Why the question you ask before automation determines whether automation succeeds
By Jon Hansen | Procurement Insights | January 2026
Since 1998, my starting point has never been “How can technology fix this?” but “What human and system dynamics are actually producing the outcome?”
In one engagement, I was asked to automate procurement and improve next-day delivery. Had I done exactly what was requested—applied technology to speed the existing process—I would have succeeded technically and failed fundamentally.
Instead, I asked a question that seemed unrelated: What time of day do orders actually come in?
That question exposed internal and external agent dynamics—urgency patterns, behavioral workarounds, and decision timing—that no system redesign would have revealed. Once those dynamics were understood, the right solution became clear—and only then did automation make sense.
The Principle
Technology is not a solution-creation instrument. It is a solution enabler.
Phase 0 exists to ensure we are automating the right thing, not just automating faster.
Without that diagnostic step, technology doesn’t solve problems—it simply accelerates misalignment.
The Pattern That Hasn’t Changed
The tools evolved. The error didn’t.
The Question Before the Technology
Every framework, every vendor demo, every implementation roadmap assumes the organization knows what problem it’s solving.
Phase 0 asks: Do you?
And if the answer is no, no amount of automation, AI, or digital transformation will save the initiative.
That’s not pessimism. That’s 27 years of documented pattern recognition.
Jon W. Hansen Founder, Procurement Insights Creator, RAM (1998–Present) | Hansen Models | RAM 2025
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Procurement Insights
Technology Is Not a Solution — It’s an Enabler
Posted on January 18, 2026
0
Why the question you ask before automation determines whether automation succeeds
By Jon Hansen | Procurement Insights | January 2026
Since 1998, my starting point has never been “How can technology fix this?” but “What human and system dynamics are actually producing the outcome?”
In one engagement, I was asked to automate procurement and improve next-day delivery. Had I done exactly what was requested—applied technology to speed the existing process—I would have succeeded technically and failed fundamentally.
Instead, I asked a question that seemed unrelated: What time of day do orders actually come in?
That question exposed internal and external agent dynamics—urgency patterns, behavioral workarounds, and decision timing—that no system redesign would have revealed. Once those dynamics were understood, the right solution became clear—and only then did automation make sense.
The Principle
Technology is not a solution-creation instrument. It is a solution enabler.
Phase 0 exists to ensure we are automating the right thing, not just automating faster.
Without that diagnostic step, technology doesn’t solve problems—it simply accelerates misalignment.
The Pattern That Hasn’t Changed
The tools evolved. The error didn’t.
The Question Before the Technology
Every framework, every vendor demo, every implementation roadmap assumes the organization knows what problem it’s solving.
Phase 0 asks: Do you?
And if the answer is no, no amount of automation, AI, or digital transformation will save the initiative.
That’s not pessimism. That’s 27 years of documented pattern recognition.
Jon W. Hansen Founder, Procurement Insights Creator, RAM (1998–Present) | Hansen Models | RAM 2025
-30-
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