Automation and Digital Products

The Goal

By the end of this chapter you will know when automation saves real time and when it creates hidden problems. You will find the tasks worth automating, connect applications in a simple way, build a small digital tool for one real problem, and test what happens when things go wrong. You will build an order form with Google Forms and Sheets, set up WhatsApp Business so the same questions get quick answers, and know what an automation platform such as Make adds. And you will know the most important rule: if a mistake would hurt someone, a human approves before it happens.

Understand: what automation is, and what it isn’t

Automation means a task that needed a person now happens by itself, or with less effort, because a tool does part of it. A useful definition: automation removes repetitive steps that need little judgement, so people have more time for the steps that need a lot.

Automation is not a replacement for thinking: someone decides what to automate and checks that it works. It is not always the right answer: a task that happens once a month and takes two minutes costs more to automate than to do. And it is not magic: connections break, passwords expire, someone has to notice when it stops.