Start with a business problem, not a demonstration of a tool. The best first use case is important enough to matter but bounded enough to understand, test, and operate.

Look for repeated operational friction

Good candidates usually involve frequent manual transfer of information, predictable delays, recurring errors, status chasing, document handling, or decisions that depend on gathering the same context every time.

Score value and feasibility separately

Estimate the process volume, time consumed, error cost, customer impact, revenue effect, and management risk. Then assess data availability, system access, rule clarity, exception variety, stakeholder ownership, and security constraints. A valuable process with poor feasibility may need preparation before automation.

Define a measurable baseline

Record current cycle time, response time, backlog, error or rework rate, completion rate, cost per case, or another measure the process owner trusts. Without a baseline, a successful demonstration can still fail to prove value.

Choose an accountable owner

The owner must understand the process, approve operating rules, resolve exceptions, support user adoption, and decide whether the implementation should expand. Technology ownership alone is not enough.

Keep the first scope bounded

Select one trigger, one primary outcome, a limited system set, explicit exception paths, and a clear group of users. Design the architecture so the solution can grow, but do not make the first release responsible for solving every related problem.

A useful first-use-case test

Does the process happen often enough to measure improvement?
Can the business describe what a correct result looks like?
Are the required data and systems available?
Can sensitive or high-impact decisions remain with a person?
Is there one owner who will operate and improve the workflow?

If the answer is yes to most of these questions, the process is ready for focused discovery.