I think game like Factorio shows that level of automation is kind of quantized. First there is no automation, then one resource is automated but others are not

I think game like Factorio shows that level of automation is kind of quantized. First there is no automation, then one resource is automated but others are not, then several are automatized, but combining them is not. There are gaps where building the next thing doesn't make sense even if it makes sense when you have little bit more resources. I think this is true in business as well. It's hard to tell when you have crossed the threshold where building the next level makes sense. You tend to use a lot of time and money to build the next level of automation and only then you can measure if it was worth it or not.