The biggest problems with any automation are describing what the current process really is and discovering which parts are essential and which are simply accide

The biggest problems with any automation are describing what the current process really is and discovering which parts are essential and which are simply accidental. This is true whether one is creating a purely mechanical system or a purely software system The part that is unique to software is that companies often expect people whose only expertise is in software to do both of these tasks when the second often requires deep domain knowledge. When one mechanises something in hardware it is generally taken for granted that domain experts will be central to the effort but when the result is principally software, domain experts are often left out of the process.