Critical Success Factors for RPA Implementation

Although robotic process automation (RPA) is on the rise, the success of RPA remains a non-trivial endeavor. Despite widespread global adoption of robotic process automation (RPA), an EY study reveals that 30% to 50% of initial RPA projects fail. As robotic process automation (RPA) continues to the hype in the business world, let us not forget that technology is not a magic wand that can be quickly waved to reap enormous benefits. There are various reasons for this failure, such as the automation of wrong or inconsequential processes, rising maintenance costs, constant bot outages, and a lack of governance.

While robotic process automation (RPA) delivers many new opportunities to provide value, organizations are still vulnerable to costly mistakes and failures. Learn how RPA can help you unleash business growth if done in the right way. Business and IT leaders rush into automation projects, but the first step is understanding and taking care of the critical success factors. Here are the critical success factors that should be baked into the robotic process automation (RPA) strategy to increase your project’s success rate.

1. Prioritize the business problems

Understanding the real problem that needs to be solved in the business and expectations from automation is essential. For example, are you looking to reduce human errors, eliminate repetitive tasks, improve operational efficiency, gain cost benefits, or move the team to strategic activities? The results can also be appropriately evaluated when the actual problem is recognized.

2. Feasibility analysis

Every technology or platform goes through the early phase of adoption and is leveraged for maximized benefits. For the same reason, robotic process automation (RPA) should also be analyzed from organizational and technical perspectives to check its feasibility for your business. This success factor ensures that the project is not forced into the organization.

3. SITO rule

Automation initiatives can be a golden opportunity to redefine business processes by following SITO (Simplify, Improve, Transform, and Optimize) rule. If you can simplify the process, it will be easy to maintain long-term. And if you can improve existing processes, it can enhance the standard business processes. Perhaps, the processes can be transformed digitally to deliver more efficiency, better quality, and improved customer experience. The optimization of processes can drive better business outcomes while leveraging robotic process automation (RPA) benefits.

4. Usage of the right tools

There are various automation tools available in the market, but it is critical to ensure that the toolchain includes a platform that provides a centralized view of automated business processes. In addition, the toolchain should also include a solution with business processing modeling capabilities to accurately map and design complex business processes.

5. Robust risk control and governance

It is essential to ensure that the tools and infrastructure developed for automation processes comply with IT security and risk policies. A comprehensive governance framework is necessary to implement robotic process automation (RPA) step-by-step, manage regulatory and organizational changes, communicate with stakeholders, handle the demand service fluctuations, and more. Without risk-controlling activities, there are high possibilities of missed control and regulatory requirements, leading to costly maintenance and rework.

6. Change management

The ultimate purpose of implementing RPA is to drive better efficiency, quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction. This process can lead to many operational and strategic changes in the organization. If the team is well prepared for these changes, they can quickly adapt to the new processes and deliver better business outcomes. It is recommended to train RPA developers and analysts so that they can answer any questions and fears related to the new business processes.

7. There is no “one size fits all” approach

Since the market is flooded with many tools and platforms, there is not a single solution that can be suitable for every business. RPA is still on its way to maturity. It can fit one business but may not another. So, planning RPA implementation according to your specific business objectives and expected outcomes is essential.

The last word

Robotic process automation (RPA) has the power to improve your business outcomes as long as appropriate steps are taken to implement the technology. Transferring business processes from humans to robots requires specific human capital and strategies for successful implementation. Every effort should be communicated to the team to make them understand the process and susceptible areas of errors. And hence human capital is one of the most crucial parts of the RPA implementation process.

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