Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the best solutions to implement on your digital transformation journey. But it's one thing to understand the benefits of RPA and a whole other thing to implement RPA to your business process without experience. Here we discuss a step-by-step process for implementing RPA.

RPA Implementation Challenges

To successfully implement RPA, it's important to make a list of various challenges and prepare a strategy to overcome these challenges. Here are some of the key challenges businesses face during RPA implementation:

Misguided expectations of RPA
Using the wrong tools tools
Working with an inexperienced RPA partner
Inability to calculate ROI
Identifying the wrong processes for RPA implementation
Technical and operational issues
Stopping short of full, end-to-end process automation
Lack of support from leadership
Shortage of skilled team
Preparing workforce for shift in workload

Considerations for RPA Implementation

Apart from addressing the above challenges, there are many other considerations to be made, such as cost, license, maintenance support, ROI, and so on. Above all one has to decide whether they should work with an RPA vendor or implement RPA using in-house resources.

The below table details topics to think about before the implementation process starts.

How to Develop RPA Tool: RPA Implementation Process

1. List out Processes To Automate

Not all business processes are suitable for RPA. Businesses should develop a strategy to pick the right processes and then prioritize them based on metrics like complexity and ROI. Think about what automating these processes will look like, its purpose, business context, and how it fits into future business operations or overall automation journey.

2. Perform Feasibility Assessment

Perform a feasibility assessment for each process to evaluate to what extent the process can be automated. This is a two-step process, where process examination and technical feasibility are carried out. The operation user, an SME (Subject Matter Expert), and an RPA expert should execute this assessment.

Learn how to perform feasibility assessment here.

3. Readjust

Based on the feasibility assessment report, identify the processes that are not structured, standardized, optimized, recorded, or not executed as planned. In this stage, try to reoptimize and restructure the process.

4. Gather User Stories

A user story describes the features of an application to be built from an end-user perspective. It explains user requirements in detail. It's also important to get a detailed description of each process to be automated. Based on this data, develop a process definition document with defined RPA workflows for the development team.

5. Start Development Process

In this stage, based on the RPA workflows generated the development process begins. The developers create automated scripts and program code using RPA tools like UiPath, Blue Prism, and so on. Each RPA tool has unique capabilities so businesses should be very specific in choosing an appropriate tool based on their needs.

6. Test RPA Process

Perform thorough testing to study performance in all possible scenarios and bugs when the process is executed. Send potential performance issues and bugs to the development team to fix.