Combining automation and human tasks | Service Automation Suite

Not every process can be fully automated. And that doesn't have to be the case either.

When we think of automation, we often imagine a process that runs entirely on its own. An action starts, systems exchange information and everything is handled automatically.
In practice, many processes don't work that way.

For example, manager approval is often required. An employee may need to add information. A service desk might need to verify something or first trigger an external party to take action.
This doesn't make a process unsuitable for automation. It simply means that automation and human tasks are part of the same process.

Reality doesn't always follow a straight line

Take onboarding a new employee. A large portion of this can be automated. Accounts can be created, groups assigned, and standard actions executed.
But perhaps a manager must first decide which applications the person should have access to. Or the facilities department may need to confirm that a workspace is available.

Often, such a process is technically automated until a human action is required. After that, a break occurs: an email, a ticket, or a standalone task. Once that is completed, someone must ensure the process continues.
That is precisely when it becomes easy to lose sight of the process.

Who is monitoring the entire process?

The problem usually isn't in the human task itself. Some decisions simply cannot or should not be automated.
The key question is who is responsible for monitoring that the task is completed and what happens next.

Is it clear who is responsible for a task? Is it visible when a task remains open for too long? Does the process automatically continue after completion? And can you later see which steps were automated and which were performed manually?

Without central orchestration, separate ways of working soon develop alongside the automation. Some parts live in systems, others in inboxes, and others in the head of an administrator.

Workflows bring humans and automation together

Within the Service Automation Suite platform workflows can be used for processes where automated actions and human tasks alternate.
This means a process does not have to stop when a human decision is required. That decision becomes part of the process.

For example, a task can be routed to the right person or department. After approval or completion, the process can then continue automatically.
This primarily provides better visibility. Not because every step has to be automated, but because the entire process can be followed from a single point of control.

Automating is not the same as making everything automatic

That distinction is important. The goal of process automation should not be to remove humans from every process at all costs. The goal is to make processes more predictable, more efficient, and easier to manage.

Sometimes that means full automation. At other times, it means a human worker makes the right decision at the right time, after which automation takes over again.
The value lies not just in the number of actions eliminated, but especially in the coherence between all the steps.

From isolated tasks to one unified process

Organisations often already have sufficient resources to carry out individual actions. The challenge arises when those actions are part of a process that spans multiple systems, teams, and responsibilities.
That is where orchestration comes in.

Service Automation Suite brings automated actions, human tasks, and existing systems together under process-level control. This means no longer having to rely on a separate email, ticket, or manual reminder for every exception.
Because a well-automated process is not, by definition, a process without people.

It is a process where it is clear what needs to happen, who is responsible, and how it proceeds thereafter.

Where does automation stop in your processes?

Exactly at the points where automation transitions to manual work, delays and dependencies often arise.
During a Service Automation Suite Assessment we can identify these moments and examine how workflows and central process control can make a difference.

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