QUESTION: Processes: how to describe and automate business processes?

Optimization and automation of business processes are key factors for scaling a company, reducing costs, and increasing overall team efficiency. Any changes in operational activities require a systematic approach that starts not with purchasing expensive software, but with a deep analysis of the current state of affairs and the formulation of clear goals.

When it comes to process management, you should always start by formulating a hypothesis and defining a success metric. For example, if you want to automate the processing of customer requests, your hypothesis might be the statement that implementing a CRM system will reduce response time by fifty percent. The success metric in this case will be the average time from receiving a lead to the manager's first contact with the buyer.

Then, you need to do a quick test of the developed solution by creating a minimum viable product, launching a simple landing page, or conducting a series of in-depth interviews with employees who will be working in the system. After the test period is over, make management decisions exclusively based on the data obtained, rather than intuition. This method helps avoid unnecessary expenditures of time and budget on implementing tools that do not solve real business problems.