Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - Digitization and Automation of Processes. Prerequisites, functionality and implementation using accounting as an example

143 Pages·2022·4.548 MB·English

by  Christian Langmann, Daniel Turi

Christian Langmann
Daniel Turi
Robotic Process
Automation (RPA)
- Digitization
and Automation
of Processes
Prerequisites, functionality and
implementation using accounting as an
example
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - Digitization
and Automation of Processes
Christian Langmann • Daniel Turi
Robotic Process Automation
(RPA) - Digitization and
Automation of Processes
Prerequisites, functionality
and implementation using accounting
as an example
Christian Langmann Daniel Turi
München, Germany Cham, Switzerland
ISBN 978-3-658-38691-7 ISBN 978-3-658-38692-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-38692-4
© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2022
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Preface to the First Edition
The use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can release considerable efficiency potential
for organizations and thus create new opportunities for employees without having to set up
costly (IT) projects. The increasing response from practitioners and the high growth
expectations for the RPA market in the coming years are therefore not surprising.
However, the necessary prerequisites, functionalities and steps for the introduction of
this new technology are more extensive than one might initially suspect. Freely available
literature and documentation on this are unfortunately usually superficial, not very
objective or incomplete.
For this reason, we decided to systematize our many years of experience with the use
of RPA software and to document it in an easily understandable and practical manner. The
feedback on the finished manuscript has confirmed our decision.
Writing a book costs a lot of time. Therefore, we thank our families for their
understanding that we sometimes have no or less time than usual. This book is dedicated
to them.
Munich, Germany Christian Langmann
Cham, Switzerland Daniel Turi
v
Preface Second Edition
We completed the manuscript for the first edition in mid-2019. Today, only about 2 years
later, much has evolved in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) space: consolidation
among RPA software vendors, evolution from RPA to IPA, or the emergence of SaaS
model for RPA, just to name a few developments. In sum, so much has changed and
evolved that we decided, together with Springer-Verlag, to write a second and significantly
expanded edition.
RPA is slowly growing up, maybe it has already grown up. In English, one would say
“beyond the hype, becoming mature.” In our experience, the number of companies using
RPA today is considerable, which is why there can be no talk of niche technology here.
And the number of companies using RPA continues to grow. At the same time, companies
still face numerous challenges at the beginning, which actually have nothing to do with the
development of software robots or RPA technology in the narrower sense. An experienced
RPA expert once summed it up very aptly: “Anyone who introduces RPA quickly realizes
that the technical development of software robots is the easy part of RPA.” This book is
written precisely for companies that are experiencing this and are looking for solutions to
the many challenges.
As many positive voices as there may be about RPA, many companies are becoming a
little disillusioned, even after years of experience with RPA. The scaling and maintenance
of RPA requires companies to take a new look at structures and resources. The question of
how to ensure the maintenance of software robots with which resources, for example, is
just one example. Citizen developers or perhaps external SaaS service providers? One of
the limits companies face when scaling RPA is where software robots need cognitive
skills, that is, in reading, understanding, speaking, learning, and thinking. This is precisely
where a lot has happened in the last 2 years. We will take a closer look at this development
and present various technologies that turn RPA into IPA, that is, Intelligent Process
Automation.
We also dedicate the second edition to our families.
Munich, Germany Christian Langmann
Cham, Switzerland Daniel Turi
vii
Comments on the First Edition
“RPA is an effective tool for businesses to automate repetitive and error-prone processes.
When we started using RPA in operations in 2016, that’s exactly what we set out to do. It
allows us to be much more accurate and deliver better service for our customers. To enable
our employees to focus on value-added work, we set out to improve our processes even
further in the future. This book serves as a valuable read to understand the RPA fundamentals
and organizational models in detail to successfully get started and also evolve RPA within
the organization.”
–Josef Elkuch, Global Robotics Delivery Lead, Operations Division of UBS
“Robotics enables employees in controlling to automate activities that are often perceived
as time-consuming and boring and to focus on business management. The authors show
how robotics can be successfully introduced and how employees can be inspired by it.”
–Jörg Helten, Member of the Executive Board, ADAC SE
“The ideal guidance for starting and further developing the RPA discipline in the company!
In addition to valuable case studies from controlling and accounting, central topics such as
technology, process selection, governance, operating model and change management are
illuminated in an understandable and application-oriented manner.”
–Reto Santschi, Head of Automation Center of Excellence, PostFinance
“The book “Robotic Process Automation” provides a comprehensive understanding of
robot-based process automation and is therefore highly recommended for both “RPA-
interested” and “robotics-experienced” readers. In addition to the holistic view of the
topic, this is also due in particular to the numerous design and practical examples, which
represent valuable points of orientation for those responsible in companies.”
–Achim Wenning, Partner, Horváth & Partners
ix
Disclaimer
This book provides an overview of the necessary prerequisites, the mode of operation, and
the individual steps for the successful introduction of Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
The following statements represent the personal work of the two authors, and not that of a
company or organization. The book was not written on behalf of a company, nor was it
sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise funded by a company.
xi
Contents
1 Introduction 1
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Basics of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) 5
2.1 What Is RPA? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Motivations for the Use of RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2.1 Technological Motivations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2.2 Operational and Economic Motivations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 Limitations and Disadvantages of RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4 Central Terms in the Context of RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3 Introduction of RPA in Financial and Management Accounting 17
3.1 Phase Model for the Introduction of RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.1.1 Proof-of-Concept as a Starting Point (PoC). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.1.2 Ramp-Up, Scale & Institutionalize and Mature & Innovate . . . . . . 19
3.2 Selection of Suitable Processes for RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2.1 Selection Criteria for Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2.2 Process Optimization Before Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.2.3 RPA-Heatmaps for Central Processes in Financial and Management
Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.3 RPA Vendors and Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.3.1 Structure of an RPA Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.3.2 Overview of Leading RPA Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.3.3 Combination of RPA with Other Digitization Technologies . . . . . . 42
3.4 RPA Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.4.1 RPA Business Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.4.2 RPA Developer & Citizen Developer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.4.3 RPA Architect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.4.4 RPA Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.4.5 Summary Overview of RPA Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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xiv Contents
3.4.6 Examples of an RPA Role Model from Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.4.7 Relationship Between RPA Roles and Roles in Financial and
Management Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.5 RPA Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.5.1 Basics of RPA Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.5.2 Monitoring and Control of RPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.5.3 Compliance and Data Protection in the Use of RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.5.4 RPA Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.6 RPA Operating Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.6.1 Basics of the Operating Model for RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.6.2 Operating Models for RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.6.3 RPA Development Approaches Within the Operating Models . . . . 63
3.6.4 Software-as-a-Service Approach for RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.7 RPA-Specific Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.7.1 Basics of Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.7.2 Impact of the Introduction of RPA on Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.7.3 Arousing Employee Enthusiasm for RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.7.4 Successfully Embedding RPA in the Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.7.5 Knowledge Management for RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.8 RPA Performance Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4 From RPA to IPA: How Software Robots Are Becoming Smarter 81
4.1 Evolution from RPA to IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.2 Technologies in Use at IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.2.1 Technologies for ‘Seeing’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.2.2 Technologies for ‘Speaking’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.2.3 Technologies for Thinking & Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5 RPA in Practice: Results of an Empirical Study 95
5.1 Data Collection and Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.1.1 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.1.2 Composition of the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5.2 Results of the Empirical Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
5.2.1 Scaling and Experience with RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
5.2.2 Effect of RPA on Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
5.2.3 Selection of Suitable Processes for RPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
5.2.4 RPA Platforms and Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
5.2.5 RPA Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
5.2.6 RPA Operating Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.2.7 RPA-Specific Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
5.2.8 RPA Performance Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117