What is RPA? ✔✔"Robotic process automation (RPA) tools perform 'if, then, else' statements on structured data, typically using a combination of user interface (UI) interactions, or by connecting to APIs to drive client servers, mainframes or HTML code. An RPA tool operates by mapping a process in the RPA tool language for the software "robot" to follow, with runtime allocated to execute the script by a control dashboard" Who are the market leaders for RPA? ✔✔Automation Anyware Blue Prism UiPath What are the differences between RPA tools ✔✔• Unattended deployment versus attended deployment • Crafting "instructions" for the bot to run • Generic RPA tools or process-specific automation tools • Some limited or no artificial intelligence (AI) or machine-learning capabilities • Price point and licensing agreements What are the steps to implement RPA? ✔✔1. A process (or a set of processes) is deemed to be a good candidate for RPA 2. A "process developer" creates the detailed set of steps for the automation bot 3. The bot becomes operational and uses software licenses to perform the steps 4. The bot is centrally monitored for performance 5. Performance improves and everybody is happy Selecting a good process candidate ✔✔• Understanding and documenting processes becomes fundamental • Not having standardized, repetitive tasks decreases the success of an RPA implementation • Focus on "swivel chair integration" dealing with structured data • That is, a "paper pushing" situation • Verify if COTS options are not available How can we ensure that creating the bot script delivers good results? ✔✔• Train people so that they can use the tool properly • Ideally, the scripts would be created by business people, not IT professionals • Have documented processes that can be translated into scripts • If the process is well understood and documented, then it is simply a matter of translating the process into the RPA software • Understand the interfaces between applications • How to transfer data from one application to another application • Test, test again, and test even more How do we make a bot operational? ✔✔• Redesign processes to support the bot and the human work • For example, dealing with exceptions • Understand the security implications • Bots need credentials too and even background cheks at times • Understanding governance as it applies to the bot and its actions • Who makes decisions about the bot? What is the "chain of command"? • Have a deployment roadmap • How will you take the bot from design to production? How can we ensure that the bot delivers over time? ✔✔• Have personnel dedicated to managing bots • Those can easily be located abroad, working on a control room • Have software and analytics to understand bot performance • You also need to understand your automation targets • Have contingency plans for bots who stop working ("get sick or go on vacation") • Quickly audit what is wrong and fix the problem to have the bot back in action