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Course 30 · Digital course 05

Automate Repetitive Work

Find worthwhile automation opportunities, map the logic, connect tools, control errors, and operate workflows safely.

Before you start

Download and unzip the Automation build starter pack from Resources. Open index.html in a current browser with JavaScript and file downloads; no account or installer is needed. The included README supplies all six lesson steps.

See everything you’ll need

Download and unzip · Current browser with JavaScript and file downloads · No external account. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

One working no-code automation with a process map, test evidence, human-review controls, error alerts, and an owner’s guide.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesWorking configurable local workflow, six-case CSV, exact outputs, recovery steps, export/restore and a simulated first-week scorecard.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Optional course overview

Watch an introduction.

This overview from Microsoft Power Automate introduces ideas you’ll practice in the lessons.

Watch directly on YouTube
Microsoft Power AutomatePower Automate TutorialsYouTube
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Knowledge workers, small teams, founders, and operators who repeat structured digital tasks and want reliable time savings without creating an invisible system.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Download and unzip the Automation build starter pack from Resources. Open index.html in a current browser with JavaScript and file downloads; no account or installer is needed. The included README supplies all six lesson steps.
  • Core practice uses supplied fictional CSV records and a working configurable local runner. The manual batch trigger writes to a local queue; it does not connect to an external calendar or send email.
  • Use test records with no sensitive personal, financial, health, client, or credential data until controls are approved.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

Deploy one working local no-code booking workflow using the supplied browser runner: baseline, trigger-input-action-output map, configured rules and mappings, six-case evidence, human-review and recovery paths, visible error alerts, exported restorable audit log, owner/rollback guide and a clearly labeled simulated first-week scorecard. Live external connections and an observed real week are optional extra fieldwork, not claimed by the local test.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria
  • A ranked automation opportunity table and a baseline for one selected process.
  • A trigger-to-output workflow map with field dictionary, rules, exceptions, and defined scope for the first working version.
  • A clean field sample, access matrix, data-handling note, and reusable test dataset.
  • A disabled but fully tested workflow with field mappings, six test cases, expected results, and defect log.
  • An exception design with approval rules, duplicate protection, alerts, recovery procedure, and fallback owner.
  • A working local release folder, restored-run test, simulated first-week scorecard, owner’s guide, maintenance calendar and improvement backlog.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Automate stable work

A clear, repeated, rules-based process is a stronger candidate than a rare task that changes every time.

02

Design failure first

Every workflow needs a known response when data is missing, an app is unavailable, permissions change, or the result is uncertain.

03

Keep consequential judgment human

Automation can prepare, route, and summarize, but high-impact decisions need appropriate review and accountability.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Trigger
The event or condition that starts an automated workflow.
Action
A step the automation performs after receiving valid input.
Field mapping
The explicit connection between a data field in one step or system and the field used in another.
Idempotency
A workflow property that prevents repeated processing from creating duplicate or conflicting results.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Find the right process to automate

    Select a frequent, stable, measurable workflow where automation will create more value than risk.

  2. 2
    25 min

    Map trigger, inputs, rules, and outputs

    Translate informal work into explicit states, decisions, data fields, and exceptions before configuring software.

  3. 3
    20 min

    Prepare data and access safely

    Clean the fields, permissions, service accounts, and test environment needed for reliable connections.

  4. 4
    40 min

    Build and test the first flow

    Implement the smallest useful automation and verify each transformation before enabling real records.

  5. 5
    37 min

    Add review, errors, and recovery

    Make failures visible, route uncertain work to a person, and prevent retries from creating damage.

  6. 6
    26 min

    Launch, monitor, and improve

    Release gradually, measure actual benefit, maintain ownership, and prevent silent decay as connected systems change.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Automation build starter pack

Working configurable local workflow, six-case CSV, exact outputs, recovery steps, export/restore and a simulated first-week scorecard.

Text worksheet

Your implementation worksheet

Setup, supplied steps, worked results and checks, plus space for your own implementation evidence.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

Microsoft Learn — Get started with Power Automate
Zapier — Get started with Zapier
Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one