New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

Question

What are key issues to consider when automating a business process?

Answer

I would recommend the following steps when considering automating a business process:

1. Does this process carry a large cost and carry a high priority for reducing the cost compared to other processes?
2. Can this process be eliminated?  If not, can this process be redesigned and simplified? (Always perfect the design prior to attempting to automate)
3. What are the best practices for performing this process?
4. What is the best automation platform for performing this process?
5. Is there existing software that be used for automating this process (almost always preferrable to "buy" rather than "build" unless the process is very strategic)
6. Can this process be outsourced?
7. Can this process be delegated?