Explore pragmatic approaches to automation in this 25-minute conference talk from SREcon19 Americas. Learn from Google's Max Luebbe as he shares valuable insights gained from automating processes at a large public cloud provider. Discover how to determine when to stop writing automation, tackle complex projects with unknown scopes, and deliver incremental impact. Gain practical strategies for reducing toil in daily work, including the use of operational amplifiers, Toyota Production System principles, and machine-readable checklists. Understand the importance of interfaces, SLOs, and incremental progress in automation projects. Apply these lessons to improve efficiency and effectiveness in your own automation efforts, regardless of your organization's size or industry.