1. Choose a recurring task
Look for work that happens regularly and follows a recognizable pattern: customer intake, approvals, onboarding checklists, reminders, or reporting. Start with a bounded process that has a clear beginning and end.
2. Define the trigger and result
What starts the work: a form, an email, an approved request, or a scheduled review? What should be true when it ends? A clear trigger and result make it easier to decide which steps belong in the workflow.
3. Map the handoffs
Write down each step, the person responsible, and the tools used. Note where the same information is entered twice, where someone waits for an update, and where ownership becomes unclear. Simplifying those steps may help even before automation is added.
4. Identify approval points
List the decisions a person should make. Examples include approving access, accepting a change in scope, or confirming information before it is sent externally. An automation should support those decisions and make their status visible.
5. Plan for exceptions
What happens when a required field is missing, an integration is unavailable, or an approver is away? Decide who handles the exception and how the team can continue manually. A reliable workflow needs an understandable fallback.
6. Check the tools and information
Identify where the information comes from and who is permitted to use it. Existing licensing, integrations, and access affect what can be built. Avoid sending confidential records or credentials through an initial website inquiry.
7. Agree how to evaluate it
Record how the current process works before changing it. Useful measures may include task time, repeated data entry, missed handoffs, or errors. Choose a small trial, compare the results, and consider how the team actually adopts the new workflow.
Bring a process to the conversation
Example: A customer request arrives by email, someone retypes it into a tracker, and a manager is chased for approval. A first improvement could capture the request once, make the owner visible, and preserve the manager’s approval step.
Illustrative planning example; no measured savings are claimed.
Tell Fortaleza which process takes too much effort and what a better handoff would look like. We can help define a useful scope before implementation.