PowerShell Weekly
PowerShell Weekly

Automation Checklist

Is This Automation Worth It?

Enter how long the task takes and how often you do it. To see how much time you can spend on automating the task for it to be worthwhile.








Break-even automation time:

Enter values to see the result.

Is This Even Automatable?

A practical way to decide what to automate and what to leave alone.

How to Use This

  • Pick one task you do regularly
  • Go through each section honestly
  • Don’t overthink it
  • At the end, you’ll have a clear answer: automate it now, fix the process first, or leave it manual

Section 1: Repeatability

If it only happens once, it’s not automation. It’s a one-off.

  • Does this task happen regularly?
  • Do you perform the same general steps each time?
  • Would saving time on this task actually matter?

Section 2: Clear Inputs

Automation needs something predictable to start with.

  • Do you know what triggers the task? (file, request, event)
  • Are the inputs consistent or at least recognizable?
  • Can you describe the input without ambiguity?

Warning signs: “It depends…”, “Sometimes it’s different…”, “I just look at it and figure it out…”

Section 3: Defined Rules

If you can’t explain the logic, you can’t automate it.

  • Can you describe the decision-making steps?
  • Do the same conditions lead to the same outcomes?
  • Could someone else follow your rules and get the same result?

Example:
Good: “If file type is CSV, move to Reports folder”
Bad: “I just know where it should go”

Section 4: Structured Process (Pipeline Thinking)

Every automation follows a pattern: Input → Process → Output

  • Can you break the task into steps?
  • Do those steps happen in a consistent order?
  • Can you identify input, processing, and output?
  • Input: what comes in
  • Processing: what happens
  • Output: what comes out

If you can’t separate these, the task is still too vague.

Section 5: Edge Cases

This is where most automations fail.

  • What happens if something is missing?
  • What happens if the format is wrong?
  • What happens if the output already exists?
  • What happens if the task runs twice?

If your answer is “It would probably break” or “I’d have to fix it manually,” think through this before automating.

Section 6: Process Quality

A computer will not fix a bad process. It will make it worse, faster.

  • Does the current process make sense?
  • Are there unnecessary steps you could remove first?
  • Are you standardizing or just copying chaos?

Rule: Fix the process before you automate it.

Section 7: Effort vs Value

Not everything is worth automating.

  • How long does this task take manually?
  • How often do you do it?
  • How long would automation take to build?

Simple check:
High frequency + moderate effort → automate
Low frequency + low effort → leave it
High effort + messy process → fix first

Final Score: 0 / 7

Start selecting answers to see your result.