BPM ASSIGNMENT (RESEARCH PAPERS)

ON

ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION

BY

CHAMAN PRADHAN UM22206 MBA-BM

UNDER GUIDANCE OF

PROF. FRANCIS CASTELLINO

2023

XIMB

XIM UNIVERSITY

Paper-1: Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence in Industry 4.0

Authors: Jorge Ribeiro, Rui Lima, Tiago Eckhardt, Sara Paiva
Summary points:
The main contribution of this paper is essentially in providing a review of AI and RPA
contributions to Industry 4.0 as well as in the analysis and comparison of several proprietary
and open-source tools regarding their functionalities.
For business processes, RPA is the extrapolation of a human worker’s repetitive tasks by a
robot (where those tasks are done quickly and profitably). This aims to replace people with
automation in an outside-in manner. Unlike traditional methods, RPA is not part of the
information infrastructure but rather sits on top of it, implying a low level of intrusiveness
possibly reducing costs. Some reports present a 30% to 50% decrease in operational costs of
transactional activities within shared services with the use of RPA technologies.
The use of AI makes the manufacturing industry smart and capable of addressing modern
challenges like customizable requirements, reduced time to reach the market and increasing
the number of sensors used in equipment [11]. The use of flexible robots combined with AI
allows for easier manufacturing of different products. AI methods (like data mining) are
capable of analyzing large volumes of real-time data gathered from various sensors.
It appears that the proprietary tools have a greater set of information and RPA functionalities
with AI. Open-source tools depend on the community of developers, they are still under
development or growing in the number of functionalities such are the tools TagUI, TaskT, and
Robot Framework Foundation.
In the case of proprietary companies (where the largest number of RPA functionalities and
information is more available), the adoption of RPA processes with AI or the interconnection
with other ERPS will always be associated with a licensing cost. In the case of open-source
RPA tools, initiatives and implementations are still growing. However, in recent years,
numerous implementations (at the academic level) of algorithms have been used in free
programming languages (such as R and Python), and some initiatives of RPA may take
advantage of implementations of Artificial Intelligence techniques and algorithms. On the
other hand, as a result of the development and availability of Artificial Intelligence algorithms
by Microsoft, the possibility of using the .NET framework from Azure’s Machine Learning
platform allows for a direct way to explore RPA implementations.

Paper-2: The Influence of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) towards Employee

Acceptance
Authors: Dahlia Fernandez, Aini Aman
Summary points:

In a case study conducted by Willcocks, Lacity and Craig [1], the organization took an open
approach in the RPA-related communication process by creating a newsletter and providing
information to employees. They disclosed to their employees what the RPA needs and what
are the implementation of the RPA means to them and the organization.

Company Slexa (the name has been changed for confidential purposes) is one of the biggest
oil and gas companies in the world, and was selected as a case study for this research. The
study has selected Company Slexa based on purposive sampling which is often used in
qualitative research to identify and select the information-rich cases. This involves the
identification and selection of individuals or organizations that are proficient and well-
informed about the implementation of RPA. Qualitative data is gathered through semi-
structured interviews with various respondents who are using the RPA system in the finance
and accounting unit.

According to ACCA research entitled "Next Generation" (2018), the younger the employee,
the more likely they are to dislike manual or routine work. This ACCA report has revealed
that diverse and changing work experience is very important for younger workers. Failure to
do so will result in these people going in search of better job satisfaction in a new place.
Thus, it is important for business executives to understand that different approaches are
needed to attract, preserve and retain the next generation of financial leaders by providing
them with more job satisfaction.

However, the employees in this finance and accounting unit initially felt anxious and less
motivated when the robot was first introduced. They have no choice but to accept the robot
and learn to adapt to new technologies. Thus, it shows that individuals in the accounting
profession should always be prepared and flexible especially in the era of digital technology
and automation where technological change is happening rapidly.

Employees now have more promotion opportunities than before RPA was implemented. This
is because RPA has taken over jobs at the lower level and caused the workload of employees
to now shift to a higher level. The implementation of RPA in this company also leads to a
reduction in workload and can save employee time. This results in employees not having to
spend a lot of time in the office doing trivial and repetitive tasks such as preparing reports and
closing accounts.

Paper-3: Robotic process automation and its impact on accounting

Authors: DARIUSZ JĘDRZEJKA
Summary points:

The potential for automating accounting processes with RPA is high, and
robots are predicted to replace accountants for a considerable part of their tasks. That could
lead to the disappearance of entry-level accounting positions and, simultaneously, the
creation of new accountant roles. Future accountants’ responsibilities will go beyond
bookkeeping and financial reporting towards business advisory and leading the RPA
transformation.
RPA is an alternative to traditional (integrated, full) automation. Traditional automation
requires programmers and software suppliers to develop dedicated software and to integrate it
into existing systems. Multiple applications may need to be modified so that they can
exchange information in a universally agreed format. The potential benefits of traditional
automation are higher, but the implementation is more difficult and requires spending
significant effort, time, and money. RPA can be deployed as a non-invasive technology
solution without the undesired interference with existing infrastructure, offering cross-
functional and multiple systems operations

A survey by Capgemini revealed that RPA is the most popular technology to automate back-
office and middle office functions. The payback period ranged from 7 to 12 months and ROI
from 13% to 18%. Thirty-one per cent of analysed companies implemented automation in
finance and accounting, where ROI averaged 12%, and the payback period was 11 months.
Automation in finance and accounting recorded the highest cost savings (13% on average)
compared to other back-office departments

Shifting large amounts of human tasks to high-performance robots is a disruptive,

transformational change and its impact and scope can be considerable. Automation can be
applied in multiple parts of a value chain and influence many employees’ work. Therefore,
RPA implementation requires proper preparation of infrastructure, pro-cesses and governance
mechanisms. Mistakes or shortcuts taken at that stage result in failures to meet the expected
automation outcome

The quantitative analysis of benefits versus costs of RPA implementation and its operation
could be valuable. Further stud-ies are needed to provide a comprehensive view of RPA’s
TCO elements to investigate one-time costs of automation development and the ongoing
costs of change and man-agement. Next, the relationships between costs and different
variables defined by the approach to RPA should be analysed. These could include RPA type
(e.g. attended or unattended), software/hardware choices, the fact of engaging external
consultancy or full reliance on own IT teams, decentralised or centralised management of
robots.

In terms of knowledge transfer and skills, the robotisation of accounting tasks may pose a
serious challenge. Successive waves of new technologies employed in accounting
departments have increased the importance of transparency. As more and more accounting
operations are done digitally, employees may find it hard to properly understand their
workflows. Accounting departments are witnessing a multi-layered environment with ERPs,
other interlinked systems, and individual employees’ spreadsheets.

As new, more advanced technologies are applied, further research is needed to ex-amine the
degree of opacity and the deskilling effect introduced by intelligent robots taking over more
and more accounting tasks. The research could recommend approaches to counteract it (in
terms of system design, implementation, and operation). Experts on AI, cognitive computing,
RPA, and behavioural aspects of knowledge management could provide guidelines and best
practices on system design that would promote skills and knowledge development.

The increasing adoption rate of robotics and AI calls for more research on the ac-counting
education model. If repetitive and low-skill tasks are to be performed by ro-bots, the methods
of training and education should acknowledge that. The question is whether and to what
degree content on traditional bookkeeping should be reduced. It poses a real challenge in
terms of the aforementioned deskilling effect of automation.

Paper-4: Responding to Healthcare Emergency Outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic with

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Authors: Damian Kedziora, Kari Smolander
Summary points:

The aim of the study is to uncover new insights into the phenomenon unexplored so far, thus
it applies an exploratory approach. Hence, it focuses on the discovery and enhancement the
available of theory and practice, rather than testing (Sarker et al., 2019; Corbin and Strauss,
1990). Research questions have been responded to with an interview study with practitioners
involved at RPA implementations for the City of Turku Welfare Division, in terms of different
project roles.

Even though RPA is widely perceived as a powerful tool, the reported cases point at
automation of some tasks inside process groups, but not the entire, end-to-end value chains,
as they often require so-called ‘human touch’, such as handling exceptions, empathy,
negotiation, trust-building. Hence, the global industry of service providers will still need a
human workforce for a long time, even though it is certain that the job profile of each office
worker shall transform and require some form of collaboration with software robots as a
hybrid workforce in various assignments.

When it comes to the implementation project, RPA was warmly welcomed by operational
workers. It is opposite to many research cases that reported some bias, or even panic among
employees that got parts of their jobs automated. Another advantage of RPA in the
emergency context is that it was relatively easy and fast to amend/change the logic of
software robot, whenever requested.

For Turku Healthcare Centre, Welfare Division, the business case was not the key decision
factor, but it was stated that the price for RPA services delivered was reasonable. Hence, RPA
is planned to become the part of the City of Turku software stack, supporting not only
Healthcare Centre, Welfare Division, but also other administrative units of the
organization.

This case study observed the use of RPA in response to COVID-19 emergency in City of
Turku Healthcare Division. Findings highlight the strong time pressure and need for
deploying reliable solutions fast to ensure that nurses are released from administrative burden
and can focus on helping patients with clinical assignments. RPA had been
chosen over other middleware and integratory solutions mainly due to its fast implementation
time and ability to get big parts or even entire processes
automated.

Fast implementation of RPA offered practical implications for healthcare and public decision
makers to consider and release valuable time of healthcare and other public servants that are
in shortage, at the same time maximizing their availability to serve us all, potential patients
and customers of public administration. Such case differs from the commercial applications
of RPA technology, as the types of value brought by automations are different than in
previously reported research. The study limitations are related to capacity and availability of
responders, as well as only one, single case that got addressed. Hence, it is recommended to
further explore the types and elements of value brought by RPA technology in non-
commercial contexts, such as complex emergencies and public healthcare organizations.

Paper-5: Robotic Process Automation: A Scientific and Industrial Systematic Mapping Study

Authors: J. G. ENRÍQUEZ, A. JIMÉNEZ-RAMÍREZ, F. J. DOMÍNGUEZ-MAYO, AND J.

A. GARCÍA-GARCÍA
Summary points:

BPM is a well-known management strategy for several decades. In fact, it has been
implemented in numerous environments and applied by different user profiles which has
caused many authors to propose different perspectives of lifecycles to carry out this
management. These perspectives are oriented towards process management, but when our
domain is circumscribed to RPA, the lifecycle aims to systematically deploy procedures
to automate manual business processes following customer specifications.

Once the primary studies were selected, the keywording using abstracts activity was carried
out to generate the scientific classification scheme to analyze them. As a result, a set of
characteristics are selected to answer each of the RQs which were formulated in the planning
phase. Regarding to the industrial scope, and due to the great activity in the area of RPA in
recent years, it was necessary to apply certain criteria when selecting tools such as the
maturity of the tool and its actual use in the industry. Considering the large number of
possible criteria to be evaluated for each tool in the industrial scope, this study
focused on a specific set of functionalities that allows for characterizing each of the phases of
the RPA lifecycle.

In summary, in light of the results, the research that is being developed around RPA presents
a clearly growing trend which reveals the high interest that is awakening in the scientific
community. As stated, the main works deal with theoretical studies or software proposals but
they are focused on specific environments, which shows that there are still challenges when
transferring the results to the industry. In addition, most of the papers present both industrial
and academic validations that suggest a high degree of alignment between industry and
research in the field of RPA since many works deal directly with companies' solutions, and
mainly in the back-office.
To sum up, the literature presented differs, mostly, in the following points: (1) the scope of
execution: while the related work usually is focused on the scientific or the industrial
scope, this study puts the focus on both, evaluating research papers and frameworks or tools
of the current market; (2) the objective of the study: while the related work aims to know
specific questions (e.g., the state and progress of research on RPA and how is defined), this
paper aims to cover a more general view of RPA, focusing on what has been
researched, used, and which is the nature and objective of the discovered proposals; (3) the
number of primary studies reviewed: while the related work presents a low number
of primary studies, this paper presents a fairly acceptable number of primary studies and tools
reviewed.

OVERALL INSIGHTS ABOUT RPA:

A set of proprietary tools (UiPath, Kofax, Automation Anywhere and WinAutomation) and
Opensource tools (AssistEdge and Automagica) were identified, and for each of them a
characterization of their RPA features, their integration with ERPs and support for ERPs was
made. We conclude that most of the proprietary tools implement algorithms associated with
the objectives of AI, such as recognition, optimization, classification and extraction of
knowledge from either RPA documents or processes. It also enhances their optimization and
exploration of the information by the users of these applications. The AI techniques and
algorithms that these tools implement focus on computer vision (image recognition using for
example Artificial Neural Networks), statistical methods, decision trees, neural networks for
classification and prediction, fuzzy logic, and implementation of techniques associated with
text mining, natural language processing and recommendation systems.

On the other hand, Industry 4.0 - the revolution we are experiencing today - lives on the
fusion of the Internet of Things, intelligent automation, intelligent devices and processes and
cyber-physical systems. The combination of all these concepts and technologies brings a
significant change in industrial processes, affecting the workflow of digital processes
throughout the company. Nowadays, and to improve these processes, they are incorporating
automation of some steps through robots (RPA). In addition, RPA nowadays incorporates, in
many tools as we have shown in this paper, intelligent techniques and algorithms (AI), which
allows to reach levels of intelligence in the automation of processes within a company.

Robots bring a paradigm shift to the relationship between accountants and technology.
Machines are no longer merely tools; they are able to completely replace some human roles
and tasks. RPA will be increasingly integrated with cognitive platforms and be transformed
into intelligent process automation (Sackett, 2017). Artificial intelligence, self-optimisation
and self-learning will enable robots to solve more sophisticated problems and make complex
decisions.

The consequences of human-machine collaboration should be examined to develop methods

to counter the potential negative effects (human-robot competition, unintended organizational
structure changes, deskilling and building expertise, knowledge management, and knowledge
biases). New roles and skills require further research on the accounting education model and
methods to implement its change, as prior attempts to change it have not been successful.
As for the contribution to the available literature, the explored case demonstrated that RPA
can serve as the solution for COVID-19 emergency response, yet its implementation in this
exceptional situation, at non-commercial sector was associated with different drivers and
value added, compared to formerly reported commercial cases. In this situation,
cost reduction was not the key decision factor. Moreover, none of the persons who got their
process automated felt any bias/panic towards the change. All the stakeholders felt special
due to the societal impact of the value brought by RPA.

In the Analysis phase of the RPA lifecycle, interfaces would be provided to simultaneously
manage several candidate processes to automate, such as managing, modifying, deleting
and/or searching for several processes simultaneously to evaluate, subsequently, if they are
susceptible to be automated. The irruption of the RPA tools in the Analysis phase would offer
an exceptional added value to the product, based on the fact that existing proposals had not
been able to integrate it until now and the analysis is one of the most important phases in a
software project. Achieving substantial improvements in the execution of the analysis
process when an RPA implementation project is carrying out means reducing economically
and temporally the cost of the whole project. Thereafter, achieving the automation ofthis
phase would be benecial for the current offer of RPA, by incorporating additional interfaces
that allow to document in detail the characteristics of each process to be automated, including
information such as objectives, metrics, deliverables, hypotheses, team members, scope,
stakeholders, customers, input data, output data and customer requirements.

Another important research line is related to software testing. In traditional software

development methodologies, testing environment before deployment in the production
environment, however, this environment is rarely offered in RPA, which involves a high risk
for deployment phase. When running an automated process, it is fundamental to ensure
that there are no errors during the execution of the robots in production environments.

References:
1. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-66963-2_7
2. https://www.sciencegate.app/document/10.24251/hicss.2022.019
3. https://www.sciencegate.app/document/10.35940/ijrte.e5289.019521
4. https://ztr.skwp.pl/resources/html/article/details?id=195363&language=en
5. https://www.sciencegate.app/app/document/download#10.24251/hicss.2022.752