Today, I like to share the 7-step approach that I recommend for Intelligent Automation. 

This gives you my perspective on the key elements you can use to develop your own approach to Automation. 

Unfortunately, I have heard stories of people that took years to get Intelligent Automation right. While you certainly need to understand what is uniquely best for your organization, you can learn from others and reduce the iterations to get things right. 

In that light, I share my steps that have evolved as I consulted and implemented automation programs. My current 7-step approach includes: 

1. Understand Business objectives  

2. Map Customer & Employee Experience

3. Assess whether to eliminate, optimize, or Automate  

4. Analyze Automation suitability and ease of implementation.  

5. Make a business case with quantitative & qualitative benefits  

6. Implement the automation  

7. Monitor and improve

Let's dive deeper into the 3 key steps in the process. I have a few templates you can use as a bonus.

Experience mapping

• Most Intelligent Automation initiatives are ultimately about improving people's experiences (Customers, Employees, Vendors, etc.) For e.g. Employee onboarding is about improving the experience of new hires.
• For every Customer experience, there is an equivalent internal process and Employee Experience. For e.g. In Employee onboarding, there is a new hire experience that is influenced by internal experience in HR, IT, Security, etc.
• Understanding the External and Internal pain points helps identify areas and processes that you can assess for improvement.

🎁 Bonus: Experience mapping template. 

Assess and Analyze

Once you have the Processes and Pain points identified, the next step is to assess if your objectives are best achieved through Elimination, Optimization, Standardization, or Automation.

After this assessment, we are ready to analyze the processes that are the best candidates for automation. Look to analyze for Automation feasibility, suitability, and ease of implementation. You can use a template like the one below from UiPath.

🎁 Automation Analysis Template

Making a Business case

Once you have identified the process you like to Automate, it is time to get approvals to proceed.

It comes down to key benefits and financial returns (ROI) for the organization. To build a bulletproof business case, understand what is most useful at this moment for the group or the organization.

Then build a Business case using both Quantitative metrics and Qualitative benefits focusing on what is important for your customer right now.

That's all for now. If you like to go into more such frameworks and templates, join us at the Digital Automation Club - the next cohort is closing soon.

See you again soon.

Kind Regards, Nandan

👉🏽 Note that the above is a top-down approach to identifying processes for Automation. This works well initially. As your program matures, you can move to a Bottom-up approach by involving your employees to identify the opportunities.