The best automation usually starts as irritation, not architecture. A command takes seven steps. A report needs the same cleanup every week. A deployment checklist has one line everyone forgets. That is enough signal to automate.
Small scripts win because they stay close to the work. They do not need a platform name. They need predictable input, honest failure, and a way to be deleted when the process changes.
Keep the loop short
My favorite workflow tools are boring on purpose: read a file, transform the thing, print exactly what changed, exit with the right code. The operator should never have to wonder whether the tool succeeded.
run-checks
if [ "$?" -ne 0 ]; then
echo "stop: evidence missing"
fiAutomation taste
Automate the repeated decision, not the entire job. The goal is not to remove thinking. The goal is to spend thinking on the part that actually changes.