I often spend more time observing how people work than diving straight into writing code.
In one office, I watched the document processing workflow:
Old Workflow: Receive email → Download file → Open Excel → Copy data → Paste into internal software → Visual verification.
The Problem Isn't the People
The staff there were incredibly diligent. But the current process was turning them into data entry machines. Errors were inevitable as focus waned over time.
Seeing this, my mindset wasn't "let's write a bot to click for them," but rather:
"Why isn't this data flowing automatically?"
A Systems Thinking Solution
Instead of patching things up with disjointed automation scripts, I proposed building a closed data pipeline:
Standardize Input: Data is validated right at the source.
Asynchronous Processing: The system handles repetitive tasks in the background.
Humans as Supervisors: Staff only intervene when the system flags an exception.
The Result
Software isn't created to replace humans, but to optimize operational costs.
By removing the burden of manual tasks, staff gain time to think, care for customers, and create value that machines cannot. That is the true goal of digital transformation.