Use this worksheet alongside the workflow-selection guide. Both use the same five criteria, scored from 0 to 2 and weighted to a maximum of 20. The weights are a proposed decision aid, not a validated prediction of return. A score cannot override an unresolved readiness prerequisite.
What is an automation opportunity assessment?
An automation opportunity assessment compares candidate workflows using their measured workload, process evidence, system access, exception handling and measurement readiness. Use the template to record the same criteria for every candidate and the evidence behind each score. The guide explains how to prioritize the candidates; this worksheet records the decision.
- Download the CSV and import it into Excel or Google Sheets. Each row represents one workflow.
- Replace the illustrative examples with your own cases. Record missing evidence and an owner before calculating a complete score.
- The worksheet uses a proposed 20-point method. Readiness holds override the score; there is no universal pass threshold.
Check workflow readiness before assigning a score
For each candidate, record its trigger, finished outcome, owner and systems. Mark each prerequisite Yes, No or Unknown. Hold the candidate when any answer is No or Unknown; record what must change and who owns it. You can record a provisional score to compare the work remaining, but a held workflow is ineligible for a pilot regardless of its total.
- A process owner can define a correct result and accept the test outcome.
- The team has permission to use the required data and systems.
- Representative examples can be handled under the organization’s privacy rules.
- A person owns policy exceptions, failed actions and requests for help.
- The pilot can run within a limited scope, with review or rollback where needed.
Apply the guide’s 20-point scoring method
Use the definitions below consistently across candidates. Leave an unknown score blank and write the missing evidence in its evidence field. Do not treat an unknown as zero or rank an incomplete total.
- Measured work, weight 3: 0 = measured little recurring work; 1 = recurring work with a small measured burden; 2 = recurring work with a substantial measured burden. Agree what substantial means in hours, errors or delays before scoring.
- Process evidence, weight 2: 0 = no representative examples; 1 = normal cases documented; 2 = normal cases and exceptions reviewed.
- System access, weight 2: 0 = access unresolved; 1 = approved with integration work remaining; 2 = required actions tested in a controlled environment.
- Exception handling, weight 2: 0 = no owner or policy; 1 = owner assigned with routes still undefined; 2 = escalation and recovery paths tested.
- Measurement, weight 1: 0 = no baseline; 1 = baseline exists but outcome definition is incomplete; 2 = baseline and acceptance criteria agreed.
Complete the worksheet and record the decision
Import the CSV into your spreadsheet application. Each candidate has readiness fields, five scores with evidence notes, and a total field. Calculate the total as measured work × 3 + process evidence × 2 + system access × 2 + exception handling × 2 + measurement. Enter it only when all five scores are known. Keep the written decision alongside the score; there is no universal pass threshold.
- The example totals are static examples. Recalculate the total after editing a score.
- Use one row per workflow. Replace the illustrative rows with your own observations.
- Record evidence dates, missing work, a decision owner and a review date.
- For tied scores, prefer fewer unresolved assumptions and a faster controlled test.
Filled example
Illustrative comparison: return authorization preparation scores 2, 2, 2, 2 and 2, for 20/20. Invoice exception investigation scores 2, 1, 1, 1 and 2, for 14/20. The second workflow still needs integration work and tested exception routes. These are invented examples, not WIQ customer results.
