What is process automation? And what are the major components of process automation?
Process automation comprises the usage of technological advancements and resources to enabling the integration of business information in order to improve the overall control of processes and data of an organization. Further, the process automation may focus on workflows, resources, and profitability parameters. And the purpose of process automation is to reduce manual tasks and thereby optimize the time of professionals to ultimately increase productivity. Besides, it helps organizations to standardize workflows, optimize resources, minimize failures, and easily adapt to new requirements.
One particular instance of process automation is business process automation (BPA) and BPA is the use of software to automate repeatable or routine, complex and procedural business transactions by tailoring it to meet the needs of the organization. The business processes in the organization are the set of activities and tasks that help the business achieve its predefined goals.
There are mainly seven steps for successful process automation in an organization, namely:
- Identify automation opportunities
- Analyze, Improve and Validate Workflow
- Define the Executable Process, Procedure and Model
- Create Forms and Input Masks
- Prepare for the Rollout
- Execute the Process as Pilot Project
- Continuous Monitoring and Integration of the Results
The core components of process automation include:
- Business rules and logic
- Structured data
- Unstructured data
Business process automation (BPA) is highly related with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Business Process Management (BPM).