For organisations considering implementing a Process-as-Code pilot project, it is important to understand two questions before approving the contract. First, what will the organisation practically gain as a result of the pilot project? Second, which PPPA costs related to the implementation of the specific pilot project does the organisation itself cover?
The answer cannot be found solely in the number of hours worked or in technology costs. A Process-as-Code pilot is a practical project of limited scope in which an organisation's knowledge of its processes, decisions and operating rules is transformed into a structured, verifiable and technologically usable form.
For this reason, the decision on a pilot project should be assessed not only as a service purchase, but also as an investment in the organisation's ability to manage and reuse its own knowledge.
What Process-as-Code means
In many organisations, essential knowledge about processes is located in different places. Some of it is described in procedures and internal regulations, some is embedded in information systems, and some exists only in employees' experience.
Such fragmentation makes it difficult to review processes, automate them, and apply them consistently. It also creates the risk that similar situations lead to different decisions, or that essential knowledge is lost when employees or external service providers change.
The Process-as-Code approach helps describe an organisation's processes, decision logic, rules, roles and information flows in a structured, machine-readable form. Such a description can be reviewed, improved, used in technological integrations, and adapted for future automation or AI solutions.
This does not mean that the entire process is immediately fully automated. The task of the pilot project is to test, on a limited and controllable scale, how the approach works in the specific organisation's environment and what practical value it can generate.
The pilot project's result is not just a document
In traditional process analysis, the end result is often a description, a diagram, or a set of recommendations. These materials can be valuable, but using them in information systems usually requires additional interpretation and development.
The goal of a Process-as-Code pilot is to create a structured result that can be reused. Depending on the process chosen and the scope of the pilot project, the result may include:
- a refined process structure and its boundaries;
- a description of roles, actions and responsibilities;
- formalised decision-making logic;
- a structure of business rules and exceptions;
- technological integration requirements;
- governance and change-control principles;
- technical and methodological documentation;
- a foundation for future automation or AI use.
These results form a body of organisational knowledge that can be maintained, expanded and used in future projects. In this article, the term "knowledge asset" is used in a strategic sense. It does not assert that the pilot project's result should, in every case, be recognised as an intangible asset for accounting purposes. Such classification must be assessed separately, in line with the specific circumstances and applicable requirements.
Why structured knowledge matters for the use of AI
Artificial intelligence solutions can process large volumes of information, but on their own they do not know a specific organisation's procedures, responsibilities, exceptions and decision-making conditions.
If this knowledge is not precisely described and managed, the results produced by an AI solution can be inconsistent, incomplete, or difficult to explain. For this reason, technology alone is not enough for trustworthy AI use. A quality layer of organisational knowledge is also needed.
Process-as-Code helps build this layer. Artificial intelligence can then use the organisation's defined processes and rules, rather than becoming the sole place where this knowledge is interpreted or stored.
At the same time, Process-as-Code is not tied to a single AI tool or technology provider. Structured organisational knowledge can retain its usefulness even if the platforms or technologies used change in the future.
Why the organisation covers the pilot project's costs
Each pilot project is carried out for the needs of a specific organisation. During it, the organisation's chosen processes are analysed, its experts are involved, its operating rules are refined, and results usable by it are prepared.
PPPA's costs arise from work directly related to the specific pilot project. This may include process research, interviews and working sessions, process and decision modelling, preparation of the technical architecture, solution configuration, integration work, testing, documentation, and project management.
For this reason, the organisation's cost coverage is not a fee for an abstract initiative. It is compensation for the preparation, implementation and results of that specific organisation's pilot project.
The precise scope of work, responsibilities, deliverables, cost-coverage arrangements and other conditions are set out in each pilot project's contract.
How the pilot project's costs are justified
So that the assessment is not based on a single viewpoint alone, it is useful to examine the pilot project's costs from three mutually complementary perspectives.
1. The work required to implement the project
First, the amount of work needed to achieve the defined pilot project results is assessed. This takes into account the number and complexity of the chosen processes, the range of parties involved, the quality of existing documentation, technical integration needs, testing, documentation, and project management.
This perspective helps confirm that the costs correspond to the work actually to be carried out and the competence required.
2. Comparison with market alternatives
Second, an assessment is made of which competencies the organisation would need to procure separately if it tried to achieve a similar result using several services or providers.
Such work may require process analysis, business architecture, technical design, integration, data and AI expertise, as well as governance and documentation development. The comparison makes it possible to assess the pilot project as a set of interrelated work.
3. Value created for the organisation
Third, an assessment is made of the practical value the pilot project's results can create for the organisation. This may take the form of shorter process execution time, less manual work, more consistent decisions, better traceability, lower risk of knowledge loss, and easier future technology adoption.
The benefits depend on the process chosen, the starting situation, the organisation's involvement, and how the pilot project's results are used after the project is completed.
Using the three perspectives together helps decision-makers verify whether the project's costs are proportionate to the amount of work, market alternatives, and the organisation's expected benefit.
What long-term value a pilot can create
The pilot project's immediate benefit is the review and structuring of a specific process. However, some of the value may arise later.
The organisation can reuse the process models, rules, terminology, integration principles and documentation that were created. This can reduce the need to re-explain the same operating principles in every new digitalisation project.
Structured knowledge can also help:
- retain essential expert experience;
- standardise the application of processes across different organisational units;
- identify process gaps more quickly;
- prepare for automation projects;
- improve the traceability of decisions;
- reduce dependence on individual employees or suppliers;
- build a safer foundation for AI use.
This value does not arise automatically. It depends on the suitability of the process chosen, the information available, the involvement of the organisation's experts, and the ability to maintain the results created.
What to assess before approving the contract
Before making a decision, it is advisable for the organisation's management, and its finance, legal and procurement specialists, to make sure there are clear answers to the following questions:
- What problem or development need will the pilot project address?
- Why is the chosen process suitable for a pilot?
- What specific results and deliverables are planned?
- How will it be determined whether the pilot has succeeded?
- Which organisational experts, data and documents will be needed?
- How will the organisation maintain and develop the resulting body of knowledge after the pilot?
A positive decision on a pilot project does not mean a promise to immediately automate the entire organisation. It means a deliberate choice to test, on a limited scale, whether the organisation's process and decision knowledge can be turned into a structured and reusable form.
To assess the suitability of Process-as-Code for a specific organisation, the possible pilot process, and the necessary preparation, we invite you to contact PPPA. Before the contract is concluded, the pilot project's scope, results, responsibilities and cost-coverage conditions are clarified and agreed individually in the contract.
Is your organisation considering a Process-as-Code pilot project?