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Toil and automation calculator
Estimate recurring work, net time recovered and the effort payback period for an automation.
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How this result is calculated
Toil is manual, repetitive operational work that can be automated, reacts to demand and leaves little lasting improvement. First identify such a task, then estimate its recurring effort. Monthly manual effort = runs per week × minutes per run × weeks per month ÷ 60. Net time recovered subtracts the remaining handling time and monthly automation maintenance. Payback divides the one-time build effort by positive net hours recovered each month.
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# Toil and automation calculator Tool defaults; replace with your settings before operational use. ## Review issues - Task runs per week: enter a whole number from 0 to 1000000000000. - Current minutes per run: enter a number from 0 to 1000000000000. - One-time build and rollout hours: enter a number from 0 to 1000000000000. ## Inputs Repeated task: Not entered Task runs per week: Not entered Current minutes per run: Not entered Minutes per run after automation: 0 Ongoing maintenance hours per month: 0 One-time build and rollout hours: Not entered Weeks per planning month: 4.345 Available team hours per month: Not entered ## Method Toil is manual, repetitive operational work that can be automated, reacts to demand and leaves little lasting improvement. First identify such a task, then estimate its recurring effort. Monthly manual effort = runs per week × minutes per run × weeks per month ÷ 60. Net time recovered subtracts the remaining handling time and monthly automation maintenance. Payback divides the one-time build effort by positive net hours recovered each month. The result is an effort estimate, not guaranteed financial savings. Review failure modes, exception volume, access controls and service value before choosing an automation. Some repetitive work is useful; classify the task before calling it toil. https://aiopssre.com/toil-calculator/
How it works
Toil is manual, repetitive operational work that can be automated, reacts to demand and leaves little lasting improvement. First identify such a task, then estimate its recurring effort. Monthly manual effort = runs per week × minutes per run × weeks per month ÷ 60. Net time recovered subtracts the remaining handling time and monthly automation maintenance. Payback divides the one-time build effort by positive net hours recovered each month.
Follow the example
Thirty twelve-minute tasks each week consume 26.07 hours per planning month. Reducing each task to two minutes and allowing three maintenance hours recovers 18.725 hours a month. A 24-hour implementation pays back in about 1.28 planning months if volume and effort stay the same.
What to account for
The result is an effort estimate, not guaranteed financial savings. Review failure modes, exception volume, access controls and service value before choosing an automation. Some repetitive work is useful; classify the task before calling it toil.