What you need to know to implement RPA?
RPA software is usually low-code / no -code so implementation should be easy.
It is widely accepted that RPA delivers benefits and there are many implementations, so why are RPA Experts and RPA Consultants still busy?
Are there clear steps for RPA automations that deliver a successful implementation?
- TLDR
- What is different with RPA Automation?
- Is RPA easy to implement?
- Donald Rumsfeld said it all!
- How to mitigate risks of an RPA implementation
- Risks change over time
- Manage what is measured
- Does the Process change?
- Can RPA be used for any Process?
- Can you switch RPA off?
- Beyond the first RPA project
- Can you generate an RPA Implementation from a prompt?
- Get RPA Implementation Done for You
1. TL;DR
RPA is established technology that can be implemented successfully.
Knowledge and experience of RPA can be a major help in achieving a successful implementation.
Many businesses perform an initial RPA implementation, see the benefits and progress to many additional automations.
2. What is different with RPA Automation?
RPA implementation has specific features that make it different from some other IT projects.
The concept of replacing manual effort to work with existing IT systems to the use of RPA software robots is easy to understand.
An RPA project will be about People, Process and Technology.
One key difference is that as an RPA solution is built on automating activity in other systems, it is impacted by changes in those other systems. It is this exposure which has led to some people to consider RPA as being a fragile solution.
3. Is RPA easy to implement?
There are many RPA tools available which of course means some are more complex to work with than others.
Can anybody implement RPA?
RPA is not rocket science, so with an appropriate investment in time to learn the technology, experiment with the software and gain experience from operating an automation in production; Yes, anybody could implement RPA.
Like all IT projects, knowledge and experience can significantly reduce risks of failure, wasted effort and achieve a better quality solution than any “First Attempt” scenario.
4. Donald Rumsfeld said it all!
The Donald Rumsfled quote
“As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don’t know we don’t know”
It captures a situation that occurs a lot in business. Scholarly analysis of quote suggest that it is related a proverb that is usually attributed to being from a Persian origin.
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Shun him. He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is simple. Teach him. He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep. Wake him. He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise. Follow him.
In the context of an RPA implementation where it is the first experience for the individuals involved and the business, it is clear that there could be many unknowns.
5. How to mitigate risks for an RPA implementation
Building a list of risks for an RPA implementation is a good starting point.
A few google searches and sessions with AI LLM can generate a long list. The specific business scenario will hopefully reduce the list to manageable levels.
Once a list has been compiled, the Donald Rumsfeld quote can be applied, to consider the “Unknowns”.
Commercial considerations apply to lists of risks, with the big question being “Can this RPA project be allowed to fail?”.
The basic position is that a business is operating a process. An investment in RPA has the potential to deliver a good ROI but if it failed, the business could continue exactly as it did before the RPA project but having suffered the costs of the RPA project.
In many scenarios, management want to see the initial RPA project implemented successfully before investing in additional automation.
It is inevitable that the first RPA implementation in a business carries the biggest risks. Subsequent RPA projects can leverage the initial success.
6. Risks change over time!
The continued operation of an RPA solution is subject to the increasing risk of change in the systems that the automation is working with.
IT systems can be stable for short periods of time, but changes can occur due to Patching, Upgrades or functional enhancements.
Not all changes in the systems will cause RPA implementations to fail. RPA technology has progresses since its early implementations. Some RPA technology has evolved to contain “Self Healing” capabilities. As the RPA executes any error which is detected is examined and classified. The movement of a data field on a screen could be considered with the tolerance of an automation and the RPA code could “Self Heal” by adjusting its activity and continuing with the automation.
In a scenario where a data field no longer exists on screen, it is unlikely that an RPA execution will find a reasonable way to “Self Heal” and the processing exception will need to be dealt with by a person.
The best mitigation to incidents occurring in the operation of RPA solutions is strong change control on the systems that interacted with by the automations. This can ensure that the RPA solution is amended to keep aligned with other changes.
7. Manage what is measured
In any RPA implementation there will be a need to track the processing that the automation is performing. The information created into log files, provides the details necessary to measure and report the activity as well as the basis for investigating incidents.
Automation will often lead to faster execution of a process and that can change the expectations for Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
8. Does the Process Change?
Automation is about performing the activities required for a process with software robots rather than with people manually executing the tasks.
At the basic level the business process does not change.
There are some people who will say that a process should be optimised before it is automated. There are clearly benefits to that approach.
However, once a process is automated the benefits gained from optimisation might be much smaller as the cost is software robot processing not human effort. The question can become, is the effort to optimise better spent on implementing automation?
Once a process is automated there is a change. It is no longer dependent upon people being available to perform the manual work.
An automated process could be performed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The potential to execute the process sooner or later in the overall business context may directly yield benefits or lead to pressure to automate other preceding or dependent processes.
9. Can RPA be used for any Process?
RPA is effective from an ROI perspective when a reasonable quantity of human effort is saved.
A process is suitable for automation if it is:
- Stable and not subject to frequent changes
- Predictable through the use of discrete rules and not judgemental
- Performed in reasonable volume to gain from automation
- Currently performed by people
Other forms of automation might be used alongside or in place of RPA.
For example, if an automation could be achieved through the use of APIs, that could use Process Automation without the Robotic capability. People do not directly use APIs, therefore the use of APIs is an alternative to the process performed by people.
Another example is the extraction of data from documents. Typically, documents will vary in structure and layout even if they are all the same type e.g. Purchase Orders.
With this scenario Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) can use AI and other techniques to extract the data from the documents. The subsequent action in the process may also be suitable for automation.
10. Can you switch RPA off?
As RPA is “Non Invasive”, it does not change the existing IT systems.
RPA could be switched off.
Without RPA, the business process would resume as a manual process. The challenge would be whether there are sufficient people to complete the activity in the required timescale.
From a business continuity and business contingency perspective it is important to determine whether RPA is within the scope of Critical systems.
During COVID some rapid RPA implementations were used to keep some core processes operating when there was a sudden and unexpected reduction in staff available to perform the work.
11. Beyond the first RPA project
Two outcomes occur after the first RPA project implementation.
One scenario is where the RPA implementation has struggled. The business will not invest in further automation projects. The support for the implementation reduces over time and the challenges that emerge over time lead to questions about the continued viability of the RPA implementation.
The more common scenario is that the automation with RPA is considered a success, and a range of other processes start to be considered for automation. Typically, this additional investment leads to more staff gaining automation skills to develop RPA solutions and to operate the RPA infrastructure.
12. Can you generate an RPA implementation from a Prompt?
Reading some of the marketing hype about AI solutions, the impression can be formed that an RPA implementation can be achieved from a simple GenAI prompt to an LLM.
Today that is still a dream.
Yes, some AI products can create some first cut RPA automations for simple processes.
For a full implementation there is work to do. The RPA infrastructure need to be deployed and configured. Remember the security requirements, the handling of log files for audit, etc.
For each RPA automation consideration is required beyond the “Happy Path” to cater for exceptions, how “People will be part of the loop”, how monitoring and reporting will be achieved. Templates for RPA automations can be leveraged to adopt best practice, but they still need to be configured.
13. Get RPA implementation Done For You
Of course, it is really RPA implementation done WITH you. Access is needed to systems and clarity on the process to automate is required. For an effective implementation, organisations such as Ether Solutions, will work with existing staff to achieve the best outcome.
A recent blog post covered this approach. https://www.ether-solutions.co.uk/why-hire-an-rpa-expert/
For more information on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as well as Agentic Automation and the journey to implement automation please see our website: https://www.ether-solutions.co.uk/.
Manager’s Guide to Automation: https://www.ether-solutions.co.uk/managers-guide-to-automation-using-software-robots/
#businessbeyondautomation
Article Author
David Martin
Managing Director, Ether Solutions
https://www.ether-solutions.co.uk/
