1. When should we start scaling robotization?
Answer: It’s best to think about scaling before the first robots are created. Many companies start with one or two robots without thinking about their long-term maintenance and how to control a few or a dozen robots. Unfortunately, this approach can be very expensive to maintain.
2. What is agile robotic deployment?
Answer: Agile implementation of robots is the so-called development of software based on the assumption that the requirements of the project recipients evolve during the robotization process. The next stages of creating Digital Teammates are closed in iterations. Each time they update requirements, as well as planning solutions and testing the designed robot. This methodology is based on direct communication between team members, while reducing the need for documentation.
3. When to end the robotization process?
Answer: Robotization should continue until the benefits of introducing new robots exceed the costs of their production and maintenance. It is worth remembering that sometimes it is better to give up the robotization of the process, even if technically there are no obstacles to automating it. It is not worth robotizing processes that change quickly or building a separate path for 100% of cases.
4. What is democratization of robotization?
Answer: Democratization means that the creation of robots is available to all people from business units, not only to selected IT employees or dedicated competence centers. Thanks to the appropriate processes and training, virtually anyone can create a robot for their own needs.
5. What are the barriers to scaling up robotization?
Answer: Examples of barriers to scaling robotization in an enterprise include: problems with the quality of processed data, the occurrence of a large number of exceptions, frequent changes to the systems on which the robots work and the applications themselves, as well as the lack of experience and knowledge when implementing automation.
6. Is automation and process optimization the same?
Answer: These concepts are not the same. Automation of business processes means the limitation or full replacement of human work during the performance of a task in order to accelerate it, while optimization is a series of activities aimed at improving the processes already taking place in a given organization.
7. Do I have to scan the entire organization in search of robotic potential to perform robotization?
Answer: It is not necessary to scan the entire organization for processes with robotic potential, but it is worth doing to make the process of automating tasks in the enterprise profitable and effective. It is worth involving team employees to search for processes.
8. Do I need to map processes before robotization?
Answer: This step is not required, but proper mapping of processes before robotization can help you understand them faster. In addition, it will also give you a chance to take a closer look at the tasks, assess their complexity and time consumption, and at the same time exclude the least profitable activities to be automated.
9. What is process mining?
Answer: The term mining process means a set of tools and methods that are used to build, verify and expand process models. These activities are possible thanks to the data from event logs describing the actual course of business processes in organizations.
10. What IT involvement will I need when implementing bots?
Answer: In the Rent-a-Robot model, robotization has a minimal impact on IT. The robots connect to the end applications used by employees, so they do not require programming or configuration changes. IT is necessary to establish a secure connection between robots and their work environment and to grant them access, similar to the preparation of a workplace for a human worker.
11. Can the robot only perform end-to-end processes?
Answer: In order for RPA implementation to be justified, the part of the process that is most often performed by an employee should be robotized. For single iterations or handling exceptions, it is wise to leave them to the employee. Development of a robot that will handle the end-to-end process is possible, but it can be time-consuming and costly.
12. What resources will I need for robotization?
Answer: If you choose Robot-as-a-Service, you do not need any additional IT infrastructure on the side of the company to start implementing robots. The people responsible for the robot ensure that it has the appropriate resources and the basis for faultless performance of the work assigned to it at all times.
