Straight-through processing (STP)
Definition
Straight-through processing is the share of cases that pass from intake to completion without any manual intervention. It is the central operational metric of an automation programme, because it directly translates into cost and cycle time per case.
A realistic target is a high automation rate on the standard path plus a fast, well-designed exception queue — not 100 per cent on everything.
Tracking STP by case type shows precisely where the next engineering effort pays off.
In practice
- Measured per case type, not as a single global number
- Drives cost per case and turnaround time directly
- Exceptions are a queue to be designed, not a failure
Related terms
- Business process automation (BPA)Business process automation is the systematic execution of a recurring business process by software, from trigger to result, including the data, rules and hand-offs involved. Unlike single-task tools it targets the whole chain: intake, decision, execution and record.
- Human in the loopHuman in the loop means a defined point at which a person reviews, approves or corrects the AI system's work. The handover is designed in advance for specific triggers — value thresholds, low confidence, unknown counterparties — rather than left to chance.
- Automation KPIAutomation KPIs are the figures that prove whether an automated process is working: touchless completion rate, cycle time, error and rework rate, cost per case, and volume handled per period. They are defined before the build, not after.