Not sure where to start with automation? This guide will help you identify processes in your workflow that are prime candidates for automation with Fullpilot.
Categories of Automation
Fullpilot supports three main categories of automation based on how they're triggered:
1. Manual Automations
These are run on-demand when you need them.
Best for:
- Complex but infrequent tasks
- Processes that require significant human judgment before starting
- Creative tasks like content generation
- Research and analysis that's done as needed
Example: "Generate a personalized email template for responding to customer inquiries"
2. Scheduled Automations
These run automatically at specified times using cron expressions.
Best for:
- Regular reporting or analytics
- Periodic data processing
- Scheduled content creation
- Recurring maintenance tasks
Example: "Every Monday at 9am, analyze last week's customer support tickets and generate a summary report"
3. Event-Triggered Automations
These run in response to events in connected apps or external webhooks.
Best for:
- Real-time responses to incoming data
- Process workflow steps that depend on external events
- Alerting and notification systems
- Integration between multiple services
Example: "When a new form submission is received, categorize the information and create a task in our project management system"
Signs a Process Should Be Automated
Look for these indicators that a task is ripe for automation:
- Repetitive: You perform the same steps multiple times
- Rule-based: The workflow follows consistent logic and rules
- Time-consuming: It takes significant time to complete manually
- Error-prone: Manual execution frequently results in mistakes
- Data-intensive: Involves processing or transferring large amounts of data
- Predictable triggers: Starts based on a schedule or specific event
- Minimal creative judgment: Requires limited subjective decision-making
Automation Opportunity Checklist
Ask yourself these questions to evaluate automation candidates:
- [ ] Do I perform this task more than once a week?
- [ ] Is this task taking time away from higher-value work?
- [ ] Can I clearly articulate the steps involved in this process?
- [ ] Does the task involve transferring data between systems?
- [ ] Would faster execution of this task provide significant value?
- [ ] Is this task causing bottlenecks in my workflow?
- [ ] Do errors in this process cause significant problems?
The more "yes" answers, the better candidate for automation.
Common Automation Patterns
Data Processing
- Converting between formats (CSV to structured data)
- Summarizing or analyzing information
- Cleaning and validating data
- Extracting specific information from documents
Communication
- Drafting responses to common inquiries
- Notifying team members of important updates
- Generating reports and distributing them
- Following up on incomplete tasks
Workflow Management
- Creating tasks based on incoming information
- Moving items through approval processes
- Updating status in multiple systems
- Checking for conditions and triggering next steps
Starting Small
If you're new to automation, start with smaller, contained processes before tackling complex workflows:
- Single-step automation: Start with a simple task like generating a template or processing a single data point
- Add complexity incrementally: Once comfortable, add more steps and conditions
- Combine existing automations: After creating several simple automations, consider how they might work together
Remember that every automated task adds value. Begin with what's most important to your workflow, and you'll naturally find more opportunities to expand your automation capabilities as you become familiar with Fullpilot.