Automate a step that already happens the same way every time. If people decide differently each time, write the rule down before writing the code.
Where the time goes
Copying from an email into a CRM, from the CRM into a sheet, from the sheet into a chat. The mistake appears at the join, not inside one program. The person is transport between tools.
The boundary
Event, check, action. A form creates a deal, assigns an owner by a rule, and sends a notice. A person steps in for a judgement, an exception, or a conversation.
Do not automate a judgement you cannot see in the data. “Is this a serious client” is not a rule until you have signs: budget, request type, region.
Example
An incoming request is stored. A rule reads the city and the type of work, assigns a manager, opens a “call within an hour” task, and posts the card to the team chat. The manager does not retype fields. They call.
Keep a log of which rule fired. Otherwise nobody will remember, a month later, why the status changed.