Digitizing processes: 7 steps to start without chaos

What does digitizing processes mean?

Digitization sounds more complicated than it is. At its core, it means that a task or process is moved to a digital environment. The task remains the same; only the format changes. Automation goes a step further. In this case, the task itself is handled by software, so you no longer have to perform it manually. Consider an order processing system that currently runs via email and Excel. Someone receives an order, enters the details, sends a confirmation, and schedules the delivery. Those are four tasks that a well-designed system handles in seconds—without errors, without delays, and without anyone having to think about it.

Digitization vs. digital transformation: what's the difference?

Digitization is a concrete step. Digital transformation is a direction. When you digitize an approval process, you automate a single workflow. When you fundamentally redesign the way your organization delivers value using technology, you are engaged in digital transformation. One is part of the other.

What are the three types of business processes?

Core processes deliver direct value to clients: sales, production, and service delivery. Support processes make this possible: HR, finance, and IT management. Governance processes keep everything on track: strategy development, quality management, and compliance. Digital transformation is valuable in all three categories. Our advice: start where the day-to-day challenges are greatest.

Why start now?

Procrastination feels safe, but it comes at a cost you won’t see on an invoice. Every week that a manual process continues to run, you pay twice: the direct costs of execution and the hidden costs of errors, delays, and frustration among the people doing the work. The employee who spends two hours a day retyping orders into a system isn’t doing it because it’s fun. That time could be spent on work that actually adds value: helping clients, improving processes, thinking about the next step. And there’s something else: the longer you wait, the wider the gap becomes between how your organization works and how it could work. Organizations that start now build a lead that will be hard to catch up with later.

7 steps to digitize processes.

This isn’t some theoretical model from a management book. This is how we do things at Cube, based on nearly 15 years of building process management solutions for organizations that once started out using just Excel.

Step 1: Identify which processes are currently performed manually.

Don’t sit at your desk brainstorming. Go talk to people. Two hours with the people who do the work every day will yield more results than a week of desk research. Don’t ask what’s in the process manual; ask what actually happens every day. Which tasks are repeated? Where do people enter data? Where is the same data tracked in three different places? Those are your starting points.

Step 2: Prioritize based on impact and feasibility.

Not every process deserves the same level of urgency. Use two axes: impact (how much time, money, or quality do you gain?) and feasibility (how complex is the digital solution?). Start at the top right of that diagram. A task that takes ten employees two hours a day has a different priority than a task that takes one employee ten minutes a week. It sounds logical, but we regularly see organizations start with the easiest process instead of the most valuable one.

Step 3: Map out the current workflow.

Before you build anything, you need to understand exactly how it works right now—including the exceptions, the workarounds, and the parts that have been tolerated for years. A process flow on a whiteboard often provides more insight than a detailed specification. At Cube, we often start with an impact session: together with the people who know the process, we map out the actual flow and identify where the greatest gains lie.

Step 4: Choose the right tool.

This is where things most often go wrong: choosing software before the problem is clear. The proper sequence is always: first understand what you want to digitize, then decide how. Sometimes a configurable SaaS platform is the right choice. But if the process is truly unique to your organization, or if integrations with existing systems are complex, custom software development is the better route. The difference lies in the question: does your process fit the software, or does the software need to fit your process?

Step 5: Build in stages, not all at once.

An initial version with core functionality. Testing with real users. Refining and expanding. At Cube, we work with iterative sprints: delivering working software every two weeks, so we never spend months building something that ultimately doesn’t meet real-world needs. That may sound like a minor detail, but it’s exactly the difference between a system that gets used and one that sits in a corner gathering dust. See also our approach to automating business processes.

Step 6: Test it with the people who use it every day.

The people on the front lines know the edge cases, the frustrations, and the moments when a system lets them down. Test early, test broadly, and listen without an agenda. The best improvements rarely come from a backlog. They come from a conversation with someone who says, “But what do I do if an order is already halfway through and the client calls to change something?” Scenarios like that make or break software.

Step 7: Roll it out and keep improving.

Digitization isn’t a project with an end date. Software changes, processes evolve, and your organization grows. Plan ahead for how you’ll measure usage, who will be responsible for ongoing development, and how you’ll adjust if reality deviates from the plan. This is exactly what we at Cube call the “Evolve” phase: a good digital process gets better the longer it runs.

Common mistakes when digitizing processes.

Starting too big. Organizations that try to digitize everything at once get bogged down in complexity. Start small, prove that it works, and then scale up. A single well-digitized process builds more confidence than an ambitious plan that stalls halfway through.

Involving users too late. Software built without the input of the people who will use it every day won’t get used. Or worse: it will be used alongside extra workarounds, meaning you’ve gained nothing in the end.

Focusing on the tool rather than the process. If you install software without rethinking the process, you often end up with an expensive replacement for Excel. The value lies not in the technology itself, but in designing the underlying workflow more intelligently.

Do not designate an owner. Every digital process needs someone who is responsible for maintaining, improving, and monitoring it. Without an owner, any implementation will lose momentum within a year.

How Cube Digitizes Processes

In practice, digitisation is all about organising processes more intelligently. Not by changing everything at once, but by taking targeted steps where the greatest benefits lie. The following three examples show how organisations have digitised their processes and what concrete benefits this brings in day-to-day practice