Module 2: Plan Your Project

The "Why" and "Who"

1. Identify the Problem

What problem does this solve?

Be specific. "Make things easier" isn't enough. "Reduce invoice routing time from 3 days to same-day" is. The more concrete you are now, the less you'll rework later.

• [ ] You've written a specific problem statement.
• [ ] It includes what's wrong today and what better looks like.

Who uses the current process?

Who's doing the work today? Who will use the app or flow? Don't assume—verify. Sometimes the person you think is the user is actually the requester, and the real user is someone downstream.

• [ ] You've listed who does the work today.
• [ ] You've listed who will use the solution (they might be different).
• [ ] You've talked to at least one actual user.

What does the current process look like?

Walk through it once. Where are the bottlenecks? Where do people get stuck? Where do they copy-paste between systems? These are your automation opportunities.

• [ ] You've walked the process (or watched someone do it).
• [ ] You've noted bottlenecks and pain points.

2. Optimize Before You Automate

This one catches a lot of people. Sometimes the answer isn't "automate more"—it's "fix the process first" or "fix the data first." Automating a broken process just makes the mess move faster.

• [ ] You've mapped or sketched the current process. (Even a whiteboard photo counts. Sticky notes on a wall. Whatever works.)
• [ ] You've asked: What would we change if we had no automation? Sometimes the answer is "reorganize the team" or "get the data in one place first."
• [ ] You've identified automation opportunities—steps that are repetitive, rule-based, or high-volume. See Example: Identify automation opportunities.

3. Create a Project Plan

Doesn't need to be fancy. It needs to exist. Scope, owner, timeline, and a rough success measure. That's enough to keep most projects from drifting into the pilot graveyard.

• [ ] Project plan exists. Scope, owner, timeline, success measure.
• [ ] Timebox the pilot. "We'll run this for 6 weeks and then decide." Avoid endless scope creep.
• [ ] Stop conditions are defined. What would make you pause or kill this? Write it down. "If we don't see 50% adoption in 4 weeks, we pause." "If the business owner leaves, we stop."

Next Step

With your plan in place, move to Module 3: Capture Requirements. That's where you turn "what we want" into "what we're building"—with functional and non-functional requirements that stick.