Unit 09.03: Measuring against the manual process honestly

The comparison that matters includes the review time the automation creates and the errors it adds.

Hours saved, and errors gained

Manual time against automated time plus review time, with both error rates.

The table below compares 900 items a month.

manual   :   60.0 h/month, 2% errors
automated:   22.5 h/month, 4% errors (incl. 1.2 min review each)

saved   : 37.5 hours/month
extra errors: 18/month

Review time is four times the processing time and dominates the automated column entirely. An estimate counting only the agent's speed would overstate the saving substantially.

The error rate doubled. That is 18 extra errors a month against 37 hours saved - possibly a good trade, and definitely not one to make by accident or to leave out of the summary.

The mistake this prevents

The mistake is reporting hours saved without the error rate. It is the number that makes the case look best and the one that will be discovered later by whoever handles the consequences of those 18 errors.

Takeaway

Compare including review time and both error rates. Review time usually dominates, and the error rate often goes up - state both.

Mark complete