An introduction to Robotic Process Automation

In order for a software robot to know which processes it should execute and how, structured data must be available in advance. Rule-based and standardized work sequences are suitable processes for automation by RPA. They always follow the same instructions for action and vary little or not at all. Activities with long runtimes that require time-consuming manual processing by users and are therefore particularly likely to result in errors offer enormous potential for Robotic Process Automation as well. A specific sequence provides the robot with the respective process sequences. These are often created in flowcharts and serve as specifications for the RPA system's activities. Since the software bot always follows the same decision rules, each process step must be specified in the flowchart.

If all the required information is available to the bot in a structured form, it can act on the basis of the previously defined workflow and execute the tasks automatically at high speed. When certain steps are missing or the data is incomplete, the digital robot will arrive at an incorrect result. Processes that change frequently or do not have clear decision criteria are therefore less suitable for automation. If there are changes to the specifications of already defined process flows, they can be adapted flexibly at any time.