Process automation with clear rules, without losing control
For companies that repeat tasks, retype information between systems or track requests through messages and spreadsheets. Solvers understands the process as it actually happens, assesses with you what is worth automating and designs the flow with defined rules, owners and controls.
Prefer email? Write to contato@solvers.com.br.
Signs that an automation is worth looking into
- Information repeated across different systems. The team types the same data more than once.
- Frequent hand-offs. Requests have to move from one person or area to another, always the same way.
- Manual notifications. Someone has to remember to alert the next step.
- Hard to track the steps. It isn't clear where a request stands or who should act.
- Errors and delays that keep recurring at the same point in the process.
Frequency and volume matter, but they are not the only criteria. The analysis looks at the whole process: dependencies, exceptions, implementation effort and expected benefit.
When it's better not to automate yet
Reproducing a task with unclear rules, incomplete information or undefined responsibilities in an automated flow does not fix the root of the problem. That is why, before choosing a technology, you need to understand the work as it actually happens.
Rules that nobody can explain and exceptions that are not understood call for investigation before implementation. The same goes for decisions that depend on human judgment: automation can gather information and support the work, and the decision stays with the person responsible.
What goes into an automation project
- Conversations with the people who know and run the routine, to map the trigger, expected outcome, steps, owners, data, rules, approvals, dependencies, exceptions and systems involved.
- Validation of the mapping with the client, to guide the project decisions.
- Flow design, including how pending items are routed when information is missing or a condition is not met.
- Controls proportional to the process: as needed, human approval, a record of the actions taken, identification of owners and alerts.
- Handling of failures between systems, such as a missing response or confirmation, without a retry creating duplicates.
- A scoped first delivery, with objective, rules and validation criteria, and the following stages prioritized with the client.
- Follow-up after implementation. Support, maintenance and evolution follow the agreed conditions.
From understanding the process to follow-up
A useful automation needs to reflect the process the company wants to run, in a way that makes sense to the people involved.
- 01
Understand
The process as it happens today: participants, information, difficulties and the problem the company needs to solve.
- 02
Assess
Whether automating is worth it, or whether adjusting the process, configuring an existing tool, integrating or developing works better.
- 03
Map
Trigger, expected outcome, steps, owners, data, rules, approvals, exceptions and systems, validated with the client.
- 04
Design the controls
Approvals, records, owners, alerts and failure handling, proportional to the rules and risks of the process.
- 05
First delivery
A scoped part of the routine, with defined objective, rules and validation criteria.
- 06
Validate
With the users: the client's team evaluates the delivery, and the next stages are prioritized by needs and observed results.
- 07
Follow up
Questions, failures and adjustments after implementation, according to the agreed conditions.
The tool comes after the need
An automation can combine custom development, resources the company already has and integration between systems. The technologies Solvers uses include Apache NiFi, Apache Kafka, n8n, APIs, databases and RabbitMQ, among other options. The list is not closed: the choice starts from the process and the needs of the project.
Artificial Intelligence can also be assessed as an automation or integration tool, taking into account usage costs, the risk of errors in judgment and human oversight. Whether to use it depends on each case.
From proposal acceptance to project kickoff
Imagine a company where the acceptance of a proposal needs to reach the team that will start the project. An automation could gather the necessary information and route it to the person responsible.
Before that, the team needs to define what counts as an acceptance, which data is required and who resolves pending issues. And if the hand-off depends on another system and the confirmation doesn't arrive, the flow can include a check or route the case for review before sending it again.
Fictional example, to illustrate the method. It does not represent a client case or result.
Questions about process automation
Should every repetitive task be automated?
Not necessarily. Frequency and volume matter, but so do errors and delays, dependencies between people and systems, exceptions, implementation effort and expected benefit. Sometimes adjusting the process, defining responsibilities or configuring a tool the company already uses solves the difficulty.
What's the difference between automation, integration and custom software?
Automation organizes tasks and steps according to rules. Integration lets applications exchange information. Custom software meets specific needs and rules. A single solution can combine all three approaches.
Does automation replace the team's decisions?
No. In decisions that require human judgment, automation can gather information and support the person responsible, and the decision stays with them. Unclear rules and exceptions that nobody has been able to explain call for investigation before implementation.
What happens when something fails?
Failure handling is part of the flow design. Depending on the process, it can include approvals, a record of actions, owners and alerts. When information is exchanged between systems, it is also necessary to consider a missing response or confirmation and to prevent a retry from creating duplicates. Exceptions may require human review.
Which tools does Solvers use?
Among other options, Apache NiFi, Apache Kafka, n8n, APIs, databases and RabbitMQ. The list is not closed: the choice starts from the needs of the process and the project, not from a predetermined tool.
Does Artificial Intelligence play a part in automation?
It can, when it makes sense for the need. Adoption takes into account usage costs, the risk of errors in judgment and decision-making, and the appropriate controls and oversight. Its use depends on the assessment of each case.
What happens after implementation?
We follow the process to identify questions, failures and adjustments. Support, maintenance and evolution follow the scope and conditions agreed for each project; there is no standard period.
Learn more
Articles from the Solvers blog, in Portuguese:
Which process is taking up your team's time?
Tell us which task keeps repeating, who is involved, what information flows and in which systems. From there, we assess together whether automating is worth it and where to start.
Talk about your process →Or write to contato@solvers.com.br.