Why do some automation efforts fail?
Robotic Process Automation has proven to be a powerhouse when it comes to helping businesses maximize productivity. So why do many businesses still fail miserably with automation?
One of the top reasons is that they do not choose the right business processes to automate. Another is that they fail to fix a broken process before they attempt automation.
Businesses need to have a clear Process Discovery strategy to identify automation opportunities. The approach of “throwing everything on the wall to see what sticks” will not produce successful results. When we look at automating processes, we must understand how each process currently works. This means looking at the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual and observing the processes being performed. Process Discovery and documentation are key to RPA’s overall success, and for the success of the company implementing the automation.
It is surprising how few employees at a company know and understand the company’s business processes. This is especially true when there is high turnover in a department and the SOPs, if documented at all, are either outdated or poorly written. Such a situation leads employees to create their own ways of performing processes. As a result, companies tend to stay with traditional Process Discovery rather than using automated Process Discovery. Use of the traditional method leads to:
- Selecting the wrong processes, which results in a high cost burden and missed Return on Investment (ROI)
- Not capturing the right data or enough data, which results in process fragmentation and inconsistencies; many of the methods are time-consuming, expensive, and likely to happen in “silos” rather than as part of a connected process
- Relying only on the knowledge of human Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and manual documentation, which can be time-consuming, produce a lack of data consistency, and result in missed opportunities
Not everything that can be automated should be. The first step is to identify the rule-based, standardized processes that are repetitive in nature and which will maximize your ROI.
What exactly is Automated Process Discovery?
Automated Process Discovery is the technology to record, map, and analyze a company’s business processes and then develop written results that help identify obstacles, inefficiencies, and the processes that can and should be automated.
Process Recording is a function of Automated Process Discovery. It is accomplished by using a preinstalled Discovery Robot on a user’s desktop to collect and record data on the user’s actions for all predefined business applications. The data is stored in a central repository and translated into readable text. The relevant data is then extracted and recommendations are made for attended automation, unattended automation, or a hybrid model. A business analyst reviews the recommendations and the data, and then determines the automation readiness of each recommended process. Selected processes will then go through a rigorous ROI criteria match-up to vet out which are strong candidates for automation and which are not. The final step is to begin automating the selected process.
So now that you’ve learned a little about RPA Process Discovery, let’s create great things together! Contact Synch-Solutions today to get started on your automation journey!
