How can you integrate RPA with BPM effectively?

RPA can be used to manage a workflow, but that’s not its raison d’etre, it’s like forcing a square peg into a round hole. BPM is far better placed to orchestrate the overall process including manual activity then call on RPA to complete specific tasks. I think BPM will inevitably become a much more significant player within hyperautomation.

For effective integration of BPM with RPA, there is an important need to have the business process fully mapped out in such a detailed manner. One will then group the BP actions into those that require human input/manual triggers and the automatic ones. Automatic triggers that cannot be done by the system should then be considered under RPA. Such actions will mostly be those that have to do with business processes that occur across multiple systems, i.e. if the bid has been awarded in an EDRMS mapped business process, a Purchase requisition must be auto-created in the ERP system. I would recommend using RPA on repetitive, mundane, tedious tasks and on sensitive tasks where natural persons may make detrimental errors.

BPM and RPA work collaboratively within the larger DPA space, in exploratory cases RPA can be plugged in for immediate solutions with a margin or error, as long as organizations are looking at their integration space. There are wide range of benefits to RPA which is not limited to just integration.

To integrate RPA with BPM effectively, utilize APIs or connectors to establish seamless communication between the RPA and BPM platforms. Map out clear process workflows, ensuring compatibility with RPA bots. Implement error-handling mechanisms to address discrepancies between automated tasks and BPM processes. Regularly update and synchronize both systems to maintain data consistency. This integration enhances overall business process efficiency by combining the strengths of RPA for task automation and BPM for comprehensive process orchestration.

When we talk abt systems integrating, it’s inevitably automating piece of task. So, generic benefits of automation like FTE reduction, reduction in TAT, process standardisation, etc. will naturally follow. However, which toolset to use based on the use case is the key to capture the true value of integration. Whether u use RPA with BPM or API with BPM or an ML model’s endpoint to integrate with BPM depends on the use case u are trying to resolve. We normally integrate RPA with BPM where we want to control the E2E workflow with a BPM tool but there are several tasks in the process which are swivel-chair integrations where standard API endpoints are not a feasible solution, and u want to automate these tasks within the E2E process.

In my experience, the main barrier and challenge to integrating RPA with BPM components is to ensure a holistic view of the project. While most people believe the integration is just a technical challenge, the reality is that the integration is more than a technical matter. Most projects fail because they don't consider change management and the resistance to change in the way they currently operate; they don't have maintenance plans aligned with process stakeholders; they don't acknowledge that each technology requires specific skills and how to identify and train the talent they lack; how to identify the best use cases with high ROI. All of the previous increases the project's cost, making the business case more difficult to justify.

The main challenge lies in understanding the correct toolset that u wud like to use. Unnecessary usage to different toolsets makes the solution more complex or usage of wrong toolset will not deliver the real value. For example, if we see tasks to automate can be solely addressed by RPA, then why the need of BPM. But if the need is to manage a complex workflow and orchestrate the E2E workflow with ultimate control, then RPA cannot be the solution. The other key challenge is the governance of the implemented process and the implemented bots - with respect to continuous improvement, metrics mgmt and insights through BAM and bot analytics respectively.

For a clean design that simplifies workflow logic and maintainability, you want to start drafting the end-to-end process on the BPM tool. Then, rely on RPA for atomic tasks within that workflow, especially if that task or step involves high volumes, requires interaction with legacy systems or needs cognitive capabilities to make decisions or gather insights.

Best practices for RPA and BPM integration can be articulated as below : a. First, chalk out the entire E2E process comprising of all the tasks and corresponding actors. b. understand the pain points in the E2E process and the desired target metrics to achieve. c. Brainstorm on how u can achieve the same - these become your transformation opportunities. If digital elements are used in ur transformation then understand the right toolset considering the enterprise landscape, cost vs benefits analysis, etc. d. Use RPA for task automation where corresponding API endpoint is not available or not feasible. iPaaS solution should be ur first choice if available. e. Use BPM for workflow automation and process orchestration.

A good example of workflow managed by BPM and RPA is one of the lastest use cases I have delivered in the last month: a contract management system for an insurance company: the whole workflow is managed and designed using a BPM tool. While uploading the new contract, this is validated by using RPA. The process automated reads and understands the content of the document by applying PDU (Process Document Understanding) making sure the contract uploaded complies with the criteria desired by the business. Then, the workflow of approvals and reviews continues in the BPM tool. RPA removes the manual task of reading and understanding a heavy document, gaining efficiency and time to approve the case.

Couple of following use cases which are perfect candidates for RPA BPM integration: a. A point in ur E2E process needs to insert data into a legacy system which does not have any API exposed nor have plans to expose any API in future. U want to do away with unnecessary FTE involvement that inserts data manually into the legacy system. b. A point in ur E2E process wants to be fed with data from external application. The data is fed manually by org users on both the external system and also an in-house application to consume the data in E2E process. U want to do away with this double manual effort through integration via screen scraping.

Here are some of the ways to integrate RPA(Robotics Process Automation) with BPM(Business Process Management) 1. Build the automation pipeline: Identify the correct process for RPA in order to build the automation pipeline so that it has a list of processes to be automated. 2. Correct RPA tool Selection: Based on the process requirement it is always important to select the correct RPA tool. For example: Some tools are good for repetitive tasks whereas some are good in cognitive automation. 3. Monitoring and Maintenance: Once the RPA is implemented, as a next step it's important to have continuous monitoring and maintenance of the BOT with a trained support team.