What do you do if new technology in Process Automation poses risks and challenges?

Ensure the technology you are choosing aligns with the business needs and automation goals. Rushing into implementation for the sake of automation wouldn’t be an effective approach. Thoroughly analyse the risks before implementation. Which is why teams ideally do a POC to understand the risks and rewards.

Assess your needs and goals: Evaluate your organization's specific needs, objectives, and challenges concerning process automation. Understand the desired outcomes and how the new technology aligns with your goals. This assessment will help you make informed decisions about whether the technology is the right fit for your organization.

Any new technology will upgrade in future. Before adapting it ,it is important to understand , 1.what the business needs , 2.what the technology can provide and see if this gap can be bridged . Identify the critical aspects of the business and make sure the risks and challenges of technology does not compromise on them.

It is paramount that we evaluate the problem statement thoroughly with respect to the overall business needs. The challenges as well as the business objectives ideally will be unique and hence require a detailed understanding of what we are trying to achieve, what is our success criteria, what are our anticipated benefits- tangible and intangible both, what could be the probable impediments and how we plan to address them. VOB-Voice of Business, VOP- Voice of Process and VOC- Voice of customer should be considered and then need to be assessed if really it make sense for automation- RPA or AI after considering the cost associated with it- setup, infrastructure, modelling, training, maintenance, etc.

Based on the assessment, we should then try to deep-dive and check on the available options by using any of the structured approach – eg: DAR. The parameters that we should consider for evaluation should be wisely finalized in alignment with the relevant stakeholders and involved parties. Once we shortlist from the available options, we should then do a ROI as well as CBA to ensure that the option we selected is right one- in terms of the anticipated benefit quantification and the value proposition perspective.

Research and compare options: Conduct thorough research on the available technology options for process automation. Compare features, functionalities, costs, and potential risks associated with each option. Consider factors such as scalability, compatibility with existing systems, vendor reputation, and support services.

Plan and test before implementation: Develop a detailed implementation plan that outlines the steps involved in deploying the new technology. Prioritize testing and validation to identify any potential issues or challenges before full-scale implementation. Pilot the technology in a controlled environment to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments.

It’s important that we create a use -case driven model rather than just going with the gut feel. This helps to ensure that we are investing our efforts and resources in the right direction with a informed and predictive outcome based model. IMO, considering the aforesaid, we will be in a position to take a wise and more informed decision.

Train and support your staff: Provide comprehensive training and support to your staff to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively use the new technology. Offer ongoing support and resources to address any questions or challenges that may arise during the implementation process. Empowering your team with the right tools and training can help mitigate risks associated with adopting new technology.

It is extremely important that you have a set of experts who can be your brand ambassadors to implement and institutionalise the automated processes/ changed ways of working for a smooth experience. Train the Trainer, gamification techniques, process institutionalisation programs, roadshows, bootcamps, etc. should be considered for ease of implementation and institutionalization.

Learn- Unlearn- Relearn should be the mantra. We need to ensure that we have a robust framework for the CSI perspective. We should ensure that we define the frequency for the reviews and it is recommended to have it more frequent till the time the processes and the overall ecosystem is stable.

Review from peers and try to go beyond your team. Try to get experts advice using automation communities or attend automation gatherings, workshops or events to see if you can find people who are trying to find the same solutions or have already implemented what you are looking for. Take feedback and adapt the findings to your approach.

Review and improve continuously: Establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the new technology post-implementation. Collect feedback from users and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and address any issues promptly. Continuously review and optimize processes to maximize the benefits of the technology and minimize risks over time.