- Let's explore what makes
for a highly impactful automated process.
First, stability,
some processors depend on applications and systems
that are constantly updating, or changing,
or frankly, just aren't that stable.
This requires the automation solution
to be continually updated and maintained.
As a result, it is often more efficient
to automate processes that change in minor,
or predictable ways.
Second is connectivity.
You should consider the type of connectivity involved,
whether the applications being controlled are remote
or on-premise, can affect what RPA features are applicable.
And does your organization use virtualization methods
like Citrix?
Tools like Citrix are good at securing applications
when used by someone outside of your organization,
but they present the applications as a flat image
making it harder to automate the controls
in the application.
But note, it's not impossible.
Some RPA tools are quite capable of handling Citrix.
This was a necessary feature
when I got started with RPA
since so many of the systems being automated
in the outsourcing industry sat behind Citrix.
Next is speed.
I'm absolutely certain
you've had a customer experience situation
in which the agent says,
I'm sorry, the computer is slow today.
Well, sadly, the computer is slow every day.
An RPA uses the system
in the same way the person does
so system latency will slow down your digital labor
just as it slows down your teams today.
So plan ahead for this
and manage expectations
as it relates to underlying constraints
that are not related to the RPA solution.
And you'll wanna take note of this.
I guarantee you, as you work through debugging
and testing your automations,
you'll need to tweak wait times
and slow down certain steps the robot takes
in order to account for slow underlying systems.
Finally, complexity,
as I mentioned earlier,
no matter how complex a team feels its work is,
chances are good, the work can be defined in rules.
So complexity is not a bad thing.
In fact, as you progress,
you'll wanna find highly complex processes
because these are where the untapped value lies.
I've seen automations
that incorporate thousands of business rules
and thousands of exceptions.
The configuration work took many months
but the ROI was significant
and more than justified the project.
Basically, RPA eats complexity for breakfast
as long as it's rule-based.
Now remember, all of the factors I've just described are
by no means binary.
We use sliders for a reason.
Real-world processes can't all be perfect for RPA.
But if you do your homework,
you can certainly find ones
that will net greater benefits than others.