We read your workflow before we write a single line of code
Most automation fails not because the code is wrong — but because it automates the wrong thing. We start with a forensic evaluation of your actual processes, co-built with your team using AI-assisted analysis. The result is automation that fits how you work, not how we imagined you work.
The process
Forensic Process Evaluation
We map your actual workflow — not the documented version, the real one. Who does what, in what order, where the handoffs are, where time actually goes. AI tools help us process and pattern-match, but the insight comes from sitting with your team and watching how work moves.
Co-designed Automation Architecture
Based on what we found — not assumptions. We design the automation together with your team, so they understand it from day one. No black-box scripts that only we can maintain.
Frictionless Rollout
Because the automation was shaped around how your team actually works, adoption is smooth. We train, document, and stay available — the goal is tools your team runs confidently and independently.
What the evaluation typically uncovers
We only automate what the evaluation confirms is worth automating. These are patterns that show up repeatedly — each one has a deep-dive in the blog.
Educational Book Reedition
The content from a printed textbook edition exists as a PDF — not a structured document. Extracting every question, answer option, instruction, and label into a formatted spreadsheet for editors to work from can take a week per book, done manually.
A custom extraction script parses the PDF text layer, classifies each content block by its position, font, and size attributes — question stems, response options, labels, footnotes — and outputs a clean spreadsheet structured to match the editorial team's workflow.
The reedition team starts from an editor-ready spreadsheet instead of a PDF. A week of manual extraction becomes an overnight batch process.
Educational Material Layout via IDML
Educational InDesign templates follow strict style logic: response lines use a specific paragraph style, style names are prefixed by content hierarchy, numbered and bulleted lists follow different rules, and highlighted terms need a character style applied on top of the paragraph style. Applying all of this by hand while placing content from a spreadsheet is slow and inconsistent across chapters.
A script reads the source spreadsheet, opens the IDML template, and places content frame by frame — resolving style application through a rule engine: response line detection, prefix mapping, numeric vs. bulleted list logic, and inline bold character style overrides for key terms. The document comes out fully styled.
A chapter that takes a designer a full day to lay out comes out of the script in minutes, with styles applied correctly throughout — no drift between chapters, no overrides missed.
Read the guideInDesign Package Sync via Google Drive
Design files live in Google Drive, organised in a strict folder hierarchy. Designers manually download InDesign packages (document plus all linked assets and fonts), work locally, then re-upload the finished package. With multiple designers working in parallel, files end up in the wrong folders and the remote hierarchy breaks.
A script authenticates with the Google Drive API, mirrors the assigned project folders locally before work begins, and downloads only the relevant packages. After work, it packages the InDesign document and uploads it back to the exact remote path it came from — preserving the folder hierarchy on both ends.
Designers pull assignments and push finished work with a single script run. The remote folder structure stays intact regardless of how many people are working simultaneously.
Batch PDF Export with Version Control
InDesign files are organised across project subfolders by chapter or deliverable. At export time, someone opens each file, applies the company PDF preset, constructs the versioned filename, and places the output in the right folder. With 50+ files, this is a half-day job — and naming or folder errors require manual correction afterwards.
A script walks the full project folder tree, finds every InDesign file, applies the company export preset, generates the versioned filename from the naming convention (project code, chapter reference, version number), and saves each PDF to its corresponding output folder — creating missing folders automatically.
A 50-file export batch that used to take half a day completes in minutes. Versioning is enforced by the script, not whoever happened to be doing the export — output is always where it should be, named correctly.
Read the guideNot sure what's worth automating?
The evaluation is where we start. Bring us your workflow — we'll map it with you using AI-assisted analysis, identify the real friction points, and tell you honestly what's automatable, what isn't, and in what order to tackle it.
No commitment. No sales pitch.