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How to Turn Your Automation Idea into an RPA Workflow

Sophie avatar
Written by Sophie
Updated over 2 weeks ago

If you’re new to RPA (Robotic Process Automation), you’ve probably had a thought like this:

“I know what I want to automate... but I have no idea how to turn that idea into something an app can do.”

You’re not alone.

One of the biggest hurdles for beginners is translating a real-world task into a step-by-step workflow that an automation app can understand and execute. It’s not that your idea is too complex — it’s that you haven’t yet learned to think like an automation app.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to bridge that gap. You’ll learn how to:

  • Break your automation ideas into logical steps

  • Identify what an app needs to see, decide, and do

  • Get ready to build your very first automation app

To make it concrete, we’ll use a simple but relatable example: automatically liking a video on TikTok. Let’s get started!

What Does “Turning an Idea into a Workflow” Really Mean?

At its core, RPA is about giving a machine clear, unambiguous instructions.

You, as a human, may look at a web page and instantly know what to do:

“This video looks cool, let me hit Like.”

But an app? It doesn’t have intuition or context. It needs specifics. You have to spell things out:

  • Where is the Like button?

  • What makes it count as “already liked”?

  • What should the app do if the button is already active? What if it’s not?

Turning an idea into a workflow means bridging this gap between human intention and machine execution. It’s not just about teaching the app what to do and when to do it — it’s also about understanding why each step matters when designing the workflow.

Step-by-Step: How to Translate Your Idea

Let’s break it down into a 3-step mental model you can apply to any automation idea:

Step 1: Understand Your Goal

Start with a clear description of what you want to automate. Here are two examples:

Good

I want the app to click the Like button on a TikTok video, but only if I haven’t liked it already.

Not so good 🙁

I want to automate TikTok stuff.

Being precise helps you define where the workflow starts, what conditions matter, and what “done” looks like.

Step 2: Break It Down Into Actions

Ask yourself: If I were doing this manually, what would I do — step by step?

Don’t jump ahead. Write each action like you're explaining it to someone who’s never used a browser before. For example:

  1. Open the TikTok video page

  2. Look for the Like button

  3. See if it’s already liked (maybe it looks filled in?)

  4. If it’s not liked, click the button

  5. Done

These are the same steps you’ll teach the app — just with more precision.

Step 3: Map It to RPA Logic

Now it’s time to reframe those human steps into RPA actions. This is where you move from abstract thought to concrete workflow.

For each step, ask:

  • What element does the app need to interact with?

  • What condition or trigger should it evaluate?

  • What action should it take?

Here’s how our TikTok example might look when translated into logic:

Congratulations — that’s a real workflow structure. You’ve just gone from a vague idea to a logic-based automation flow.

This is how RPA works: small, clear steps, executed reliably.

Try It Yourself: Build the Like Button Flow

Want to put this into action?

We’ve prepared a hands-on tutorial that walks you through building this exact workflow using our platform. You'll learn how to:

  • Select a button on a live web page

  • Use a condition to check its state

  • Add a click action

  • Run the app to perform the task for you

👉 Follow the hands-on tutorial here → coming soon

This is a great “first win” that shows how easy — and satisfying — it can be to automate a task.

What’s Next?

Once you’ve built your first logic-based flow, you’ll start to see automation opportunities everywhere.

Some ideas to try next:

  • Filling out a web form automatically

  • Extracting data from a search results page

  • Saving product details from an e-commerce site

  • Logging in and checking account balances

  • ......

The key is always the same:

Think in steps. Define the logic. Let the app handle the rest.

You don’t need to be a developer to master RPA — just someone who can break problems down logically.

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