Considering Which Processes to Automate
Consider these aspects before starting robotic process automation:
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Standards
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Qualifiers
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Benefits
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Order
Standards
There might be several ways in which your company processes the same task. So before proposing a business process for automation, follow these steps:
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Collect
Ask all employees how they complete a certain task.
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Compare
Compare the answers to get the necessary steps.
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Compile
If possible, compile the necessary steps into one process description and make it a standard in your company.
Standardizing business processes helps to prepare automation and avoids automating one task in multiple ways.
Qualifiers
Qualifiers are process properties that help determine whether a process can be automated and how easily this can be done.
The more of the following requirements your process meets, the easier it is to automate:
| Qualifier | Description |
|---|---|
Data-driven |
Processes based on texts or numbers are easier to automate than processes that require an understanding of images or spoken language. |
Rule-based |
The better a process can be described using rules, the higher the automation capacity. If a process has both judgement-based parts and rule-based parts, it can be partly automated. The bot carries out the rule-based process parts and waits for human decisions. |
Uses structured digital input |
If all related documents are available in digital, structured forms, the process automation is easier. You can use the RPA Builder tools to digitize documents. |
Stable |
You can only automate a process if it always runs predictably, that is, if it is stable. |
Benefits
Benefits are process properties that help you determine how useful the automation of a process is for the company.
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
High costs of manual execution |
A process is costly if either one manual execution takes a lot of time or if it is carried out very often. Automating an expensive process frees employee time for work that cannot be automated. |
Error-prone |
Automation that helps prevent errors improves the quality of the process result. Fewer errors lower process costs and increase customer satisfaction. |
Risky |
Risks include all events and occurrences that can lead to additional costs or losses, such as breaking the law and associated penalties, fraud, loss of customers and sales, the costs of inefficiencies, poor decisions and corrective action, damaging the company’s reputation, illness and the loss of employees. Automation reduces risks. |
Use of legacy systems |
Automate a process to connect or migrate legacy systems to your state of the art systems. |
Speed-sensitive |
Automate processes that must finish quickly. Bots work faster than humans. |
Occurring irregularly |
Processes that occur only in irregular time intervals and vary in volume make inefficient use of employees. Bots wait patiently for their turn and can be scaled according to need in case of peak demand. |
Order
Begin with simpler processes to support the learning curve and to produce quick results. You can tackle more complex processes if they are well documented and if experienced designers are available.
The more frequently a process is carried out, the higher the costs and the more effective the automation. For this reason, consider both the position of the process in the Process Matrix heat map in the view Process Evaluation, and the process costs to determine whether and when the process should be automated.