10 things to Include in an RFP for Robotic Process Automation

[Or: how to get the most out of robotics by writing a watertight Request for Proposal] Robotic process automation is one of the new and exciting solutions that have evolved out of the trend to service delivery automation. It is so new, in fact, that there are as yet few bona fide case studies to showcase. However, momentum is growing and with more and more providers jumping on the RPA bandwagon, it’s the perfect opportunity to clarify what should be included in an RFP to cover all the bases. So here are 10 items that you should absolutely include when engaging a potential provider. 1. How will you integrate RPA into our applications? Ask providers what integration methods they use and how they plan to interface with your information systems. Can the RPA software orchestrate all your applications, including those that run on Citrix? You need to be confident that their connections are secure, consistent, and reliable, and that connections can be easily created, managed and controlled. 2. What skills do we need to create new automations? In traditional scenarios, the IT department manages new technology implementations, which normally involves drafting project specs, bringing in architects, creating test environments, and writing lots of technical code. However, the beauty of RPA is that it does not require the full infrastructure of a traditional IT program. Local development can be done from within the business operation. Nonetheless, it is important to establish the level and range of technical skills needed to build automations using the RPA software, to ensure you can identify, or hire, suitable people. 3. How far can you accommodate our need to scale up (or down)? Before you make a decision based on your needs of today, look out 5 years and consider where you’ll need to be going and make sure you build this into your RFP. For now: do you need to leverage just a single desktop, perhaps a simple task to assist an agent, or hundreds or thousands of potential robots to handle industrial scale back office processing? Ask your vendor how they would deploy robots at scale. What flexibility is there to scale up or down, even at short notice? 4. How will you manage and control data security and access? With security such a big issue, you need to ensure that you are comfortable with how access is managed and that the system is compliant with the regulatory requirements of your industry or location. How will security breaches be prevented? Does the system require a range of checks for processing? Can you drill down into an audit trail showing anything that a robot has done? This also depends on what you want: are you looking for a "light touch" solution (i.e., "fire and forget") or do you need to offer a clear trail for audit and control? [eventpdf] 5. How does your solution handle unexpected events or exceptions? Before you ask about solution resilience, you need to consider the extent to which processes and systems may be subject to change from your side, and how frequently this might occur. Are you connecting with a process that may shift, on a regular basis? This would make it more vulnerable to business or system exceptions. How would these be handled through RPA? And if needed, can more resilience or a higher tolerance for change be built into the solution? 6. How will you track and report analytics? This is important, as you are likely to judge the impact of RPA based on process information such as utilization, exceptions, decision outcomes, volumes, etc. In addition, if you want to introduce a continuous improvement regime, you will need to have easy and immediate access to appropriate data to analyze and identify changes. The great advantage of robotics is that everything, at any time, is recorded and it is a simple enough matter to look back over the data to check on something that occurred 6 months, or a year, ago. A precise activity at a precise moment can be easily audited. Ask your vendor what standard reports are available and how new reports can be created. 7. How will change be accommodated and are there additional costs? If you have an ongoing requirement for automation, you need to be thinking about the total cost of ownership, which includes updating automations as their needs change. Again, your requirements regarding "light touch" or "heavier" touch (with an audit trail) will have a bearing on how the process is managed by the RPA provider. Things to consider: Are you planning to introduce additional processes? How often do processes change? How often might changes to your business systems be introduced? If frequently, an "object-oriented" solution may suit you. This means that changes made to any single object within a process will be applied to, or inherited by, every process it touches or engages with, without the need to manually update each of them individually. In other words: One fix is translated across the whole solution spectrum. The tradeoff is that this can require more work upfront, so you’ll want to clarify what is the best solution for your plans and requirements. 8. What framework and methodology is the RPA solution based on? Introducing RPA is about more than software. How will this transformational change be managed in your organization? What roles need to be created, how will people be targeted, how will progress be monitored? Other questions to ask include where this solution should sit in the organization, how it fits into business architecture, how staff are trained and accredited, and how they identify, build, test and manage automations. Any vendor should have a clearly defined methodology to share with you. 9. What will my requirements be for system management and control? When it comes to deploying robotic processes, management and administration can have a large impact on total costs. What degree of monitoring and supervision is required? How is change control managed? For example, how are you able to view different versions of a process over time? How is Disaster Recovery and failover managed? How is system downtime minimized? How is workflow managed? How are processes distributed at runtime and load balanced? Build any implications that may apply into your business case. 10. How will you align your solution with my desired output? This requires significant discussion up front. It is effectively about clarifying your operational/corporate objectives and agreeing on how RPA will help you achieve them. As it is still early days for robotic automation, education is part of the relationship until you hit that light bulb moment. There is currently a lot of excitement about implementing RPA but not enough time taken to understand what the opportunities mean. Consider what you are trying to do: Develop new business? Enable cost cutting? Increase accuracy? Improve the culture? Then decide on where and how to implement for the best outcome. Don’t let the provider’s capability sway your decision. It’s about you deciding where plugging in RPA will get the best results. A good provider will work with you, not try to force their solution onto you. The cost of setting the wrong targets is lost time, which no one has enough of, so being clear about goals up front clarity is crucial. Source: Blue Prism

10 things to Include in an RFP for Robotic Process Automation

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