New principle: Automate - remove manual steps wherever possible

[GraemeSutherlandHO]

Our engineering principles are the high-level direction we want to encourage engineers to follow or consider when they are making decisions and implementing things. Look at the 'writing a principle' standard and provide some brief information below

What is the principle you are suggesting? Minimise manual steps or TOIL from processes and services

What would be the benefit to the Home Office of adopting this principle? Lowers cost of operation, reduces manual errors

How might people follow it Provide automation for manual steps wherever possible Consider cost of operation when designing and architecting

Additional information Reference to SRE Toil: https://sre.google/sre-book/eliminating-toil/

Please confirm the below

• [x] I have looked at the writing-a-principle standard and think this would meet the standard
• [x] I have looked through our existing principles and think this is not covered elsewhere
• [x] I have checked through the open issues on the repository and this principle has not already been suggested

[GraemeSutherlandHO]

More on this: some context:

Often services enter live service with missing administration tooling with either no plan or vague plans to add them later. The result of this is that these services are expensive to maintain, prone to human errors, and place a load on engineers which should be being productive building services but are trapped doing manual admin.

This applies to external facing services, tooling, infrastructure and platforms equally.

It is a key item to consider when onboarding services from other parties as well.