First things first: How to define your process before automating workflows

Efficient processes are the backbone of a successful business. And to make processes as efficient as possible, you need to document them.

There’s no denying that workflow automation can help increase efficiency in your organization. But there’s a step that comes before automation that plays a huge role in how efficient your automation attempts will ultimately be (or not be). That step is process documentation.

“If you don’t have a clear process in place, automation can create more chaos than efficiency,” says Shruti Tiwari, a product manager who builds AI-powered products that streamline workflows and automate tedious tasks. “Documenting workflows helps teams understand exactly how work gets done, ensures consistency, and makes it easier to improve things over time. Plus, it helps align everyone before automation even enters the picture.”

But how exactly do you define and document your processes in a way that sets you up for successful automation?

This article will take a look at everything you need to know about how to define your processes before workflow automation.

Process mapping — Why it’s a must before workflow automation

First things first. Before jumping into how to define your processes (and then automate them), it’s important to understand why process definition is so important — especially before moving forward with widespread automation.

“Many organizations operate without any real documentation of their processes, relying instead on institutional knowledge and workarounds that have developed over time,” says Neil Pitman, head of Low-Code and Workflow Automation at Nutrient. “These workarounds — whether it’s a manual approval step, an undocumented spreadsheet, or an employee who just ‘knows how things are done’ — often go unnoticed until they become bottlenecks.”

Defining and documenting workflow processes brings key benefits that help any team, whether or not workflow automation is the ultimate goal, including:

• Clarity — If your processes aren’t documented, there are bound to be inconsistencies: One employee may approach the process one way; another may approach it completely differently. Process definition creates clarity regarding exactly the way a task is and should be completed, which sets the stage for automating the process accordingly.

• Spotting inefficiencies — Documenting processes can help you identify parts of the process that are unnecessary or inefficient, which then gives you the opportunity for process improvement prior to automation. “It also helps highlight inefficiencies — like bottlenecks or unnecessary steps — that could be eliminated altogether,” says Tiwari.

• Identifying automation opportunities — Finally, process mapping allows you to better see and understand each process in your business and identify which processes would make the most sense to automate.

Workflow process documentation also helps to avoid a number of common automation challenges, including:

• Automating inefficiencies — “If a broken process is automated, it simply produces bad results faster,” says David Daneshgar, the co-founder and CEO of Whippy AI. Because process definition helps you identify inefficiencies prior to automation, you don’t have to worry about carrying those inefficiencies into your automation strategy.

• Cost issues — “Reworking automation later is often more expensive than getting it right from the start,” says Daneshgar. Documenting, evaluating, and optimizing your processes before moving forward with automation can help you avoid unnecessary mistakes and the costs that come along with them.

How to define a process before automating workflows

Clearly, documenting your processes is a must if you have any plans for automation in the future. But what does that actually look like?

The next section will cover step-by-step instructions for process/procedure writing and documentation.

Before documentation: Ask yourself the right questions

Before you start your actual task analysis and process documentation (and, eventually, your automation efforts), it’s important to get clear on what, exactly, needs to be documented.

Or, to put it another way, what questions do you need to answer as you document these processes?

Asking the right questions will ensure you get the information you need to effectively document your processes. While the “right” questions may vary based on your business process management needs, some universal questions to ask include:

• What are the goals of this workflow?

• Who interacts with this workflow? (departments, groups, specific people, etc.)

• Who is the “owner” of this workflow?

• Who does this workflow impact?

• What kind of data/reporting is needed from this workflow?

• What are the challenges of this workflow? What causes holdups?

• How do we measure success for this workflow? What are the key metrics?

Keeping these questions in mind going into the documentation process will ensure you get all the information you need to capture the entirety of your process which, in turn, can help you identify issues, increase efficiency, get your team on the same page, and automate when it makes sense.

Step 1: Set clear objectives and goals

The first step of process definition is settling clear objectives and goals.

Review your process and determine what it is you want to get out of documenting (and potentially automating) it. That way, you can optimize the process in a way that helps you reach your main goal or objective.

For example, let’s say you’re documenting your process for dealing with a customer support ticket, and your main objective is to reduce the time it takes your employees to respond to customers. In that situation, you’d want to look at what’s preventing your team from immediately responding to customer messages — and then automate the process to support a shorter lead time.

On the flip side, if you had a different objective, like reducing the number of messages needed to resolve support issues or increasing the number of customers that make a purchase directly from the support portal, you’d likely look to optimize and/or automate different parts of the process.

The point is, for effective process documentation (and eventually, for workflow automation), it’s important to begin with the end in mind and set clear goals.

Step 2: Break down the current process

Once you’re clear on your goals, it’s time to actually start documenting the process as it currently exists. To do that, you need to break down the process into single steps — steps that take you from the beginning of work (starting the process) straight through to the end (finishing the process).

“Document each step, including inputs, actions, outputs, and dependencies,” says Daneshgar.

The key here is to get as granular as possible — the more detail, the better. While there are a variety of ways to approach this, Tiwari recommends a framework called SIPOC, which breaks down the process as follows:

• Source — Where inputs come from

• Input — What kicks off the process

• Process — The actual steps taken

• Output — What the process delivers

• Customer — Who receives the output

This information will help you understand the process as it currently exists in your organization, and it can also help you identify what is and isn’t working.

Another important thing to note? If you want to accurately break down a process — and create accurate documentation as a result — it’s important to loop in the team members who are actually involved with the process.

“Gather insights from employees who execute the process daily to uncover gaps,” says Daneshgar.

Step 3: Identify areas for improvement

Breaking down your process gives you a clear picture of your process as it exists. But before you create a uniform document of how to perform the process moving forward, it can be helpful to review and identify any potential areas of improvement.

Review the initial breakdown of the process and ask yourself:

• Are there any bottlenecks?

• Are there any redundancies?

• Are there any parts of the process that can be eliminated or minimized?

Identifying and eliminating these problems before you move forward with the formal documentation can help you improve your processes from the get-go and set the stage for a more effective automation strategy down the road.

“Without this step,” says Pitman, “automation can amplify chaos instead of solving problems.”

Step 4: Write down the process

You’re clear on your goals. You’ve broken down your current process and eliminated any initial inefficiencies. Now, it’s time to actually write out your process from start to finish.

Your process documentation should include:

• Process name — A clear identification of the process.

• Process description — A description of what the process does and why.

• Start rules — When the process should be initiated.

• Inputs — The inputs required to complete the process.

• Actions — The step-by-step instructions involved in completing the task.

• Outputs — The desired results/outcome of the process.

• Dependencies — Any other tasks or systems this task relies on/is connected to.

• Contingency plan — What to do when something goes wrong.

You’ll also need to assign responsibility for any actionable parts of the task. For example:

• Who is responsible for inputs?

• Who is responsible for each step/action?

• What needs to be done with the outputs? (For example, Employee A may be responsible for a task, but they have to send it to Employee B once it’s finished.)

Every part of your process should have a clear owner, and the responsibilities should be clearly outlined with as much detail as possible. The more detailed and thorough your process documentation, the easier it is for team members to understand not only their individual responsibility, but how it plays into the larger process — which then reduces the chances of any misunderstanding or miscommunication.

Step 5: Create a visual representation

Writing down your process is a must. But people absorb information differently; some employees might find a pages-long document overwhelming, which is why it’s important to deliver the information in a variety of ways, including visually.

“Flowcharts and diagrams often work better than text-heavy descriptions,” says Daneshgar.

Offering your processes in both written and visual form will allow employees to explore and think about the process in different ways, and it’ll speak to different learning styles.

Step 6: Add to your standard operating procedures (SOPs)

Once you have your entire process documented (in both written and visual form), it’s time to add the process to your company documentation — for example, your standard operating procedures (SOPs) or company intranet. That way, your employees have ongoing access to the process and can reference it if and when they have questions about how to approach the process.

And wherever you add it, it’s important to make your process documentation accessible to your team.

These six steps will help you document your processes from beginning to end — and once you have your processes documented, you can start to look at each step and identify potential automation opportunities — for example, repetitive tasks (like answering customer FAQs) or tasks that can be managed by existing software in your tech stack.

Best practices for process documentation

Want to make your process documentation as effective as possible? Here are a few best practices to keep in mind.

Keep it as simple as possible

When it comes to process definition, the key is to be thorough and complete without being overly complicated.

During documentation, explain each step as succinctly and clearly as possible. Give all the details employees need to successfully execute the process, but “avoid overcomplicating processes with unnecessary details,” says Daneshgar.

The more simple and straightforward the process (while still being thorough and complete), the easier it will be for your team to understand. And the easier it is for your team to understand, the more effectively they’ll implement the process.

You can also keep it simple in terms of software. You don’t necessarily need a process mapping tool to document your processes; a spreadsheet or work document can be just as effective.

Continue to optimize and update your documentation

Process documentation isn’t a one-and-done type of situation; chances are, your processes will change over time, and your documentation should always reflect those changes.

Don’t rush into automation

“One of the biggest misconceptions about automation is that it ‘fixes’ bad processes,” says Daneshgar. “In reality, automation is only as good as the underlying workflow.”

As such, it’s important to not only document your processes, but improve and optimize them.

“Documenting workflows isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about discovery,” says Pitman. “It helps teams uncover hidden dependencies, standardize operations, and create a foundation for automation that is structured and scalable.”