Start with one observable task
Describe a trigger, an input, an action, and a finished output. “Improve operations” is too broad to evaluate. “Check an incoming lead for duplicates and assign an owner” gives you something that can be tested.
Measure active effort
Record the number of occurrences and the total human minutes per occurrence. Waiting for a reply is elapsed time, not necessarily labor. If three people contribute to the same task, add their actual minutes rather than multiplying the whole task by three.
Look at rules and exceptions together
A repetitive task may still depend on judgment. Write down both the routine path and the situations where people diverge from it. A process with unstable rules is usually a mapping problem before it is an automation problem.
Choose a small success condition
Define what a correct result looks like, how errors are detected, and who maintains the process. Estimate review and maintenance effort before presenting gross time saved as a net benefit.
The best first workflow is easy to describe, safe to reverse, and owned by someone.