Best practices in business process automation Piotr Ślęzak ForProgress Wrocław 11th October 2016
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Expectations about automation time to perform task reduction cost reduction staff reduction Trending Other companies have automation - we need automation!
Benefits Repeatable tasks executed by robot Monotonous work peformed by robot Improve quality Improve efficiency Increase scope of work
Risks Performance analysis only for part of organizations weakness and bottlenecks for business processes Bad business processes for automation Business process not documented Business process not repeatable Unstable systems environment with many CR and new functionality Business process that work on many different applications (many technologies) Bad strategy for automation Bad tools for automation Imprecise cost estimation Cost of maintenance
Automation strategy
Automation strategy Insurance company Own team for automation 10 people Different tools for automation No rules and strategy for automation Automation strategy document: How to get manual processes for automation Automation estimation Connection between manual and automated processes
Automation strategy Robot preparation Tools How to build robot Named convention Configuration management Robot structure Synchronization with applications Verification points How to run robots Problem and error reporting How to maintain robots How to work with new version of application Suggestions for application s developers
Business process description
Key problems with documentation No documentation for business process Very old documentation with no actual information Description in high level business language Technical description in dedicated tools or notation Documentation with simple descriptions happy path alternative flows exceptions Special conditions
Techniques for process determination Determination techniques Self-recording Interviews Field observation On-site customer Apprenticing
Self-recording User documents its activities Developer get documentation and prepare robot Advantages Low time and effort for the robot s developer Disadvantages Automatic activities are neglected Depends upon the motivation and experience of the users
Interviews Questions to one or different users Answering protocol with information about process Advantages The progression can be individually adapted Disadvantages Very time-consuming for robot s developer Field observation Observation of working procedures of user Developer asks for explanation of unclear procedures Advantages Recommended if user has difficulties in expressing their work Disadvantages Exceptional cases can be badly communicated Users can feel observed
On-site customer The representative of the user is on-site with the developer Rapid clarification of process, questions and misunderstandings Advantages Short communication paths Disadvantages High costs for the customer High adaptation costs
Apprenticing Apprenticing (to apprentice) Developer gets to know the user s activity Advantages Efficient in case of activity difficult to observe Suitable if the user is not capable of transmitting its knowledge Disadvantages Not suitable in dangerous environments Very time-consuming and costly for the developer
Tools Windows Problem Recorder Get window screenshots Get data inserted to application Get operations performed by user Produce HTML documentation
Estimation
Key factors for cost of automation Time for tools selection Cost of tools (license or development custom tools) Time for learn new tool Time for robot preparation Time for robots maintenance
Simple method Cost for prepairing a good robot is MINIMUM 6 times greater than the same operation to do manually. Robot development Find defects in robot (ex. Synchronization with application) Run and test robots
Method based on use case Get information about scenarios, steps, screens described in use cases or business process Step is single operation performed by user on application Number of steps in scenario (Steps) Number of screens in use case (Screens) Time = sw * (Steps + Screens) sw steps weight [hours] Ex. If total number of steps <= 10 sw = 1 If total number of steps > 10 <= 20 sw = 2 If total number of steps > 20 sw = 3
Advanced method Each user interface control s type has time for automation Ex: label 1h Edit field 1h listbox 2h Combobox - 2h Report s column 3h Radio button 2h Button 1h etc. Get information about all controls from application and business process and multiple total time for automation
Example of automation Why correct business process for automation is a key problem
Telecommunication company Customer key problem: time for business process realization is to long. 15 business processes for automation Correct business case for automation ROI (12 months) 5 different technologies SAP WEB JAVA Delphi Microsoft Visual C++ No documentation for business processes
ForProgress project s scope Description for business processes Automation strategy for 15 processes and for future enhancements Proposition for robots architecture Proposition for reporting results and errors 15 robots Time schedule: 3 months
Post project review Project schedule: 6 months Many problems with applications environment and application s stability A lot of new patches installed on environment A lot of CR for applications and business processes Administrators have many different tasks in the same time Administrators doing their task manualy Applications and infrastructure (servers environment) is VERY complex Our conclusion: COMPANY NEEDS AUTOMATION BUT FOR ADMINISTRATOR s TASKS NOT FOR BUSINESS PROCESSES
Summary Automation has many benefits but: Good automation has clear objective Good automation has clear strategy Good robot need cooperation with business and users Business process selection needs performance analysis for almost all of the organization
Questions Piotr.Slezak@ForProgress.com.pl +48 694 517 158