What is RPA?

A Business process automation technology. It's automation software that handles tedious,
manual digital tasks and transfers the work of a human worker to a "digital worker" Robotic
process automation (RPA) is a software technology that makes it easy to build,
deploy, and manage software robots that emulate humans actions interacting with
digital systems and software. Just like people, software robots can do things like
understand what’s on a screen, complete the right keystrokes, navigate systems,
identify and extract data, and perform a wide range of defined actions. But software
robots can do it faster and more consistently than people, without the need to get up
and stretch or take a coffee break.Why? Non-invasive(no modification in underlying
application),does not get tired (no fatigue bots) ,easily scalable()quick orchestration
of system and processes,quick implementation(get to work in days),highly
extensible(open for tmrw technology,emulates human action(just like u without any
error) Cost Effective: RPA is the most sought after solution in this technology-driven
era to reduce the investment being done on manual tasks and get the best of the
employees by allowing them to innovate rather than doing monotonous
work.Undefeatable Accuracy:Robots, once defined/built, can have unlimited attention
and can work endlessly without any distractions. And that gives the ability to make
no mistakes.Raising the Bar On Productivity:Robots, have no measure of capacity.If
developed smartly, they can work for every millisecond. And this gives unlimited
possibilities for any company to run their businesses without worrying about
productivity.Types : Attended RPA: This type of bot resides on the user’s machine
and is usually invoked by the user.Attended automation is best suited for tasks that
are triggered at points that are programmatically hard to detect.For instance, let’s
say a customer service representative would normally need up to 3 screens and
complete 5 manual steps so as to complete a transaction. Instead of
going through all of these, the customer service rep can choose to launch an
automation code .Unattended RPA:These bots are like batch processes on the
cloud and data processing tasks are completed in the background.Unattended
automation is deal for reducing the work of back-office employees.Unattended
automation can be launched in the following ways: data input in a specified location,
bot initiated, orchestrator initiated,and specified intervals. Hybrid RPA:In this type of
RPA, attended and unattended RPA boys are combined so as to provide automation
for bothback and front office activities.This allows for end to end automation of a
process.For example, a hybrid RPA bot using natural language processing could
listen to a conversation between two people, analyze that conversation in real time
and then use that analysis to provide information that will help the attending human
take the necessary next steps.

Lifecycle
Discovery phase:In this phase, the requirements of the client are analyzed by the
Process Architect.Based on the requirements, given by the client, it is decided
whether the processcan be automated or not.If the process can be automated, then
the complexity of the process is analyzed.Finally, the benefits from the automation
are penned down.Discovery phase: In this phase, the solution or the steps to
automate a task is designed. ThenTechnical Architect in collaboration with the
Process Architect makes a Process Definition Document(PDD) which contains the
information about each and every process/step to depth. Once all the client
requirements are analyzed and the Process Definition Document is made, the next
step is to decide few requirements for the project such as Budget, Time to be spent,
number of people working on the project and so on.Solution design phase: Then,
you have to create an Object Model Diagram or a Flowchart to understand step has
to be automated and what are its requirements. After you create the flowchart, you
have to choose an RPA Tool to automate your task and then, you are good to get
started with developing the bot. Deveopment phase: The Development Phase is the
phase wherein the Automation Developer creates Automation Scripts in the chosen
RPA Tool.The tool could be any of the enormous amounts of the tools present in the
market,but, the top 3 tools in today’s market are UiPath, Blue Prism & Automation
Anywhere.Also, the Automation Scripts are created by referring to the previously
created Process Definition Document.Depending on the task to be automated or the
kind of automation required, there may or may not be coding required; but, there are
humongous amounts of scenarios where you do not need coding at all.
UAT: In this phase of RPA lifecycle, the developed bot is tested either by the Testing
team or the Development team itself.The bot is tested in the pre-production
environment to test how the users can use this bot to automate a specific task.
If the testing is successful, then it moves forward with the next stage, But, if the
testing fails, then the bot goes back to the Development Phase where the errors
found in the Testing phase are rectified and are tested again. Deployment &
maintenance phase:After developing and testing a bot, the bot is deployed into the
productionenvironment.Now, once the bot is deployed, users can use it. But, if there
are any issues with the bot, then it goes back to the Dev & Testing teams to resolve
the issue. In this stage, the bots are executed and thereafter checked to generate
meaningful results.

Lean methodology principle

• What does every company strive to do?•To offer a product/service that a customer is
ready to pay for.• To do so, a company needs to add value defined by its customers' needs.•
The value lies in the problem you are trying to solve for the customer.Any other activity or
process that doesn't bring value to the end product is considered waste. 2. Value Stream
Mapping■ A Value Stream is the flow of all of the activity, value added and otherwise,
needed to fulfill a request.☐ Value Stream Maps are drawings that makes the flow of
material and information visible.■ Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is the name used to
describe theactivity of creating these drawings. 3. Create Continuous Workflow• Developing
a product/service will often include cross-functional teamwork.• Bottlenecks and
interruptions may appear at any time.However, by breaking up work into smaller batches
and visualizing theworkflow, you can easily detect and remove process roadblocks. 4. Create
a Pull System• Let's take a restaurant,for example:- You go there and order a pizza. The baker
pulls your order and starts making your pizza.• He doesn't prepare tons of dishes in advance
because there isn't actual demand,andthese tons of dishes can turn into a waste of
resources. 5. Continuous Improvement• There are different techniques to encourage
continuous improvement.• For example, every team may have a daily stand up meeting to
discuss what has been done, what needs to be done, and possible obstacles-an easy way to
process improvements daily.
Define Value: The customer defines the value of a product or service. Hence, the first
step is to identify customers. Ask yourself, what does the customer value? Figure out
customer’s expectations from your products or services. Classify the process
activities into Non-Value added, Value-added, and Enabling value-added.
Map the Value Stream: The value stream mapping shows the workflow process
steps for a product or service.The value stream mapping helps to identify & eliminate
NVA activities. This eventually helps you to reduce the process delays and thereby
improves the quality of product/service. Create Flow: Create a flow to the customer
by ensuring a continuous flow system in producing products or services. The flow will
optimize the process to maximize process efficiency. Establish Pull: establish a pull
approach by meeting system beat time. The beat time is the rate at which a product
must be ready to meet customer demand. JIT (Just in time) is a tool promoting the
Pull system. This ensures the smooth workflow of the process without any
disruptions. It also helps to diminish inventory levels.
Seek Continuous Improvement: Finally, you must put consistent efforts to improve
the existing business processes to cater to ever-changing customer needs. This
ensures the elimination of waste and defects of free products & quality service to
customers.

BPA business process analysis

RPA serves to automate parts of these business processes that are
manual and repetitive in nature. As such, RPA’s success hinges on the ability to
carefully analyze processes, identify the repeatability portions, create pre-RPA and
post-RPA process mapping, and implementing the future-state of the
process. Business process analysis is a critical success factor and a core
skill needed in your RPA team. Holistically we need to consider an organization's
dynamic value chain, business processes, and standard procedures. We do so by
classifying these categories across 5 sections respectively:
Section 1: The category of the process
Section 2: The group the process lives in
Section 3: The business process in general
Section 4: How the process is managed internally
Section 5: The manual tasks of the processA business process analysis is of course
best suited to fully optimize an organization’s value chain between sections 1-4.
In doing so, BPA makes graphical modelinglanguages available, such as Business
Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), and Value-Added Chain Diagram (VACD), to
examine and document business processes using the ideal industry standard.
Standard operating procedures and leadership responsibilities reside in
sections 3 and 4 of this hierarchy and include activities that require
uniformity, management, and processes that have innovative opportunities. Section 5
is where RPA and business process analysis truly works hand-in-hand. Automating
routine processes allows the human counterpart to work on more innovative tasks
that are encompassed in BPM. If an RPA integration can oversee and control standard
operating procedures (which is a sizable area of an organization), BMP can serve to
possibly automate other business processes, such as policy underwriting and asset
management.