The pitfall of subjective process design
Traditional automation design is often based on managers' subjective perceptions, reflecting only the ideal-path scenario. Due to unaccounted-for operational exceptions, up to 49% of pilot projects stall halfway, and only 13% of companies successfully scale their solutions. Attempting to hardcode suboptimal processes leads to technical debt and the creation of monolithic systems that are difficult to maintain.
Market implications
For businesses and the IT sector, high failure rates in automation pilots result in wasted budgets and mounting technical debt. This stagnation slows down digital transformation, leaving companies with rigid, monolithic systems that are difficult to maintain and impossible to scale efficiently.
Evidence-based analysis through Process Mining
To eliminate subjectivity, modern process engineering leverages Process Mining technology. Instead of interviewing employees, it analyzes digital footprints—event logs in IT systems. This reconstructs the actual workflow, revealing bottlenecks and "shadow paths" that employees use to bypass official regulations.
Separating process logic and business rules
A common mistake is mixing task flows with decision-making logic. Using international BPMN 2.0 and DMN standards allows organizations to separate complex business rules from the overall process flow, moving them into user-friendly decision tables. This enables analysts to update rules without involving developers or rewriting code.
Launching pilots and technology tools
The goal of a pilot project is to prove the viability of the architectural approach and gather initial metrics on execution speed and cost. In the local market, this approach is implemented using the Scriptum low-code platform (powered by the Camunda engine with BPMN and DMN support) and the UnityBase enterprise platform, which enables rapid deployment of integration solutions through automatic REST API generation and flexible access control.
Automation only delivers long-term value when a company is ready to transform its operational culture based on objective data.
How to prepare
- Use Process Mining: Analyze digital footprints and event logs instead of subjective interviews to reconstruct actual workflows and identify bottlenecks.
- Separate logic from rules: Adopt BPMN 2.0 and DMN standards to isolate complex business rules into decision tables, allowing quick updates without developer intervention.
- Launch structured pilots: Test architectural viability and gather metrics using modern platforms like Scriptum and UnityBase to ensure rapid deployment and flexible integration.
Prepared by a Software Ukraine member. Original publication.