Automation check: is your task worth automating?

Not every task that takes time should be automated. Sometimes it has to be tidied up first, and sometimes it is not worth it at all. These nine questions give you a first direction.

Think of one specific task that regularly costs you or your team time. Answer the questions for exactly that task.

1. How often is the task done the same way?

Rarely, or differently every time Every week Every day

2. How much time does it take per week, everyone involved together?

Under 2 hours 2 to 10 hours More than 10 hours

3. Does someone copy data by hand from one program into another?

No Sometimes Yes, all the time

4. Could someone new do the task from written instructions?

No, the knowledge is in people's heads Partly Yes

5. How are decisions made in the task?

Mostly by experience and gut feeling A mix By clear rules

6. In what form does the data arrive?

As emails, PDFs or on paper In spreadsheets Already in a program or database

7. How does data get into and out of the programs involved?

Only by hand, or I do not know By exporting and importing files, such as spreadsheets Through an interface between the programs

8. Do you know how long the task takes per week?

No idea Roughly estimated Yes, measured

9. What happens if a mistake slips through?

It gets expensive or legally risky It is annoying Not much

0 of 9 answered

Please answer all questions.

Your answers stay in your browser and are not stored or sent, unless you copy the question and pass it on yourself. The check does not replace an analysis, it gives you a first direction.

After the result, you can copy your answers as a ready-made question and paste it into an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant such as ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot. Add one or two sentences at the top about what the task is. The assistant then suggests which steps can be automated and where to start. What you paste there goes to the provider of the assistant, so leave out names and customer data.

More about how I work on processes, automation and AI is on the consulting page.