Salesforce isn't just automation — it's an opportunity to rethink processes. Done right, you don't just digitise what exists; you improve it.
Process analysis steps:
1. Map the current state.
- Walk through the process with users. Whiteboard / BPMN diagram.
- Capture every step, every handoff, every decision point, every system touched.
- Note how long each step takes and how often it loops or branches.
2. Identify pain points.
- Where do users complain?
- Where does the process break?
- Where are workarounds (Excel, email, sticky notes)?
- Where does work get duplicated?
3. Calculate cost of pain.
- 5 minutes per case × 1000 cases per day × 250 days = significant.
- Customer dissatisfaction costs.
- Opportunity cost of bottleneck.
4. Imagine the future state.
Don't just lift-and-shift. Ask:
- Should this step exist at all? Many processes have "we've always done it" steps that add no value.
- Can this be automated? Most Yes/No decisions and simple field updates are automatable.
- Can this be eliminated by data quality? "Manually look up customer" disappears with proper integration.
- Can this be parallelised? Some sequential steps could run concurrently.
- Who really needs to be involved? Approval chains often have legacy approvers who add no value.
5. Validate with users.
Show the future-state to users. Let them poke holes. Adjust.
6. Quantify improvement.
- Cycle time reduction.
- Error rate reduction.
- User satisfaction improvement.
7. Implement deliberately.
The Salesforce build implements the future-state, not the current. Includes change management because users need to learn the new flow.
Common patterns to fix:
- "And then they email it to..." — replace with automation or related-record creation.
- Shadow Excel — replace with custom object + report.
- Approval-by-walking-around — replace with Approval Process or Flow Orchestration.
- Multiple data entry — integrate sources of truth.
- No-data decisions — add reporting where decisions are made.
Senior consultant move: don't be afraid to redesign. The biggest value of a Salesforce implementation often comes from the process redesign, not the platform itself.
But: respect the business. Some "inefficiencies" exist for reasons (compliance, customer commitments, organisational realities). Probe the why before suggesting elimination.