before you build any automation in your process, you should be able to carry out all of the automation steps manually, using features built with the declarative capabilities of the Salesforce1 platform. Having this in place is critical for two reasons: It gives you a built-in workaround to fall back on if the automation breaks, and it provides the foundation upon which automated business logic will rely. 
4. Make Iterative Improvements.
   Once the foundational components are in place, it’s time to start building automation. Reaching your automation goals for a complex process will involve investment in time and effort. With this in mind, take small, iterative steps toward your goal rather than trying to hit your automation goals on day one. Focus on automating the parts of the process that provide the most value, and aim to get pieces of functionality in production to gain the insight that comes with using the tool. As you gain experience from each iteration, you’ll be better equipped to optimize value from future iterations.

Ready to transform your business? Connect with a Bluewolf expert today to get started.