Digital Transformation has changed fundamentally the way organizations operate. New digital tools are available with increasing regularity – and many of them have the potential for a major impact. They enable the transformation of business processes to become more efficient, agile, meet compliance requirements, enhance customer experience or improve the general quality of deliverables. They may help achieve a level of process performance not previously envisaged. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of those digital enablers which has been applied, or at least discussed in many organizations as practice reports and conference presentations show. This process technology is becoming a mainstream trend, relevant for many businesses.

However, many organizations struggle to realize the full potential of RPA. According to newer statistics even 30-50% of RPA initiatives fail completely. The presentation discusses opportunities and challenges of applying RPA as process improvement approach. It shows how RPA can be a powerful solution but it also points out how it may become a dangerous illusion. The presentation describes how organizations address the challenges and realize the opportunities this digital technology brings to the table. It proposes a process-led approach that helps to focus on the right sub-processes to automate, improve those business processes considering the end-to-end context and sustain the results through appropriate governance and hybrid workforce management. Agile principles are combined with the required focus and direction. The approach leverages the capabilities of business process management (BPM) to realize the full value of RPA, fast and at minimal risk.

All findings are illustrated using case examples, mainly from financial and high-tech companies. Key methods and tools are explained in the context of those practice cases. 

Learning Objectives:

• Focus on the right processes to get most our of RPA
• Apply RPA in an end-to-end process context – using an agile approach for fast results
• Sustain the achieved RPA outcomes