#67 Developing a plan for implementing Intelligent automation with The Automation Guys

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Process and Automation Podcast. As usual, I'm here with Arno talking about all things process and automation. So in today's episode, we will talk about how businesses can develop a plan for implementing intelligent automation. So, so let's kick that off. So in the first part of developing a plan would be conducting a thorough analysis of the business processes. So which makes of course sense to identify potential areas for intelligent automation and where automation in general makes, brings lots of benefits. It's important to, to really understand the current processes and operations of the business and see what's, what's going on. And yeah, this can be done by conducting a very detailed analysis for each process, including really every step which is involved, which resources are used in the process, what time it takes to complete a certain step, and Yeah, what happens after each step. So this is a very manual kind of activity traditionally, but it can be supported by automated process discovery tools or process mining tools. Yeah, but that will be sort of the first step every business has to do before doing anything else.

Yeah, that's great, Sascha, and that's a kind of good intro. And I, you know, as you look at your intelligent automation plan, the next thing that you typically need to do is go out and identify those processes that can benefit from intelligent automation. And, you know, for our listeners out there, if they're not kind of aware of what intelligent automation refers to, it's really the use of advanced technologies such as machine learning and AI to automate business processes and your underlying operations within your business. So, you know, intelligent automation is the most effective when it is applied to processes within your business that require a high level of analysis, decision-making, or problem-solving. So, you know, by identifying, you know, these processes, the businesses can prioritize them for implementation within Insight, your intelligent automation program. And, you know, this would potentially achieve significant benefits for your organization.

Cool. Yeah. So yeah, the next step is about developing a strategy for implementing intelligent automation. So after you have done the first two steps, yeah, the business should really develop a clear strategy that outlines the goals, very important, the objectives and priorities of the automation project. So yeah, and then was that the strategy should also include a timeline, and very traditional, like any other project, a budget and a plan for managing the risks and challenges associated with intelligent automation. That could be how do you deal with change and how, yeah, what kind of technologies you might use. But maybe that we cover that a bit later. But yeah, it needs a clear plan. Very often a center of excellence is involved, and that's that kind of activity. But yeah, we have lots of other episodes on, on Center of Excellence, for example. Yeah, so, but that would be in, on a high level, what is needed, developer strategy for implementation. Yeah, that, that will be our step number 3.

So also what we need to look, and this is the next step, is to engage with all of the various stakeholders in the business, such as the employees, the customers, and the suppliers to kind of gain their support. And again, intelligent automation affects all of these stakeholders. And it's really important to engage with these people to get their support for implementing intelligent automation with inside your business. As again, if you have the buy-in from all of these parties, it will ensure successful implementation. Again, we have talked about this in this program on various previous podcasts, IT involvement as well. So we need to make sure that when you embark on this journey, you have to kind of get all of these people in, you know, kind of like moving in the same direction. Because ultimately this will benefit all of those parties and you want to be very inclusive in that regard to ensure that, you know, people are, you know, on board with what you're trying to achieve and that people can actually, the various people, these various stakeholders can, you know, enjoy the benefits of what intelligent automation can bring to them.

Yeah, very cool. I touched briefly on it before, technology is obviously a big part of it. So the next important step is to identify the right technology and then also invest in the right technologies. And yeah, for that, the vendor market is huge. There's lots of movement in the market. And yeah, you need to find the appropriate technologies the right vendors around the areas of machine learning, natural language processing, workflow, RPA. You have to decide, will it be more low-code, no-code, traditional code? Yeah, it's important to, to really carefully research and select these technologies. Very often you can try sort of in a proof of value, in a proof of concept, you can try out these technologies to ensure they are the most suitable for the business needs. And Sometimes maybe in one department it is this kind of technology, in another department is maybe another set of tools which bring the business sort of department forward. So yeah, you need to really look into that technology to find a suitable, yeah, the right tool for whatever the business needs really.

Yeah, I guess the right fit. And then another point here as well is you need to develop a plan for training and upskilling your employees. And that's really important because intelligent automation can impact the roles and responsibilities of employees within the business. So to ensure a really smooth transition to intelligent automation, it's very important to develop a plan for training and upskilling employees so they can adapt to the sort of changes that automation brings into the business and really take advantage of the opportunities offered by intelligent automation. And I think this goes hand in hand with the, the change management of your operational processes. So it's really this sort of educational piece that's very important as well, just to ensure that everybody's on the same page. Everybody knows that how their jobs will be affected when we bring in intelligent automation. And there's a kind of continuation on that program. So it's not just an initial, you know, training that kicks off because we start with this journey. It needs to be a kind of continuous thing that happens throughout the program. And it's kind of just ever evolving into, you know, if you bring in new technologies, then you need to bring the new training, you know, with inside the business so people can constantly be upskilled.

Yeah. And yeah, we are sure by following these steps we just covered, a business can develop a plan for implementing intelligent automation and doing that the most effectively. And yeah, of course, These steps will help the business improve efficiency, productivity, and ultimately reduce costs. And yeah, as always, one of the big drivers, the overall quality of the operations in general for that business. And this is a good guide, step-by-step guide to get started in that area. If you want to take that further and really go hands-on with intelligent automation, RPA, yeah, we suggest check out theautomationguys.net and join the community there and play around with the ready-to-go sandbox with those things. Get a feel for certain technologies and what it can really do in the business. So check out theautomationguys.net. Yeah, we will be back with another episode, and until then, let's automate it. Unfortunately, that's it again with this episode of the Process and Automation Podcast. If you like this episode, please give us a 5-star rating and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss any upcoming episode. We hope you will tune in next time, and until then, let's automate it! [MUSIC] [MUSIC]