Granted, this was also in the context of mechanical engineering and manufacturing (cf. remarks in sibling comment), but Elon Musk has talked about his engineering philosophy in five steps in a starbase tour/interview video:

1. Make the requirements less dumb 2. Try deleting the part or process 3. Simplify and optimize the design 4. Accelerate cycle time 5. Only then: Automate

I think this touches upon the same issues, namely that you shouldn't automate something if you don't have to, and even less if you don't need it in the first place.