[nwatson]

Automation's payoffs aren't necessarily in time saved. Quality can be a more important consideration. "Did I forget a step?" "Did I forget to verify this aspect of the configuration?" "Oh ... am I sure I typed in the new domain name correctly each of the eight times I needed to type it in in the various contexts?"

Automating a task usually means each important parameter is entered only once, that all steps are completed, and that the results are checked.

[lmz]

Of course if we agree programming is not so easy, verifying that the script actually works as intended will take roughly the same time. Not to mention thinking about what it should do when faced with an unusual situation.