Business Automation Discovery Checklist
Devisgon engineering guidance · Published October 2, 2026
Start with the process, not the automation tool. A useful discovery brief explains who owns the task, which systems exchange information and what happens when an input or integration fails. This worksheet helps separate a straightforward rules-based workflow from a task that may need AI or staff judgment.
1. Inventory the work
Describe the trigger, inputs, steps and final output. Count normal and peak volumes. Record hands-on time separately from time spent waiting for approvals. For example, an invoice may require five minutes of entry but wait two days for a manager; those are different problems to solve.
- A workflow owner can confirm the current process.
- Volumes and hands-on time have a credible baseline.
- The next step and receiving system are explicit.
2. Identify rules and judgment
Use explicit rules for known conditions, calculations and required fields. Consider AI for uncertain language, document extraction or draft preparation, with validation afterward. A process does not need an autonomous agent simply because it includes several API calls.
- Rules and approval conditions are written.
- Any AI step has a clear reason and validation method.
- Uncertain or exceptional work has a named reviewer.
3. Check integration reality
Confirm API availability, authentication, event delivery and rate limits. Decide which system owns each record. If both systems can change it, define conflict handling. Test with a non-production account or sanitized sample before altering live business records.
- Required API capabilities and credentials are available.
- Record identifiers and field mappings are agreed.
- Duplicate, out-of-order and repeated events are handled.
4. Estimate value honestly
Calculate hours potentially freed using task volume, time per task and the share that can be automated. Subtract recurring tool costs and expected review effort. Staff time freed is not automatically a cash saving; the business may use it for other work. Separate revenue assumptions from measured operational savings.
- Automation coverage is an explicit assumption.
- Setup, subscription and maintenance costs are included.
- The owner knows how to measure value after launch.
5. Define operations after launch
Agree monitoring, exception queues, retries and a manual fallback. Decide who changes the workflow when a field or provider API changes. Use the same baseline after release to assess whether the process actually improved; successful execution alone does not prove business value.
- Failures reach someone who can act.
- The process can be paused or rolled back.
- Documentation and support responsibilities are part of scope.
Discuss the next step
Bring your current tools, representative inputs and priority user journey. We can review fit and the scope of a first release.