# Automation decision framework

- Source: https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/automation-decision-framework
- Hub: AI & Business Automation

Pick what to automate first, then pick the tool. Most teams reverse that and pay for a platform that encodes chaos.

List three candidate loops. Score them. Automate the winner’s capture path, not all three.
Choose the platform after the winner is written down. Feature lists are how you buy the wrong seat.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    C["Candidates"] --> S["Score"]
    S --> W["One winner"]
    W --> T["Tool"]
    T --> B["Build capture only"]
```
*Score, then tool, then a small build. Not the other way around.*

## Rank three candidates

Score 1 (painful but rare) to 5 (daily, rule-based, currently copy-paste). Highest total goes first. Ties break toward the loop that touches money or a client.

| Candidate | Volume | Rule-clarity | Time saved | Risk if wrong | Total |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Inbound lead intake |  |  |  |  |  |
| Publish / ship checklist |  |  |  |  |  |
| Invoice or payment chase |  |  |  |  |  |

- [ ] Winner named in one sentence
  Example: New /contact row to a Sheet, ping Simeon, same-day human reply.
- [ ] The other two parked with a date, not “someday”

## Then pick the platform

n8n, Zapier, and Make can all POST a form to a sheet. The difference is where the work lives, how you handle secrets, and whether you will outgrow the task model. Deep comparison is in the guide. This table is the pick.

| If this is true | Start here | Do not start here |
| --- | --- | --- |
| You want the workflow as a file you can version, self-host, or inspect | n8n | A black-box zap you cannot diff |
| Non-technical owners must edit mapping in a vendor UI this week | Zapier or Make | A half-finished n8n instance nobody will open |
| The step needs a large language model (LLM) draft | Any of the three, plus a human-in-the-loop (HITL) pause | Silent send from the model |
| Secrets, production data, or a kill switch matter | n8n on infra you control, or a vendor with env isolation you understand | Keys pasted into a node and screenshotted into Slack |

- [ ] Platform written next to the winner (one name)
- [ ] One line on why the other two lost, so you do not reopen the debate next month

## Build shape (first two weeks)

- [ ] Validate, store, notify are deterministic (no model)
- [ ] If a model is involved, it proposes JSON. Schema still decides pass/fail
- [ ] Send, charge, delete, or post: named human, timestamped
- [ ] Global pause exists (workflow inactive or env flag) before the first live run

## Related guides

- [n8n vs Zapier vs Make](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/n8n-vs-zapier-vs-make)
- [Deterministic workflows vs LLM agents](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/deterministic-workflows-vs-llm-agents)
- [SOPs before automation](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/sops-before-automation)