Demo · invented dataBack to projects
Proposal · Harbor & Pine Co. operations team

Where the manual time goes, and what could change

Five daily workflows mapped step by step. Every step is labelled keep manual, assist, or automate, and every change names the condition that must be true before it happens. Nothing moves until its condition is met.

Estimated manual time in scope
0 min per day
Proposed, once conditions are met0 min
Estimated difference0 min per day
Estimate only, refresh after a timed week of real volumes.

Demonstration with invented data. Every company, person, and figure is fictional. All minutes are estimates, not measurements.

Keep manual a person decides Assist tool prepares, person confirms Automate runs on its own and logs every run pain point Lanes scroll sideways on small screens

Risks and dependencies

ItemLevelMitigation
Exception diff depends on an ID that stays the same from day to dayHighTest on two weeks of exports before switching off the eye check
An automated step can fail without anyone noticingHighEvery run writes a line to the running log; a missing line is checked first thing each morning
Outreach templates need sign-off before batch draftingMediumOperations lead approves the template set once; changes go through the same review
Scripts tied to one person's login stop when that person leavesMediumRun under the team's shared operator account, with the owner named in the log
Volume roughly doubles on pay-cycle daysMediumTime one pay-cycle day separately during the timed week
Approval limits live in people's heads todayLowWrite limits as numbers in one shared page before the check is automated

Open questions

  1. Who owns the cause codes for exceptions, and who can add a new one?Needed before routing can be suggested.
  2. Can approvers accept a reminder every 24 hours, or is that too often?Sets the chase cadence.
  3. What is the oldest hold the team is willing to leave without a touch?Sets the backlog sort threshold.
  4. Does the lead want the end-of-day report at a fixed time or when the last item closes?Decides whether the send is automated.
  5. Which week is representative enough for the timed week?Avoid a holiday week and include one pay-cycle day.

How to read the numbers

Minutes per step are estimates from walking through each workflow once with the people who do it. They are good enough to rank where to start, not good enough to promise savings.

Next step: time each step for one normal week with real volumes, then refresh this map before anything is built.