Minister usage

I'm new to SE.

The depth of this game is something else. I'm trying to learn how to use the game's features to speed things up, at least in the beginning of the game. I've gotten through about 25 turns in the ~3 hours I've played in my first game (only 3 AI empires, so between turn time is minimal).

I turned on a few select ministers, for instance the one that makes ships head back to resuppply depots when needed. Unfortunately, though, the manual is pretty vague about how they "think".

Is there a way to know specifics of how ministers will behave if I turn them on, and/or to specify some of their decision processes? For instance, I'd like to have a minister that will upgrade facilities as tech advances occur, but who won't add other items to production queues.

Finally, does anyone have any tips on how to make use of SE5 features to speed up progress, at least in the early phases of the game?

Thanks for any help!