5 ms·
Automate repetitive tasks that can be automated. A task may take ten minutes. Automating it may take hours, and thus seems too expensive. If this task is goi
by DannyB2 6y ago
Automate repetitive tasks that can be automated. A task may take ten minutes. Automating it may take hours, and thus seems too expensive.
If this task is going to be done many times, then the automation WILL pay off. Running the automated task might take less time than the manual steps. And you can be doing something else.
The more of these kinds of tasks that you can automate, the bigger of a lever it becomes.
One of the oldest examples would be 'make'.
- arno_v 6y agoRelevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/1205/ https://xkcd.com/1205/
- XCSme 6y agoI actually expected it to be this one: https://xkcd.com/974/ https://xkcd.com/974/
- MauranKilom 6y agoCan't forget about https://xkcd.com/1319/.. https://xkcd.com/1319/...
- XCSme 6y agoAnother advantage is that you are less likely to make errors while using the automated way.
- Groxx 6y agoAnd you'll be quicker to automate the next thing, since you have more experience automating.
- kortex 6y agoIt also creates documentation/repeatable processes. Also, learning, though that can be hard to justify.
- DannyB2 6y agoThe automation might, in some cases BECOME the documentation.
- mekster 6y agoI disagree. If your automation isn't well thought out, edge cases might just screw every target and you might have hard time rolling it back.
- DannyB2 6y agoIn my experience, that is the unusual case, not the ordinary case. Further, when that would happen, it is typically obvious that some bigger change has occurred which required the automated procedure to be updated and tested.