Choosing the targets.
WHAT SUITS AUTOMATION
Repetitive Rule-based Done frequently Error-prone by hand Needed urgently under pressure
THAT LAST ONE
Anything you must do during an incident should be automated, because that is when mistakes happen.
WHAT TO AUTOMATE FIRST
Deployment Backup and restore Environment setup
WHY THOSE THREE
They are the ones whose failure costs most.
WHAT NOT TO AUTOMATE
Judgement Anything done twice a year Anything whose rules change constantly
WHAT TO CALCULATE
Time taken, multiplied by frequency, against time to build and maintain.
WHAT ELSE TO WEIGH
Error reduction, which is frequently worth more than the time saved.
WHAT TO BE HONEST ABOUT
Maintenance. Automation is not finished when it works.
WHAT TO ASK
Who maintains this when I am unavailable?
WHAT TO AVOID
Automating a process nobody has defined Automating something that should stop being done
