What is operational automation? We have organized the structures, screens, and priorities that often get stuck when first applying a design that people do not do every time, based on a non-major level. We have organized key standards, common mistakes, inspection points, and next actions in one place so that you can directly attach them to the actual planning and execution flow, so apply them right away.
What is operational automation? Designing to avoid having people do it every time. is the main topic of this guide. If you are applying What is operational automation? Designing to avoid having people do it every time. in a real project, start with the structure and checks below.
This article is organized based on what is operational automation and the points that often get stuck when attaching a design that prevents people from doing it every time to the actual work flow.
It is safer to check the current environment and official documents before actual application.
What is operational automation? Topics such as designing things that humans don’t have to do every time. In operational practice, the real work begins after deployment. Elements such as servers, logs, automation, and security are the basis for ensuring that the service does not stop even though it may seem less flashy than development. Operational automation concept to reduce repetitive tasks
Why this topic is important
The reason this topic is important is not simply knowing the theory. Beginners see operations as a side task to development, but the real sticking points are often the execution environment, repetitive tasks, and failure response sequences. If you face it without any standards, you will keep encountering the same problems again and again. In particular, if you look at this topic late, it may seem good at first, but the further you go, the more difficult it becomes to judge, and the cost of revision also increases.
Points often missed by beginners
The points that beginners often miss are quite similar. Limitations of manual operation / Tasks that require automation / Items such as automation of distribution, automation of backups, and automation of cleanup tasks usually pop up late in the middle of the work unless they are written down separately. Then, the standards initially set are shaken, and the same explanation is often repeated or the structure is reversed.
It becomes much easier if you organize it like this
When dealing with this topic, just writing down ‘things that need to be decided right away’ and ‘things that can be added later’ will make the overall flow much more stable.
In fact, it will be much easier to organize if you check it like below. This list is not intended to be a professional document, but should be thought of as a minimum standard to avoid missing during an actual project.
- Limitations of manual operation
- Tasks that require automation
- Automate deployment, automate backup, automate cleanup tasks
- Automation also requires inspection
Ultimately, the important criteria
Ultimately, the important thing is not to relegate this topic to a separate issue. Whether it’s planning, promotion, operations, or maintenance, if you set a standard early on, you’ll be much less likely to repeat the same problems later. If you have a service you’re working on today, just writing this topic down as a checklist can make the next decision much easier.
In the next article, it would be natural to continue organizing automatic backup, automatic cleanup, and automatic execution with Cron.
One additional thing to keep in mind is that this is not a topic to be studied in isolation, but rather a baseline that must be continually checked within the actual workflow. It’s okay to start with short notes at first, but this will allow you to update more frequently. The important thing is not to write perfect sentences, but to make sure you don’t get lost when you look at them later.
Practice check questions
The following questions are sufficient to check immediately after reading this article.
- In my current project, what items have already been set for this topic and what items are still empty?
- In this version, did you distinguish between what needs to be decided now and what can be postponed until later?
- Have you left this standard in a document or checklist so that it can be viewed repeatedly in the next task?
As an easy example,
For example, if you manually download backup files, clear cache, and clean logs every week, problems can arise the moment someone forgets. Operational automation is the process of automatically running these repetitive tasks according to a set flow.
Quick checklist for What is operational automation? Designing to avoid having people do it every time.
Use this checklist before you apply What is operational automation? Designing to avoid having people do it every time. in an actual post or product flow.
- Is the first action obvious as soon as the user lands on the page?
- Are intermediate steps simple enough that buttons and explanations do not overlap?
- Does the result naturally lead to a next action instead of a dead end?
- Could you explain the structure again later without adding unnecessary screens?
Related posts
- Where should I start if the app doesn’t open after deployment?
- Set automatic backup, automatic cleanup, and autorun with Cron
Things to verify before you apply it
- Tool UI and function configuration may vary depending on the time, so it is safer to check again based on the current version.
- Although this may work well for small examples, in projects with large existing code bases, the scope of modifications can quickly become large if the structure is not broken down first.
