Automating a specific task is usually a good decision. Its scope is easy to understand and you soon know whether it works. Complexity appears when several automations modify the same data without common coordination.

When a standalone automation is enough

If the task has a clear input and destination and doesn’t depend on other processes, a simple integration solves it. For example, registering an already validated request and notifying the person responsible for it.

Even then I always include two elements: defined error handling and a simple way to verify that the automation has completed its work. Without them, someone on the team ends up checking every day that the process is still running.

When several automations share data

With more than one automation, it is worth documenting which data each flow uses and where it modifies it. If two processes update the same client or the same case file, they must agree on how they identify it and what each one may change.

A common case: one flow creates a sales opportunity and another updates it when new information arrives. If the second doesn’t recognise the record created by the first, duplicates appear or correct data is overwritten.

Orchestrating doesn’t mean replacing systems

Coordinating doesn’t mean replacing platforms and building a new one. I keep the applications that work and review only the integrations that cause conflicts. Often a shared mapping of identifiers between systems or a few redefined rules is enough.

If a new application is proposed, compare it with what your current software already allows and consider who will maintain it over the coming years.

Where to start

I would start with the integration that causes the most errors or duplicated work today. Before changing it, I would record its behaviour to compare afterwards and define who handles the cases the automation can’t resolve.

That may be enough. If not, it will be clear which part of the whole should be organised next.

If you have several automations that already interfere with each other, here is how I work, or book a meeting and we’ll look at your case.