by Randy Wagner How much automation is the right amount? How much is too much? Automating parts of the lifecycle, or just our CM work, can help steer our customers onto the right path, avoid pitfalls, or simply save time and effort. Many things can be done but we need to look at what should realistically be done and identify what shouldn't. It's good for our customers and good for us. The number one thought to keep in mind is that automation will only ever be as good as the process it automates. Many of us have done some scripting, or a lot of scripting, in order to reduce our own work load, or our customers' workloads. It's easy to learn a scripting language and go merrily down the path of automation. Henry Ford's moving assembly line was precisely about doing this. But before we expend the automation effort, we should review our process to ensure that what we are automating is right for our customers.