- We've established that RPA, including RDA,
is software that automates rule-based tasks.
To some, that can sound a bit simplistic,
so why is the entire world of work
getting so darn excited about RPA?
Well, let's stop and think a moment.
If you've had any exposure to business operations,
like human resources, finance and accounting,
logistics and supply chain, for example,
you'll know that much of the work
that goes on in an organization
is rule-based, routine, and defined by work procedures.
In fact, you wouldn't want it to be any other way.
People making up their jobs as they go would be worrying.
Many employees spend a good portion of their day
on procedural tasks,
clicking boxes, waiting for the next screen to load,
completing forms with tens to hundreds to thousands
of minute steps that are almost all rule-based.
Some research suggests that as much as 80% of a person's job
can be described as rule-based.
This is exactly the sort of work that RPA is fit to perform.
Automation of all types is perfect for those tasks
that make you basically feel like a robot.
Think of routine, monotonous, structured data entry
that requires no creative input.
Believe me, when we show teams the power RPA has
to relieve them of this drudgery, they're thrilled.
But remember,
RPA is able to relieve people from drudgery in two ways.
As was highlighted in the differences
between RPA and RDA,
this class of automation can assist or take on tasks.
You'll hear this described in several ways.
The assist scenario is sometimes referred to
as assisted automation.
You also may hear it called attended automation.
In this scenario, the automation augments employees.
It assists them in doing their jobs,
and does so upon user activation,
almost like an extension of their toolset,
or like a digital assistant.
A person is able to trigger a robot as needed
to automatically perform the discrete task
it was programmed for.
For example, a customer service agent
might give a ticket ID to a robot
which validates the data
and closes the ticket in the database,
saving them valuable time
and allowing them to focus on the customer interaction.
The second form of RPA, unassisted automation,
is completely autonomous,
meaning that the robot does not sit waiting
for a person to activate it.
Instead, the robot can live on an internal server,
or it can be hosted in the cloud,
operating all day if need be,
except during periods of maintenance and update.
An unassisted automation can be activated by a person,
but most often, they're scheduled from a control room
or triggered by a set of priorities set by the business.
In the end, one type is not better than the other.
Choosing between assisted automation
and unassisted automation
will depend on a variety of factors,
including the type of work, automation goals,
the amount of structured data, and the scope.
I'll leave the more detailed factors for later.
For now, simply understanding
the distinction I just outlined
is enough to serve you
when educating stakeholders in your organization,
and for evaluating which RPA tools
will best serve your project needs.