How to choose what to automate first

The best first automation is boring, frequent and clearly owned. Frequency gives you data. Boring means the rules are stable. Clear ownership means someone can tell you when the output is wrong.

Score each candidate workflow on volume, hours consumed, error cost and how well documented the process is. Anything scoring low on documentation is a process project first, not an automation project.

Never automate a process nobody can explain. You'll simply produce wrong outcomes faster and with less visibility.

Ship the smallest end-to-end slice, monitor it, and only then widen the scope.