The Smart RPA Playbook: From Real-World RPA Deployments to a Practical Guiding Framework

Editor's note: for enterprise organizations, Everest has created an updated playbook, "360-degree Enterprise Automation Playbook." In addition to free access to the playbook mentioned in the article below, you can also download their enterprise automation playbook.

Many businesses and organizations start their robotic process automation (RPA) journeys with the best of intentions. The technology makes sense, and there are processes that they easily target as suitable for automation. But like with all new technologies, launching RPA and harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities can start off clumsily. Best practices and shared wisdom come only with time and experience.

Well, we’re pleased to announce that this time and experience has resulted in a publication of cumulative wisdom. Everest Group has taken that wisdom and laid it out in a step-by-step guide book; The Smart RPA Playbook. The play book is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive RPA resource that we’re sharing with the entire RPA community around the world; for free.

The truth is that some RPA deployments have started off with difficulty, and we’ve all had to learn as we go. There are organizations, which began pilot projects, but haven’t yet been able to successfully scale them up. Others have been less apt to automate suitable processes, unsure of a clear adoption road map. While we love all the RPA success stories, sometimes the greatest lessons result from the experimental knowledge gained through trial and error.

Let’s look at one example that we covered recently involving the UK’s largest betting and gambling company, Ladbrokes Coral Group. Before succeeding in automating one of their processes, Ladbrokes went through an initial iteration of RPA implementation. This first round didn’t catch on, as it was difficult to implement and it gradually lost traction amongst the operational staff. However, they were convinced of the technology. Through working with an RPA specialist and targeting a suitable process for automation, Ladbrokes was able to successfully deploy a few RPA solutions on their second attempt. This second-time, the company saved 11,000 hours of work and £50,000 over the first year alone.

The experience organizations like Ladbrokes gain through implementing RPA are gifts to the broader community. And as we all know, we can and should learn from one another. Everest Group captures the cumulative community experience in the Playbook. Using both qualitative and quantitative research, they collaborated with numerous Fortune 1000 companies, examining how to maximize the business impact of their RPA deployments. The guide compiles these insights, diverse methodologies, and practical advice designed to help organizations scale better and improve business outcomes; creating a framework for thinking through the best ways to plan, pilot and scale-up and their automation initiative.

You can find a video introduction to the Smart RPA Playbook created by Everest Group below. 

In the Smart RPA Playbook Everest Group has established a simple five-step approach to deploying automation, and the playbook will guide any business through those steps. It’s designed to help organizations understand their current state and maturity of their processes, to develop a business case for automation, to establish tangible automation targets, to map the path to get there, and then to execute their deployment. Regardless of where an organization is on their automation journey and (you know us), regardless of which RPA vendor customers decide to use, the Smart RPA Playbook can help it do more and get better results. It will make automation cheaper and easier.

At UiPath, we believe that we’re moving towards a society where there will be a robot for every worker, facilitating daily tasks and contributing to a more dynamic workforce. In terms of the playbook, its value goes far beyond us. This is for everyone involved in RPA, and it's the first time that the community has seen a document that people can follow in a step-by-step process and achieve a positive outcome.

Get smart on RPA deployment by downloading the Smart RPA Playbook here.