Introduction

Robotic Process Automation or generally called RPA has become one of the new Techno buzz words. Along with Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, AI, and Machine Learning. RPA is a fast-growing field. This blog looks at RPA in business.

Existing theory about Robotic Process Automation, RPA

(Jovanović, 2018.) states that Robotic Process Automation represents software that performs repetitive tasks. This can be summarized as virtualizing certain complex, time-consuming tasks. Essentially it can be characterized as software robots doing human work as per (Tripathi, 2018)

Information Systems view

The challenge for Information, Communication, and Technology, ICT and Operations Technology, OT groups today is to implement RPA to ensure Business Excellence and ensuring efficient Plant Operations is maintained at low costs. For this to happen, RPA implementations must be properly analyzed and governed. (Figueiredo, 2021) employed a very specific approach in their research to understand the dynamics between process, technology, and the implementers. Their findings showed two main areas were positively impacted by RPA implementation projects. These were work processes and people management.

According to (Devarajan, 2018) the integration of these new disruptive technologies in companies can significantly improve business efficiency. Also, (Schlegel, 2021) identifies that the characteristics of knowledge have changed along with Digital Transformation. This implies that ICT and OT staff require additional skills and competencies for the new demands of the business.

Digital Transformation expectation

The three software solutions considered leaders in the field of RPA are BluePrism, Automation Anywhere, and UIPath. This was confirmed by (Osman, 2019. ) Many companies have adopted Digital Transformation as part of their ICT or OT Strategies, and as such most of them will decide on one of these vendors. (Willcocks, 2018) considers the RPA Adoption Process success rate at its highest when driven from Senior Management or a Centre for Excellence. This is very important in Digital Transformation Strategies since a Top-Down approach works best when the Sponsor is at the top.

Key Considerations

Jovanović, Đurić & Šibalija (2018) consider repetitive tasks, using different systems, of high volume and or frequency and an increased risk of human performance issues as prime candidates for RPA implementation. These can be considered as the key considerations.

FIGURE 1 – Shows the relationship between Frequency of Process versus Complexity of Process as detailed by (Jovanović, 2018.)

In practice, Figure 1 would work well in the beginning stages of requirements gathering when initial business requirements are discussed and evaluated. During this phase, it would be best used as a quick evaluation to ascertain whether the user requirement is an ideal candidate for Robotic Process Automation.

FIGURE 2 – Shows the relationship between the Value of Work versus the Duration of Work as detailed by (Jovanović, 2018.)

Figure 1 and Figure 2 indicates the ideal situations where RPA might work well as a solution when analyzed correctly. The application of Figure 2 would be more applicable during the Business Analysis process where the user requirements are analyzed. (Geyer-Klingeberg, 2018) suggests a three-step process (Assess, Develop and Sustain) for this.

Business alignment

(Osman, 2019. ) states that “Companies need to constantly monitor their own business processes…” I do not agree with this statement since I think it is not a company responsibility but, rather a Functional responsibility. Each Departmental Manager or Head is responsible and accountable for the process under his control. To this end, the Finance Manager owns all the accounting processes and – sub-processes and if we are to change any of them. He is the one to be consulted and not the Chief Executive Officer. It is thus imperative that business alignment is obtained to constantly review and analyze existing processes to identify gaps and areas for improvement or optimization. Here the Chief Information Officer or ICT / OT Director plays a pivotal role in driving business priorities. (Zhang, 2019. )states that IT and Business should be in harmony.

Scope

RPA has been implemented in almost all business areas as can be seen by (Jovanović, 2018.)

(Santos, 2019) notes the fact that RPA is employed without changing the IT Infrastructure making it fast and cost-efficient. Further to this, a defined method for evaluating the current business processes within a company or a part of a company or industry is to be evaluated using the process mining approach of (Geyer-Klingeberg, 2018) Through this process, gaps can be identified and or addressed when assessing the RPA potential.

Risks

Typical risks as identified by (Kirchmer, 2017) are mistakes, no human verification, and poor data quality to name a few. These risks, although very realistic can be mitigated by addressing the RPA implementation through a proper strategy.

Advantages	Disadvantages
1. Cost-efficient	1. Ongoing concerns regarding the security
2. Accurate	2.Business requires the same system to be used so, added costs
3. Reduced staff and resource usage	3. Bot failure and random errors reported

Table 1 shows the advantages and disadvantages as discussed by Rajan (2021). This shows the most basic good and bad elements of RPA.

Future

According to (Devarajan, 2018) the future of RPA is automation of non-rule-based processes. The end game seems to be an inclusive solution that contains all disruptive technology solutions in one. One key aspect for the future of RPA to consider is addressed by (Badhwar, 2021) which covers the security concerns related to RPA implementations.

Conclusion

RPA seems to be the easiest disruptive solution to implement, and it looks like if companies or business leaders invest enough time and effort to analyze existing gaps in their processes this would be the quick wins to enable disruptive technology. Also, business and ICT or OT needs to work together in harmony to ensure alignment to primary goals or priorities to ensure effective business solutions are employed to facilitate business excellence and process efficiency through defined automation.

References

Jovanović, S. Đ. (2018.). Robotic process automation: overview and opportunities. . Int. J. Adv. Qual, 46(3-4), pp.34-39.

Devarajan, Y. (2018). A study of robotic process automation use cases today for tomorrow’s business. International Journal of Computer Techniques, 5(6), pp.12-18.

Osman, C. (2019. ). Robotic Process Automation: Lessons Learned from Case Studies. Informatica Economica, 23(4).

Figueiredo, A. a. (2021). Robotizing shared service centres: key challenges and outcomes. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 157-178. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-06-2020-0126.

Tripathi, A. (2018). Learning Robotic Process Automation: Create Software robots and automate business processes with the leading RPA tool–UiPath. Birmingham – Mumbai: Packt Publishing Ltd.

Willcocks, L. H. (2018). Keys to RPA success. . Executive Res. Rep., Knowl. Capital Partners.

Santos, F. P. (2019). Toward robotic process automation implementation: an end-to-end perspective. . Business Process Management Journal.

Geyer-Klingeberg, J. N. (2018). Process Mining and Robotic Process Automation: A Perfect Match. In BPM (Dissertation/Demos/Industry), (pp. 124-131).

Schlegel, D. a. (2021). Skills and competencies for digital transformation–a critical analysis in the context of robotic process automation. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.

Zhang, N. a. (2019. ). Alignment of business in robotic process automation. . International Journal of Crowd Science.

Kirchmer, M. (2017). Robotic process automation-pragmatic solution or dangerous illusion. BTOES Insights.

Badhwar, R. (2021). Security Requirements for RPA Bots. The CISO’s Next Frontier , (pp. 273-277).

Rajan, K.A., 2021. Impact of RPA On Business. International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management, 4(4), pp.150-151.