The Different Ways to Learn RPA

Roles and Knowledge Avenues

As we move deeper into 2020, Robotic Process Automation continues to be one of the most impactful technologies in business today. For organizations training their workforce to stay on the technological forefront, we’ll show you the different areas and ways to learn RPA, and how to form your Center of Excellence through thought-leadership.

How-to Learn RPA Effectively

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the most sought-after technologies in business today.  In 2019, Gartner named Robotic Process Automation as the fastest growing market-segment in the entire software space.

Major software automation providers like UiPath and Microsoft Power Automate are experiencing significant growth in 2020 as organizations move from the “sandbox” phase to a strategic execution phase. Further, with hyperautomation broadening the field of what processes can be automated and how, businesses are seeking after RPA for full-scale, end-to-end process improvements.

learn RPA

With the impact RPA is making on business processes in multiple industries, it’s no wonder that organizations are gaining ground to not only learn RPA fully, but to train their workforce in every avenue possible. However, undergoing a business transformation is no straight forward path, and there are multiple variables to consider. RPA is certainly no exception.

Pros

  • More hands-on activities and examples

  • More opportunity for questions and guidance

  • Might receive same-day certification

  • Likely more applicable to organizational use-cases

Cons

  • Often not free of charge

  • Not as self-paced as online learning

  • Often geared towards a specific skill set/job

  • Might require travel and lodging expenses

Bridging the Business and Development Gap

Forming a Center of Excellence (CoE) is a fundamental component to learn RPA, and what processes within a business can be automated. Regardless of its task, a bot’s essential job is to make the company vision come true.

To realize this vision, businesses should establish an internal, self-sustaining and scalable RPA expertise to build, run and maintain bots up kept by developers. Businesses must treat RPA as an enterprise capability, and resist temptation to make quick wins by implementing automation silos that only bring short-term benefits. Developing an RPA CoE is an important step in establishing a foundation for automation in your business.

The Business Analyst

Business Analysts play a fundamental role in this area. They act as a bridge between the organization’s automation desires and the developers that build the bots.

In general, many RPA projects fall to the wayside due to poor requirement gathering, process documentation and communication between the business and technical team. Some critical areas of skill/knowledge building that a Business Analyst must focus on are the following:

  • Complete understanding of RPA technology from a high-level perspective

  • Implementation methodologies, and what role they will play in the process

  • Proper documentation techniques and accuracy

  • Map as-is and to-be business processes through clarifying inputs and outputs

  • Learning what processes/functionalities within a business can be automated, and which areas are sustaining (finance, accounting, HR, supply chain, etc.)

The Executive Team

Business Executives are not only the RPA champions within a CoE, but also individuals that spear-head the discovery of potential automation candidates (along with Business Analysts).

Executives are responsible for introducing the fundamental components of RPA to their workforce, and gauging the costs and benefits associated with an RPA implementation. Some critical areas of skill/knowledge building that Executives must focus on are the following:

  • Differentiating RPA from other forms of automation

  • Learning existing business processes in-depth BEFORE the implementation phase

  • Understanding the application areas of RPA, and how it will effect the human workforce

  • Introducing and maintaining the RPA Center of Excellence within their organization

Developers – RPA Implementation Champions

RPA Citizen Developers and Advanced Developers are the cornerstone of any RPA implementation. Just as the Business Analyst bridges the gap between business and development language, developers bridge the gap between the technical and non-technical skill sets within an RPA CoE.

With new tool kits available in UiPath like cloud services and code abstract platforms, RPA Developers have various tools at their disposal to work with. Through these tools, frequent training and advancement milestones must be achieved/maintained in order for developers to manage more complex bots. Some critical areas of skill/knowledge building that Developers must focus on are the following:

  • Building complex bots through industry best practices

  • Deploy, maintain and manage bots through tools like UiPath Orchestrator

  • Manage and maintain automations and security and licensing

  • Developing RPA client architecture and solution proposals focusing on scalability and extensibility

Looking for more on RPA?

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Keep Reading: Key Takeaways from the UiPath RPA Market Update

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