Ten10: Are you considering RPA for your organisation? Five key considerations:
Robotic Process Automation, or RPA for short, is a suite of technologies for automating entire business processes. Unlike many alternative forms of automation, which may require comprehensive systems changes for implementation, RPA can be cost-effectively applied to existing processes with little or no application changes either at the user layer or behind the scenes. Meaning that your organisation can automate processes through the same applications (including desktop, web and Citrix hosted) that are currently in use, or behind the scenes with databases or API’s to connect directly to existing or new applications to suit your business needs.
This flexibility extends to both modern and legacy applications which your critical business processes rely on. The most effective use of RPA is the automation of static, rule-driven activities. In these scenarios, RPA can add a powerful support element to complement your existing structure through automated programs that can work around the clock, won’t suffer burnout or make errors through fatigue.
Consideration 1 – Can my processes be significantly optimised through minor process or application changes?
If so, these options should be given very careful consideration over RPA as they will usually be more practical to implement. Small changes with tools and talent already at your disposal allow your organisation to focus on an ideal future state of operations where efficiency and traditional automation can be considered a requirement from the offset.
Once RPA is applied, it can be very difficult to implement further application changes later down the line as such changes will also have to be factored into the automated process which now runs on top of your established process. However, many of our clients have applications that cannot be easily adjusted to accommodate desirable business scenarios due to legacy codebases, or mission-critical needs which makes change too risky to perform. In these scenarios, RPA can be very cost-effective as an interim or permanent way to automate your business process.
Consideration 2 – Are my business processes fully understood and documented by all teams that are involved?
The most obvious answer to this question is yes, of course. However, processes performed by humans have a surprising habit of deviating from the original vision over time. Usually through minor enhancements, shortcuts or speed tricks that were introduced by SME’s or that Excel macro-wiz in your department. As a result, it’s critical to invest time in discovery and analysis to fully determine the scope of effort involved in introducing automation as these changes are usually passed along through introductory training sessions or internal workshops rather than formal documentation.
This discovery is best performed with the end-users who know the intricacies and edge cases of the process they perform regularly and allows for formal documentation to be produced to ensure that the business vision for automation can be fully realised.
Consideration 3 – What tools can be used to automate my processes? Many tools exist for RPA with various levels of functionality.
Many modern business applications from Microsoft, Google, Atlassian and more already include capabilities to introduce micro-automation within the scope of their software suite. These can be as simple as rules within email clients or CRM’s which handle known business scenarios and are easy to set up and maintain.
More sophisticated tools such as Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism or UiPath can be used to automate existing processes on almost any application, including desktop, terminal, server or Citrix hosted applications. These tools typically require a higher level of investment and require a high level of technical expertise to use effectively. However, this investment brings a significant amount of automation potential at your disposal and offers a single technology to automate an entire process across multiple applications or deployments.
Consideration 4 – What is the existing perception of automation within my organisation?
Although the possibilities for significant business efficiency and enhancements are exciting concepts for senior management, the terms ‘Automation’ and ‘Robotics’ can be frightful to your frontline staff, and with good reason. A significant number of industries now use automation instead of human workers and these comparisons should not be ignored.
Instead, they should be put into perspective. We find that our clients consider automation as a tool to augment their existing human workforce rather than replace it. Your team may have already unconsciously employed their micro-automation through email rules or task management software.
RPA has the potential to ensure that your processes are not reliant on temporary workers or overtime to achieve your goals or deadlines. Terminology and the use of personification can also be a strategic way to shift opinion. The term ‘Automated Assistant’ is much less imposing than ‘Robot’. Furthermore, many of your existing team members would jump at the chance to have their own personal assistant to pick up menial or boring tasks which take them away from the work that requires real human brain power or a human touch. As such, the development of a bot should be considered akin to the training of a new employee to perform the process. RPA Developers will produce an assistant who follows your instructions without deviation, will queue and prioritise activities as you assign them, and doesn’t mind receiving that last-minute email at 18:00 on a Friday for that essential task that can’t wait till Monday.
Consideration 5 – Can my most complex, convoluted processes be effectively automated?
In short, almost anything can be automated if the investment is tangible. The most effective way to break these tasks down is through the discovery and analysis of your existing as-is process and your desired to-be solution. An external RPA team can provide a wealth of automation experience and knowledge to help you effectively realise the potential of RPA.
One such benefit is the ability to break down your existing process into smaller, micro-processes. Today, the most practical way to complete your process may be to assign it to a single individual or case matter expert as the introduction of less experienced or unfamiliar staff could result in a net productivity decrease. RPA on the other hand can be used to split a large, complex task into smaller micro tasks which leverage all the robots you have at your disposal. They can communicate with one another and hand over tasks to other robots or human users at key points to ensure escalation and efficiency. The result is a scalable workforce that understands the breadth of your organisation’s needs, the priority of work assigned to them for effective task management and ultimately frees up your invaluable colleagues so they can do what they’re best at; being human, not robots.
Author: Ryan Smith, Lead Consultant, Ten10.
