{"id":27143,"date":"2019-06-04T07:10:19","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T12:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/?p=27143"},"modified":"2023-09-19T17:21:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T21:21:35","slug":"improving-business-processes-to-make-way-for-robotic-process-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/blog\/improving-business-processes-to-make-way-for-robotic-process-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving Business Processes to Make Way for Robotic Process Automation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Improving\u00a0<\/span><\/span>business\u00a0<\/span><\/span>processes before introducing robotic process automation prevents doing w<\/span><\/span>ork poor<\/span><\/span>ly,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0unnecessarily<\/span><\/span>, and redundantly. RPA streamlines processes, but only when i<\/span><\/span>mplemented effectively<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
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To improve or not to improve, that is the RPA question?<\/p>\n

Sorry to Mr. Shakespeare for taking such an iconic line and turning it on its side, but it is fitting when we speak about the current RPA environment.<\/p>\n

For those who are unaware, robotic process automation (RPA)<\/a> is a way to enhance the work experience by taking routine, repeatable, and rules-based tasks and turning these into software robots (bots).<\/p>\n

Then you use your choice of RPA tools offered by a multitude of vendors.<\/p>\n

However, this blog is not necessarily about RPA. It is about the process you want to automate and whether you should first improve the process or automate \u201cas is.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Improving Processes First<\/h2>\n

In conversations I\u2019ve had with individuals and organizations across a variety of industries, there is a consistent stance for improving processes first and then automating. I, too, am in the \u201cprocess improvement first\u201d camp.<\/p>\n

Generally, if a customer chooses automation with no thought on improvement, I recommend otherwise. Automating as is, ultimately results in establishing an inefficient process that returns poor results, immediately.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are organizations that take the approach to automate everything brought to their attention with the intent of running it for some time, capturing the learnings, and going back and improving the process so they can modify the automation afterward.<\/p>\n

The issues I see with this plan are two-fold:<\/p>\n