The key principle of deploying process automation as a strategy to improve your workflow is that it should help your company save more time and cost and increase overall productivity and efficiency. This is why often most of the time process automation aims to reduce human resources in certain repetitive, time-consuming tasks that could be more cost-effectively and productively completed by a robot, software, or any given technology instead. Humans are also known for being prone to making errors or lacking interest and commitment entirely when having to perform certain repetitive tasks over and over, but a machine or software is certainly not.But how could a company know that its steps towards process automation are in the right direction? The answer lies in the following four initial steps.
1. Map and prioritize your process automation needsStarting from scratch, you would definitely have to sit down with all your team members and help each other determine which core processes are worthwhile examining. All team members should be included in this early stage precisely because it can be tricky for an individual to spot his or her inefficiency in any given process setting and a business process is often a chain that involves multiple individuals and multiple divisions. Or if you already have a clear idea about what specific process or aspect you want to change, it is still important to examine things just a bit further, trying to get ideas and seeing things from different perspectives of team members as much as possible.The key principle of this process is that as you go through your examination, your idea of process automation could change or be entangled with many other processes.
Multiple problematic processes could out of nowhere pop up and lead you to your final answer or unfortunately astray. Apart from mapping core processes, therefore it is important that you priorite all your process automation needs. Set them as prospects first, if you don’t have a clear idea, and slowly gather information to find your final winner(s).
2. Identify which process automation solutions truly suit your need and goalAs briefly mentioned above, process automation is a broad term and is often confusing to many people precisely because there is a wide range of process automation practices and tools. This process is usually easier after you find your problematic process winner. As the issues are laid out, you will begin to see how you should approach and address each issue. Perhaps, you need workflow automation, robotic process automation, document automation, or sort of multiple combined. If you are a company trying to find a solution or deliver faster or more efficient service for your customers, you may even find that all you need is just one application for your customers to reach and use your service more easily. Our recent client, MSIG, an insurance company, for example, ultimately figured that all the company and its insurers desire is a more systematic and faster accident and claim reporting process, so the MSIG SpeeDi mobile app was soon developed by our low-code application development platform, ONEWEB.
3. Establish a Process Center of ExcellenceFor a process automation implementation to truly work and thrive, it usually requires a Process Center of Excellence or a qualified team designated to carry out process automation. A large company may even hire a process expert, but starting from all your in-house talents could also work since after all none could understand issues of a certain company more than those in inner circles. Just make sure that you include both those in the business sector and those in the automation sector who understand the tools. The key principle of this strategy is to bring in hands-on and experienced professionals to help execute each step in a strategic and unified way.
4. Choose the right process automation platformThis is probably the trickiest part for many process automation starters and even those who have once deployed process automation multiple times. So, we couldn’t stress enough that it is highly important that you select an automation platform that could provide the right capabilities for your automation requirements. Perhaps, you want workflow automation or an application or things combined but your selected platform aims at other automation entirely or could provide only one type of automation. In addition, it is important to note that if you lack technical IT members, particularly developers or those who can write codes, you should be careful not to select some traditional RPA and BPM platforms that require special training and IT help for figuration or, simply put, technical members to write codes on a daily basis. Instead, consider alow-code development platform.
A low-code development platform is, as its name suggests, allows you to execute multiple digital transformations such as process automation, application development with minimum or almost no hand-coding. People often know low-code as an application development tool or platform, but indeed manylow codeplatforms, such as ONEWEB, are also automation process platforms by nature. ONEWEB, for example, offers a complete set of BPM tools starting from design to monitoring.
One of our BPM tools, Process Designer (PD), for example, can help you easily configure a business process using a drag and drop user interface and represent your BPM model in a more clear, declarative, and visual way. It is a new BPM, a path to sustainableagile development in a proven and more simple way.
At this point, you probably understand more about how you should start your automation process. Remember, each automation platform is not similar, so it is important that you select one that can truly meet your automation demand. To learn more about how ONEWEB can help you achieve your process automation mission, please contact our representatives.