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A Consolidated Framework for Implementing Robotic Process Automation Projects

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Business Process Management (BPM 2020)

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Abstract

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a disruptive technology to automate already digital yet manual tasks and subprocesses as well as whole business processes. In contrast to other process automation technologies, RPA only accesses the presentation layer of IT systems and imitates human behavior. Due to the novelty of this approach and the varying approaches when implementing the technology, up to 50% of RPA projects fail. To tackle this issue, we use a design science research approach to develop a framework for the initiation of RPA projects. We analyzed a total of 23 case studies of RPA implementation projects to derive a preliminary sequential model. We then used expert interviews to validate and refine the model. The result is a consolidated framework with variable stages, that offers guidelines with enough flexibility to be applicable in complex and heterogeneous corporate environments. We conclude the paper with a discussion and an outlook on research opportunities on adapting and scaling RPA technology in projects.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The interview guideline, the interview transcriptions (where permitted), and the coding used in this research are available in the B2SHARE repository as CC-BY-NC-SA [18].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Julius -Maximilians -Universität, Würzburg, Germany

    Lukas-Valentin Herm, Christian Janiesch, Alexander Helm, Florian Imgrund, Kevin Fuchs, Adrian Hofmann & Axel Winkelmann

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  1. Lukas-Valentin Herm
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  2. Christian Janiesch
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  3. Alexander Helm
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  4. Florian Imgrund
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  5. Kevin Fuchs
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  6. Adrian Hofmann
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  7. Axel Winkelmann
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Correspondence to Lukas-Valentin Herm or Christian Janiesch .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Dirk Fahland

  2. FBK-irst, Trento, Italy

    Chiara Ghidini

  3. University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Jörg Becker

  4. University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

    Marlon Dumas

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Herm, LV. et al. (2020). A Consolidated Framework for Implementing Robotic Process Automation Projects. In: Fahland, D., Ghidini, C., Becker, J., Dumas, M. (eds) Business Process Management. BPM 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12168. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58666-9_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58666-9_27

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