Many Local Authorities are looking to Automation technologies such as RPA and AI to:
address immediate operational pressures
deliver measurable efficiency and quality gains
enable more sustainable service models
support long-term digital and organisational transformation
To maximise these outcomes, councils need prepare end-to-end processes for automation by removing waste, reducing complexity, and identify clear, evidence-based automation opportunities.
West Lothian Council, an Engage Process customer in the South East of Scotland carried out a programme of work to develop “automation ready” processes and address the above issues.
The challenge the council faced was that processes were characterised by:
Manual data handling and clerical effort
Fragmented workflows across teams
Limited visibility of performance and bottlenecks
Automation initiatives starting without process maturity
This resulted in slow delivery, high effort, and unclear return on automation investment.
West Lothian adopted a structured optimisation and automation-readiness model, using the Engage Process platform, underpinned by service design and Lean principles.
The programme was structured as follows:
1. Culture & Environment Approach
Agile delivery approach
Alignment to the council’s Performance & Transformation Strategy (2023-2028)
Adoption of the Scottish Approach to Service Design (Discover – Define – Develop – Deliver)
2. “As is” Process Discovery
End to end process mapping
Identification of manual tasks and handoffs
Visual process flows supported by time, cost and volume data
This created a “Single Version of the Truth” for how services actually operated.
3. Process Evaluation & Insight
Processes were evaluated using measurable indicators as follows:
Automation readiness score
Suitability & complexity rating
Time saved (hours per year)
Cost & FTE impact
Visual dashboards and statistics revealed where automation would deliver the greatest value.
4. “To be” Process Design
Simplified standardised workflows were mapped
Removal of non-value adding steps
Clear “As is” versus “To be” comparison
These steps ensured that processes were designed for Automation and not just to be digitised.
These 4 steps led to the development of the Automation Journey Framework which is a cross-functional governed automation lifecycle which looks like this:
- Idea & Qualification
- High Level Assessment
- “As is” Analysis
- Solution Design & Development
- User Acceptance Testing
- Live Deployment & Benefits Realisation
This framework ensured that only optimised, automation-ready processes progressed into development.
What were the outcome and benefits from this programme of work?
Clear identification of automation candidates
Reduced process complexity and duplication
Improved data quality and process transparency
Stronger business cases for automation investment
A repeatable, scalable model for future automation initiatives
Crucially, the organisation moved from “automation as a technical exercise” to “automation as a service-led transformation capability”
Key Lessons Learned by West Lothian were as follows:
Automating poor processes amplifies failure
Process insight must precede technology decisions
Service design and automation are mutually reinforcing
Visual models accelerate stakeholder understanding and buy-in
By investing in process optimisation and digital readiness first, West Lothian Council established a robust foundation for sustainable automation under the Government 4.0 agenda—delivering clarity, confidence, and measurable improvement before deploying technology.
Learn more about how 80+ councils in the UK are benefiting from Process Improvement and creating cultures of continuous improvement by visiting the Engage Process UK Local Gov website here