{"id":3981,"date":"2017-05-16T15:26:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T15:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/"},"modified":"2021-12-03T11:27:47","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T11:27:47","slug":"stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days, we talk about Robotic Process Automation as if it\u2019s the remedy to all modern business woes. But, as with all technologies, the capacity for RPA to deliver value has its limits.<\/p>\n

Last week I had the privilege of attending an RPA user group event hosted by the Global Sourcing Association<\/a> packed with service providers, buyers, and experts – where this solutions capacity to deliver was laid bare. After two refreshingly honest presentations by automation gurus from \u00a0Symphony Ventures<\/a> and Thoughtonomy<\/a>, the roundtable discussions kicked off. Several buyers joined me, alongside two of Symphony Ventures finest consultants, Katharine<\/a> and Nick<\/a>, who were both more than willing to impart honest and impartial advice. While the parameters of the conversation were broad, there are four key takeaways that I\u2019d be happy to share with you. I have built all of the following out of the challenges brought to the table by practitioners and buyers. With the answers that came from the knowledge and expertise of the experts or those having weathered some implementations.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0RPA isn\u2019t the salve for all wounds<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt about it, the technology is powerful, but it\u2019s important to recognise that there are limits. Environments with chaotic data sets or irrational processes are not suitable without a huge amount of refining. Nor are you likely to find much success if processes rely too heavily on external data sources \u2013 unless the owner of the source is particularly liberal with access.<\/p>\n

RPA works best on processes that are formulaic and rules-based. If your process has a set input required to achieve the desired outcome, with a series of consistent steps in between it\u2019s in scope. Even if there are a huge number of steps or the rules to follow are relatively complex, a solution can be built, albeit with the hard work and knowledge of providers and experts.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u2019t be tempted to go rogue<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of you may be tempted to leave other areas of the organisation, especially IT, out of an RPA project. However, all the experts in the room warned against doing so. Inviting IT to the party is essential to help navigate through some of the trickier aspects of the implementation with solid business and technical knowledge.<\/p>\n

Some of the providers I spoke to at the event provided plenty of examples of when their implementation was made just that little bit harder when relations between the buyer and IT were\u2026less than harmonious. The key is to build relationships with all stakeholders before embarking on the project to ensure your RPA project delivers the most business value and has the greatest chance of success.<\/p>\n

3. The process may have RPA written all over it, that doesn\u2019t make it suitable<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you have a process that ticks all the boxes \u2013 boring, formulaic, rules-based stuff that nobody wants to do. Although it seems perfect, it may not be suitable for a simple reason: the ROI isn\u2019t there. Examples abounded of processes pushed forward for consideration that was<\/u> already relatively inexpensive to handle, making the cost of automation fail to add up. Such as a long-winded rules-based process that, in practice, was only handled by a single person in the first place.<\/p>\n

After all the calculations are laid out on the table, the economics of automation may not add up, at least from a cost saving perspective. However, be careful of ruling it out completely as it\u2019s possible that freeing up someone\u2019s time or improving the process may add economic value in another way, by improving customer and employee experience, for example.<\/p>\n

4. In some cases, RPA is the last solution on the list<\/span><\/p>\n

For some processes implementing RPA is the equivalent of hitting a nail with a sledgehammer (I ruined a perfectly good shed attempting that). For others, it\u2019s like sawing a plank of wood with a fish, just plain unnecessary. For example, a process highlighted for consideration due to its resource demands may, in fact, also be managed elsewhere in the organisation. The simple fix would be to merge all parallel processes to not only ensure consistent outcomes but also to reduce the resource overheads significantly.<\/p>\n

Halting unnecessary processes or merging duplicate ones may be the solution businesses are looking for instead of automation. Katharine and Nick, the consultants we spoke with advised that they often start an engagement first by taking a holistic view of all processes before jumping in with an RPA implementation to make sure it\u2019s the best solution for the problem.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

RPA simply isn\u2019t the right solution for every problem, and these are just a few of those discussed at the user group. Perhaps it\u2019s the right time for the industry to take a step back and understand what value the technology can add in different situations. Instead of pushing it as the miracle cure for all business woes \u2013 a perception facilitated by buyers looking for a shiny new tool and providers seeking to make the most of the RPA Gold Rush.<\/p>\n

Bottom Line: Without a doubt, RPA is a powerful technology, but for some business challenges there are far more effective solutions to consider.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These days, we talk about Robotic Process Automation as if it\u2019s the remedy to all modern business woes. But, as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[661],"organization":[],"ppma_author":[36],"class_list":["post-3981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-robotic-process-automation","tag-robotic-process-automation"],"yoast_head":"\nStop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101 - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101 - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"These days, we talk about Robotic Process Automation as if it\u2019s the remedy to all modern business woes. But, as...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horses for Sources | No Boundaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-16T15:26:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-03T11:27:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/591b225107445981987809.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"285\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ollie O\u2019Donoghue\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pfersht\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phil Fersht\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/\",\"name\":\"Stop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101 - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/591b225107445981987809.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-16T15:26:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-03T11:27:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c4f084ff7ad43632f537b3b30918e69f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/591b225107445981987809.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/591b225107445981987809.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":285},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/\",\"name\":\"Horses for Sources | No Boundaries\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c4f084ff7ad43632f537b3b30918e69f\",\"name\":\"Phil Fersht\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/86ee0c0ac2d033eed87f327162eb27f7\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/phill-150x150.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/phill-150x150.png\",\"caption\":\"Phil Fersht\"},\"description\":\"Phil Fersht is\u00a0a world-renowned analyst, writer and visionary in\u00a0emerging technologies, automation, digital business models, and the alignment of\u00a0enterprise operations to\u00a0drive customer impact and competitive advantage\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/hfsresearch.com\/team\/phil-fersht\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/pfersht\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/pfersht\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/author\/phil-fherst\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101 - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101 - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries","og_description":"These days, we talk about Robotic Process Automation as if it\u2019s the remedy to all modern business woes. But, as...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/","og_site_name":"Horses for Sources | No Boundaries","article_published_time":"2017-05-16T15:26:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-03T11:27:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":285,"url":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/591b225107445981987809.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Ollie O\u2019Donoghue","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@pfersht","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Phil Fersht","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/","url":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/","name":"Stop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101 - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/591b225107445981987809.png","datePublished":"2017-05-16T15:26:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-03T11:27:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c4f084ff7ad43632f537b3b30918e69f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/591b225107445981987809.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/591b225107445981987809.png","width":600,"height":285},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/stop-sawing-that-plank-with-a-fish-an-rpa_051617\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stop sawing that plank with a fish: An RPA 101"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/","name":"Horses for Sources | No Boundaries","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c4f084ff7ad43632f537b3b30918e69f","name":"Phil Fersht","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/86ee0c0ac2d033eed87f327162eb27f7","url":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/phill-150x150.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/phill-150x150.png","caption":"Phil Fersht"},"description":"Phil Fersht is\u00a0a world-renowned analyst, writer and visionary in\u00a0emerging technologies, automation, digital business models, and the alignment of\u00a0enterprise operations to\u00a0drive customer impact and competitive advantage","sameAs":["http:\/\/hfsresearch.com\/team\/phil-fersht","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/pfersht\/","https:\/\/x.com\/pfersht"],"url":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/author\/phil-fherst\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":36,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"ollie-odonoghue","display_name":"Ollie O\u2019Donoghue","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Ollie-ODonoghue.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Ollie-ODonoghue.jpg"},"job_title":"","first_name":"Ollie","last_name":"O\u2019Donoghue","user_url":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3981"},{"taxonomy":"organization","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/organization?post=3981"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}