Intelligent document processing promises transformative benefits: faster processing, fewer errors, and liberated staff time. Yet according to recent industry data, nearly 40% of document automation projects fail to deliver expected results, and 23% are abandoned within the first year. While these mistakes might seem obvious, they are still the common denominator in failed projects. Identifying and planning for them becomes a necessary first step in any automation project. As the old saying goes, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Document Processing Mistake #1: Automating Broken Processes
The Problem
This is the most common and costly Document Processing Mistake: taking inefficient manual processes and simply digitizing them. If your current process is confusing, redundant, or poorly structured, automation will only make you fail faster.
The Warning Signs
Your team describes the current process as "complicated" or "it depends on who you ask."
Different departments have different versions of the "official" process.
The process includes steps that exist "just because that's how we've always done it."
Frequent exceptions and manual workarounds.
How to Avoid It
This is where documenting and asking questions about the current process come into play. If there are disagreements about how a process should work, get in a room and figure out why. Document your process so that you have something to come back to when issues arise. Try to eliminate unnecessary steps and apply the 80/20 general rule. If it doesn’t add value or manage risks, then it shouldn’t be automated.
Mistake #2: Boiling the Ocean
The Problem
Organizations try to automate everything at once—every document type, every department, every use case. This creates overwhelming complexity, extended timelines, exhausted teams, and stakeholder fatigue. By the time you're ready to launch, business needs have changed, or leadership has moved on.
The Warning Signs
Project timeline exceeds 12 months for initial deployment
The requirements document includes "and also we should..." multiple times
The phrase "while we're at it" appears in planning discussions
Requirements keep changing, and new priorities arise frequently.
Every department demands that its documents be included in phase one
How to Avoid It
Start with the most impactful places. How is that determined? It might be the processes and documents that get used the most. Additionally, you might look at the high-value workflows and data that provide the most ROI for your customers. Impactful might also be defined as the things that cause your users the most pain. The processes with the most manual touchpoints or that cause the most delays or errors may be the most impactful. Document and understand the project's goal, so it guides who gets priority in these conversations.
Mistake #3: Setting It and Forgetting It
The Problem
Organizations treat document process automation as a one-time project rather than an ongoing program. After launch, there's no governance, no optimization, and no evolution. Templates become outdated, workflows drift from business needs, and users develop workarounds. The system slowly degrades until it provides minimal value.
The Warning Signs
No one is assigned ongoing ownership after implementation
No regular review cycles scheduled
Performance metrics tracked only in the first month
Users submit feedback with no response or action
"That's just how the system works" becomes an acceptable answer
How to Avoid It
Establishing ownership of your automation strategy becomes key. Figure out who needs to fill the roles of understanding the processes, maintaining the processes, ensuring compliance, understanding integration points, and fixing any issues that may crop up. This may be one person or several. Create regular review sessions and feedback loops between stakeholders. Automation is not a project; it's a practice. Treat it accordingly.
Bottom line
Your automation journey will have challenges; every implementation does. But by identifying and planning for these seven pitfalls before they derail your project, you dramatically increase your odds of success. At Tromba Technologies, we've guided countless organizations through successful document automation implementations by helping them navigate these common mistakes before they become costly problems. Learn from the mistakes of others, and you won't have to make them yourself.
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