The Importance of Standardization in Automation

In the fast-paced world of technology, automation is a key factor in streamlining processes and increasing efficiency. However, without standardization, automation can become a complicated and error-prone task. Recently, I have been working with a financial industry customer who is all in on Automation, but it became apparent quite early on that they haven’t standardized their processes. In this article, we will explore the differences between a non-standardized process and one that has been standardized, and how much simpler it is to automate a standardized process.

Non-Standardized Process

Let’s take the example of creating a new user account. Currently, there are three ways someone can request a new account: via email, phone, or through a web form. This results in multiple edits and updates before the account is ready for handover, as seen in the yellow blocks below.


As we can see, the information can arrive staggered, which introduces the risk of error. For example, the request received via phone might result in the incorrect spelling of a surname, which then requires more edits to the user account. This staggered process also creates multiple touchpoints for human interaction, which can lead to errors and delays.

Standardized Process

Now let’s compare this process to the same process with some standards applied. All requests for a new user must come in through a form, and this form has data fields that the requester must complete before submitting. This ensures that all data required for a user account arrives at once, and because it is via a typed form, we avoid the issues of misinterpretation that we had earlier with the first & last name spelling.


The new process reduces the number of edits and ultimately results in the requester getting their end product – the user account – much sooner. Additionally, with standardization, we can now enforce a set of rules and agreements that all users or consumers must adhere to, ensuring consistent quality and comparable conclusions across all processes.

Benefits of Standardization

Standardization simplifies the automation task in several ways. Without standards, we would need to account for every scenario that the request could follow, allow for breaks in the process, enable human interaction, and provide error correction. With standards, we can allow automation to generate the username, validate the inputs, and hand over the item to the requester.

When we have standards, estimating the time required for automation also becomes simpler. We have a clearly defined process with a set of inputs (the user details) and an expected outcome (the user account). Once the process is standardized, and automated, changes to this process become more controlled – we can introduce and enforce a review process, which means any changes to the process are agreed within the team and released in an agreed manner.

Conclusion

In conclusion, standardization is essential for successful automation. Without standards, the process becomes complicated and prone to errors. By applying standards, we can simplify the task of automation, reduce the number of edits required, and ultimately deliver a more efficient and effective end product. When we have standards, estimating the time required for automation also becomes simpler, and changes to this process become more controlled.

So, if you’re looking to automate your business processes, don’t forget to standardize them first. It may take a little more effort upfront, but the benefits of simplified automation, improved efficiency, and increased consistency will be well worth it in the long run.