Automated processes and workflows play a crucial role in driving digital transformation in businesses. Unfortunately, a good number of businesses are still using manual processes, something that slows them down compared to their competitors.
That notwithstanding, no code / low code platforms are gaining popularity among businesses today. They (no code / low code platforms) have made it possible for these businesses to automate their workflows within the shortest time possible.
It means that non-technical employees working in other departments can automate their workflows without the help of IT personnel. This helps save time, as well as cost and other resources. So, how do you automate your workflow using no code / low code platforms?
Identify Your Business Processes
The first step in automating your workflows using no code / low code platforms is identifying business processes that affect your expected outcome. It revolves around evaluating where you are as a business and where you want to go.
For instance, you have identified a problem as a business. After that, you need to identify all the business processes or workflows that are affected by that problem. Does the problem affect the expected outcome of the processes?
After that, look at the possible options available for automation. Do you need to break down some of these processes into smaller ones?
This way, you can easily automate each of the small processes using no code / low code platforms.
Map Your Defined Business Processes
After identifying all your business processes, you now need to get down to work. Here, you need to identify all the steps handled by all participants. In addition, look at the decision points they consider as well as the data they use when moving from one step to another.
Mapping of business processes is vital in all software development projects. The good news with no code / low code development is that mapping processes are all you need to do to automate them.
Mapping is also going to help you ensure that every single process is identified and all possible solutions looked at. You will be able to choose an automation solution that works for you and meets your business requirements.
Establish a Budget and RIO Expectations
This is one of the most difficult things when streamlining business processes or workflows, whether using no code / low code platforms or not. This is because it depends on multiple things and you have to be careful not to make a mistake here.
To start with, you have identified and mapped all the business workflows that need to be automated. All these workflows are important, but your business cannot survive without some of them.
Depending on how important your workflows are, set up a budget that you think can handle everything that you need to do. You also need to come up with ROI expectations to ensure that you know where your business is heading and what your investment is going to bring back to the business.
Identify No Code / Low Code Platforms
It is now time to get the platforms you need for your automation. Again, the platforms you are going to choose will depend on different things, key among them is your budget and the processes that you need to automate.
Fortunately, advancements in technology have made sure that there are hundreds if not thousands of business tools software applications that you can use for your workflow automation without writing even a single line of code.
Others might require you to write a few lines of code. When identifying potential low code / no code platforms, make sure that the ones you choose match the requirements of your workflow and team, as well as the changes you want to see in your business.
Test Possible Solutions
Let us assume that you have identified five no code / low code platforms that you can use to automate your workflows. You can choose to meet the different vendors offering these platforms for a demonstration.
Unfortunately, it is important to note that a demonstration is not going to show you how you can effectively use a low code / no code platform after purchase. A free trial might be better than a demonstration but it will also not help a lot.
So, what do you do? The best option is to go for something called proof of concept. This is a small project that you undertake with the vendor handling some of the most important workflows in your business.
This allows you to work together with the platform experts and identify any problems that might affect the operations of your business.
Automating your business workflow is one of the best things especially if you want to minimize operational costs, increase productivity, and boost staff morale. You can do that following the guidelines discussed above.
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