Configure pre-automation time

Pre-automation time is the estimated time required to perform a workflow’s tasks manually without automation. Setting this value enables Insights to calculate time saved and demonstrate ROI.

Why pre-automation time matters

Pre-automation time is essential for:

• Calculating time saved: Insights uses pre-automation time to quantify the manual effort your automation eliminates
• Demonstrating ROI: Time saved metrics help justify automation investments to stakeholders
• Executive reporting: Pre-automation time enables concrete business value metrics in summary dashboards

Set pre-automation time in Studio

Before you begin

• You must have permission to edit workflows in Studio
• Consider estimating pre-automation time for your most frequently executed workflows first
• Gather information about manual process times from team members who performed tasks before automation

Configure pre-automation time

Best practices for estimating pre-automation time

Be realistic and consistent

Estimate the time an experienced team member would need to complete the workflow’s tasks manually. Don’t underestimate to make ROI look better - accurate estimates build stakeholder trust.

Consider the complete process

Include time for:

• Gathering necessary information
• Accessing required systems
• Performing each task
• Verifying completion
• Handling typical issues or retries
• Documentation or logging

Example estimates

Here are example pre-automation times for common workflow types. These are examples only. Your estimates should reflect your organization’s specific processes and environments.

Updating pre-automation time

When you update pre-automation time in Studio, only new jobs executed after the change will use the updated value. Jobs that have already completed will continue to use the previous pre-automation time value (or none, if it wasn’t set previously).

Implications:

• After updating pre-automation time, time saved calculations will gradually reflect the new value as new jobs execute
• Historical jobs will not be recalculated
• If you’re correcting a significantly inaccurate estimate, consider noting the change date for context when reviewing historical metrics

View pre-automation time in Insights

You can see which workflows have pre-automation time configured:

Summary Dashboard - Workflow Highlights table:

• The Pre-automation Time column shows the value from the most recent job
• Filter by Missing Pre-Automation Time to identify workflows that need configuration

At-a-Glance metrics - Time Saved:

• The Time Saved metric seen in the Summary Dashboard and Workflow Details is based on the pre-automation time set in Studio
• The Time Saved metric displays warnings if pre-automation configurations are missing

If pre-automation time is not set

When pre-automation time is not configured for a workflow:

• Time saved metric displays as empty (“--”) for that workflow
• The workflow appears when filtering by Missing Pre-Automation Time
• A Set Time link appears in the Pre-automation time column, directing you to Studio to configure the value
• All other metrics (completion rate, runtime, job counts) display normally

Should I set pre-automation time for child workflows?

Yes, configure pre-automation time for both root workflows and child workflows. Setting pre-automation time comprehensively provides accurate time saved calculations at all levels of your workflow hierarchy.

A child job’s pre-automation time does not impact the time saved calculation for its parent root job. Time saved for root jobs is calculated solely from the root workflow’s pre-automation time. Configure pre-automation time for child workflows to track their individual value independently.