SOP: Manual checklist vs automating the step

SOP: Manual checklist vs automating the step

Run this whenever someone says "we should automate this."

Stage 1 — Qualify (owner: process owner)
☐ Run frequency: how many times per month?
☐ Time per run in minutes, and failure cost if a step is skipped.
☐ Has the manual checklist survived 5+ runs unchanged?

Stage 2 — Apply the rule
☐ Under 4 runs/month OR steps still changing → keep the checklist. Automating a moving target locks in the wrong process.
☐ 4+ runs/month, stable steps, and skipping is expensive → automate.

Stage 3 — If automating (owner: builder)
☐ Keep the checklist as the spec and the fallback for when automation breaks.
☐ Add a monitor that alerts on silent failure.
☐ Name who owns the automation when it breaks at 2am.

Tradeoff: checklists are cheap to change and rely on discipline. Automation is rigid but tireless. Automate the boring, stable, frequent — not the rare.

Trigger: "let's automate." Done-when: decision and owner recorded.

Save this. Run it every time.