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The Use of Robotic Process Automation for Business Process Improvement

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Remodelling Businesses for Sustainable Development (ICMTBHT 2022)

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics ((SPBE))

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to analyse the stage of innovation in business processes, to highlight the major themes related to the Business Process Management, and to analyse which are the criteria that must be taken into account by companies that want to implement a program to improve the business processes they already use or by companies that are new to the market and want to start their activity using advanced technologies that allow them to be dynamic and flexible. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the business benefits of implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and find the key factors that help such implementations succeed. The data sources are both primary and secondary and for the qualitative research, we mainly used primary data, collected through structured and semi-structured interviews with RPA specialists. The main characteristics associated with RPA projects and the typical phases that must be followed to implement a robot for a customer were discovered based on the interviews. The paper also presents the properties and attributes of processes that can have a positive impact on the successful implementation of RPA projects, focusing on how these properties should be used for the best results.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Business, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Cătălin Nicolae Cebuc & Rozalia Veronica Rus

Authors
  1. Cătălin Nicolae Cebuc
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  2. Rozalia Veronica Rus
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rozalia Veronica Rus .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Business, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Adina Letiția Negrușa

  2. Faculty of Business, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Monica Maria Coroş

Appendix

Appendix

9.1.1 Interview questions

  1. 1.

    Interviewee’s role/job title?

  2. 2.

    How much experience have you had with RPA?

    1. i.

      Can you estimate the number of projects you have worked on?

    2. ii.

      What is the extent/period you have focused on RPA projects implementation?

  3. 3.

    What are the typical features that you consider are associated with RPA projects/How would you characterize RPA projects in general?

  4. 4.

    What are the typical properties of the processes you consider for automating? Are there any thresholds for these specific properties? (Some of the properties that will be validated: Low complexity of tasks, high number of repetitions, multiple systems are involved, the process follows clear business rules, stable environment, limited need for human intervention, structured data)

  5. 5.

    Please share the typical phases that you go through implementing a robot for an internal client and have you seen that specific domains need a more customized approach like HR versus Finance versus Support?

  6. 6.

    What are the types of process discovery methods do you employ? (Workshop/Interview structured or unstructured/Keylogging/Process mining/Shadowing) Which ones have proven to be the most efficient in delivering a clear process understanding?

  7. 7.

    If you use any specialized modelling languages, can you please share what modelling language do you use and why?

  8. 8.

    Please share your own view of what a successful RPA project is like.

    1. i.

      What criteria should the project meet to be declared successful?

    2. ii.

      Which of the criteria do you think are the most important?

  9. 9.

    If you consider successful RPA projects. What things do you consider important for the success of the project?

    1. i.

      What factors have been shown to influence the success of the project?

    2. ii.

      In what order of priority would you put the factors you mentioned?

  10. 10.

    If you consider successful RPA projects. What things do you consider important for the success of the project?

    1. i.

      What factors have been shown to influence the success of the project?

    2. ii.

      In what order of priority would you put the factors you mentioned?

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Cebuc, C.N., Rus, R.V. (2023). The Use of Robotic Process Automation for Business Process Improvement. In: Negrușa, A.L., Coroş, M.M. (eds) Remodelling Businesses for Sustainable Development. ICMTBHT 2022. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19656-0_9

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