The Fluency Blog

Insights on workflow analytics and automation ROI

Practical thinking for operations leaders making the case for automation investment.

Automation ROI estimates baseline
Analysis

Why your automation ROI estimates keep missing the target

Most ROI models for automation start from assumptions about the process. The problem is that assumptions about how work happens are almost always wrong.

9 min read
Hidden cost of fragmented handoffs
Insights

The hidden cost of fragmented handoffs in operations

Fragmented handoffs rarely show up in a process diagram. They show up in the data, once you know where to look.

6 min read
Five workflow patterns with automation potential
Guide

Five workflow patterns that signal high automation potential

Not all broken processes are automation candidates. These five structural patterns consistently predict where automation will return the investment.

8 min read
Quantifying soft costs and time to decision
Finance

Quantifying soft costs: how to put a number on time-to-decision

Finance will not fund automation savings they cannot see. Here is how to convert decision lag into a dollar figure that survives a budget review.

10 min read
When to automate versus redesign
Framework

Automate or redesign? A framework for the decision that matters more

Automating a broken process is faster than fixing it, but it locks in the brokenness. This framework helps you decide which path to take before committing budget.

8 min read
Mapping actual versus planned workflow
Operations

Mapping actual work vs planned work: why the gap is always larger than you think

Every operations leader has a process map on a slide. Almost none of them reflect how work actually moves. Closing the gap is step one.

7 min read
90-day automation audit guide
Guide

A 90-day automation audit guide for operations leaders

Before you build an automation roadmap, you need a clear picture of what is actually happening across your key processes. This guide takes you through the 90-day audit.

11 min read
ERP data workflow reality gap
Analysis

Your ERP data and your workflow reality are not the same thing

ERP systems record what was supposed to happen. Workflow data shows what did happen. Most automation decisions are made from the wrong source.

8 min read
Process intelligence versus business intelligence
Insights

Process intelligence vs business intelligence: knowing the difference saves budget

BI tells you what your business produced. Process intelligence tells you how it was produced and where it got stuck. They answer different questions.

7 min read
Getting finance to fund automation projects
Finance

Getting finance to fund automation: what the numbers need to look like

Operations teams lose automation budgets not because the ideas are bad but because the business cases are built on estimates. Here is what CFOs actually need to see.

9 min read
Workflow analytics introduction for ops leaders
Introduction

Workflow analytics: an introduction for operations leaders

What workflow analytics is, what it is not, and why operations leaders are finding it more useful than the process mining tools that came before it.

8 min read

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