Before you automate, simulate what it is worth.
What-if turns "we can automate it" into "it pays to automate it here, and we break even in N months".
- For
- Management
- Process owner
The problem
Automation decisions are often made by gut feel: teams automate what is technically easy, not what is worth the most. And when a business case is presented, measured numbers and assumptions end up in the same total, and nobody knows how much of the promised saving is real. The committee approving the investment sees a single figure, unable to tell what comes from truly measured executions and what is an optimistic estimate on manual work. Later, when it is time to prove the return, comparison is impossible because the starting point was never separated from the assumptions. What-if brings order before the decision: it works on the map, on the nodes, and always declares where each number comes from.
Map: 3 nodes selected
- Order entry
- Document check
- ERP posting
Scenario
- Monthly saving: ≈ €3,200
- Investment: €14,000
- Payback: ≈ 4.4 months
How it works
- 1
Start from the measured map
The Time and Cost lenses show lead time and cost per node, measured from the flows or estimated for manual work (minutes, €/minute, executions per month). The starting point is therefore the same map you use to understand the process, not a separate spreadsheet.
- 2
Select the nodes
You choose which steps to automate and enter the expected investment for each. You can compare different combinations of nodes and immediately see how the picture changes, without touching anything in the real process.
- 3
Read the scenario
Monthly savings, residual cost, total investment and payback time, with the measured share and the estimated share always kept apart. Estimates are recognizable by the ≈ prefix and dashed border, so nobody mistakes them for consolidated data.
- 4
Turn the scenario into an initiative
With one click the scenario becomes an initiative in the Implementation Plan, with costs prefilled and the map and node context attached. The decision taken on What-if is not lost in a slide deck: it enters the governed work cycle.
Specifications
| Data basis | costs measured from the flows and estimated costs of manual work |
|---|---|
| Output | monthly savings, investment per node, residual cost, payback time |
| Separation | measured and estimated always kept distinct (≈ prefix and dashed border for estimates) |
| Effect on data | none: the scenario is temporary |
| Limit | up to 30 flow-linked nodes per simulation |
| Output channels | copyable summary; initiative in the Implementation Plan |
An operational example (illustrative values)
Select three nodes on the map: Order entry, Document check and ERP posting. What-if asks you to describe how they would change if automated and returns a scenario. In the example, for illustration only: a monthly saving of about €3,200, an investment of €14,000 and a payback of about 4.4 months. The bars beside it distinguish the measured part from the estimated part, which is dashed, because an estimated figure must never look like a measured one. These numbers are not a client's results: they show the shape of the output. With your flows' real data, the starting values come from measured times and costs. The scenario can then be turned into an initiative of the Implementation Plan, with an owner and a date.
How to read and verify a scenario
Read a scenario starting from the assumptions, not the result. Which nodes were selected? What time is assumed to be saved? At what automation cost, and is there an AI cost? Then separate what is measured from what is estimated: the measured part rests on real flow data, the estimated part depends on an assumption and should be treated as such. A payback of a few months based mostly on estimates deserves more caution than one based on observed times. From a governance angle, keep the scenario together with its assumptions, so whoever approves the investment can review them. When the initiative goes live, the comparison with the frozen cost will tell whether the estimate was realistic. This way What-if is not a forecast to defend in words, but a hypothesis the following data confirms or corrects.
Related features
- Four lenses: Design, Activity, Time, CostThe same map read over 7, 30 or 90 days: activity, time and cost, measured and estimated always kept apart.
- Implementation PlanAn opportunity becomes an initiative with owner, date, starting cost, investment and expected saving.
- ROI simulatorHuman cost, frequency, saveable time, automation and AI cost: saving and payback.
- Frozen cost baselineObservation period, data quality check and immutable freeze with a SHA-256 fingerprint.
- Saving ChallengeLinks the baseline to duration, success fee, recurring costs and minimum fee: a BizCom service.
Use cases
Frequently asked questions
Where do the costs come from?
From the times and costs measured on the flows and from the manual-work estimates entered on the map. The two sources stay distinct.
Does the simulation change the process?
No, it is a temporary scenario and is not applied to real data.
Why the 30-node limit?
Beyond that threshold the map is better split: it is a design signal, not a random technical limit.
How do I prove the saving afterwards?
With the Implementation Plan and verification against the frozen baseline. If you wish, also with the Saving Challenge.