The Seductive 7 and RPA

“Stop Decorating the Fish” (SDTF) is a book by Kristen Cox and Yihai Ashag that talks about which solutions to ignore and which problems matter. (https://amzn.to/3W0EFaq) In my career as an engineer, I have spent a lot of time programming – from the tiny computers in automobiles to PLCs in assembly plants to robots in welding, plant simulations, etc. At the moment, I am using something called RPA.

Robotic process automation (RPA) refers to using software with simple artificial intelligence (AI) to handle high-volume, repeatable tasks that mimic team members’ tasks. These tasks may include data entry, processing transactions, handling customer inquiries, etc.

RPA is designed to work alongside team members, allowing them to focus on more complex, value-added work while the software handles routine tasks. RPA can operate across a variety of applications, including those related to customer service, legal, MRP, and human resources. They excel at communicating across silos that occur because of the org chart or physical location.

Some benefits of RPA include reduced lead time, improved accuracy and compliance, and the ability to reallocate precious resources. It can also help organizations adapt to changing business needs more quickly and improve their ability to scale as the demand for resources continuously exceeds the resources available.

However, implementing RPA also requires careful planning and consideration regarding the Seductive 7. RPA can be expensive and fall into the “More Technology” category if it is done on a broad scale before the most suitable automation processes are identified. Recommending RPA before understanding how it will move you toward your goal is like implementing the solution before you understand the problem.

Much of my work with RPA has been in Project Management, where I have used Critical Chain effectively to reduce lead time and increase on-time performance. RPA drove part of the solutions that impacted common issues related to the reduction of lead time, such as:

• Entry time and quality of entry in MRP information.
• Document and Data trails through the defined process provided insight into the lead times of the project (not tasks). ?
• Approvals by returned letters could automatically trigger the next step in the process.
• Automatic triggering of the next step across a silo with necessary communication to resources.
• Highly visible status of the progress of orders, with explicit dependencies and priorities.

Some of these solve typical SDTF problems, especially by making problems visible and communicating across silos without extra effort. Still, these issues must address a core problem before an RPA solution can be justified.

Many of the problems that concern organizations are related to the time it takes to process work. Technology has evolved enough that automation and AI have now reached the office environment, but the prices for these products are expensive. We must ensure that RPA doesn’t become part of the decorations but a solution to the constraints and problems that prevent us from reaching our goal.

#hopium #toc #criticalchain #LiquidPlanner #Zapier #UiPath #DDMRP #stopdecoratingthefish

Kevin Kohls is the world's leading authority on how to apply TOC to the auto industry. He can be reached at [email protected].

You can buy his book “Addicted to Hopium” on Amazon at?https://www.amazon.com/dp/1974617041