5.2.5. Optimize and Automate
💡 First Principle: "Optimize and automate" says make work as effective as it can be before you automate it — because automating a wasteful process just produces waste faster, so optimization must come first.
Optimize and automate means resources of all types (people, technology, processes) should be used to their best effect. Optimize first: streamline and improve the work, removing waste and aligning it to value. Then automate: use technology to handle what can be handled without human intervention, freeing people for work that needs judgment. The order is deliberate and load-bearing.
⚠️ Exam Trap: The single most-tested point on this principle is the order. Automating before optimizing entrenches inefficiency. Any option suggesting "automate everything" or "automate first" contradicts the principle.
Reflection Question: Why does automating a broken or wasteful process often make the organization worse off than before?
