Michael A. Thom Insights
What automation means in real workflow terms
- Information movement
- Details move to the next stage without being retyped.
- Approval routing
- The next reviewer is notified when a clear condition is met.
- Reminder generation
- Routine follow-ups are scheduled from the workflow, so tasks do not stall silently.
- Duplicate-entry reduction
- One accepted record feeds the steps after it.
Choose stable, repetitive handoffs first
- Safe first candidates
- Repetitive handoffs with clear inputs and a checkable output.
- Unsafe first candidates
- Ambiguous decisions or unreviewed sensitive actions. Speeding up confusion just produces faster confusion.
Use a small map before discussing tools
- Actor
- Who performs the step or owns the exception?
- Trigger
- What event starts the action?
- Data
- What information is needed to continue?
- Action
- What repeatable move happens next?
- Review
- Who checks the result and handles exceptions?
When each option makes more sense
- Use a native tool when the work lives in one platform.
- Use an integration when two tools share a repetitive handoff.
- Use a dashboard when the problem is visibility.
- Use a custom system when tools force workarounds.
Keep expectations measured
Without measuring the current process, no one can honestly claim a saving.