Maximize RPA Value With Best Practices for Continuous Automation

Continuous test automation and robotic process automation were built for different purposes. One was designed to validate processes in pre-production and expedite defect resolution, prior to production. The other is intended to expedite route tasks in a production environment. Yet both types of automation share the goal of driving efficiencies that translate to time and cost savings for the enterprises that employ them.

Common Strengths of Testing and RPA

While there are differences, automated testing and RPA share commonalities. In addition to being efficiency-boosting solutions, both are created to run quickly and independent of human intervention. This autonomous aspect of automation dictates the need for well-executed set up and maintenance. Tools like process discovery with the ability to automate the capture of business processes step by step can support the building of accurate automation for testing and RPA. 

Ideally both testing and RPA tools should have orchestration and scheduling capabilities, along with connected analytics and reporting, and automation asset versioning. The ability to share reusable assets and self-healing capabilities can also make test automation and RPA more practicable, dynamic, and scalable.

The recent Forrester report, “RPA And Test Automation Are More Friends Than Foes,” outlines how automated testing and RPA technologies can work together to accelerate innovation and scale automation. Key findings include: 

  • RPA And Test Automation Share Common Strengths - Enterprises are evaluating test automation platforms to support task automation for business applications. Similarly, they eye RPA for testing use cases. Overlaps exist, but so do clear areas of depth and differences.

  • RPA And Testing Tools Have Opportunity To Help Enterprises Scale Automation - Testing discipline, methods, and tools add structure and quality support that RPA bots need. Conversely, QA teams can use RPA platforms to build test scripts that refine complex business processes.

  • RPA Bot Maintenance, Resiliency, And Software Quality Inhibit Scale Maintaining - RPA-based bots are costly, challenging enterprise efforts to scale automation. Test automation tools can help.

RPA presents an opportunity to do more with less by easing the burden of rote, mundane or inefficient tasks through automation. To realize the true value of RPA, the automation must be scalable and adapt easily to ongoing change.

Change Resiliency is Imperative

There’s no doubt that RPA presents an opportunity to do more with less by easing the burden of rote, mundane or inefficient tasks through automation. Yet to realize the true value of RPA, the automation must be scalable and adapt easily to ongoing change.

In reality, most end-to-end business processes pass through a variety of technology applications, which each experience frequent change from new development, product releases and more.  With a deep history grounded in software testing, Worksoft is well versed in anticipating and responding to change. Our testing approach is focused on codeless automation for business processes, which provides unique opportunities to leverage the synergies between automated testing and RPA.

Connective Automation is Trusted Automation

Worksoft’s new Connective RPA combines capabilities of our leading test automation—including navigating complex end-to-end processes, content and data handling, and dynamic change resiliency—with new RPA functionality for security, governance and lifecycle management in production in one Connective Automation platform.

With unmatched speed, scale and peace of mind, Worksoft Connective RPA is different by design. Here’s why:

  • Extend Automated Testing to RPA
    Apply industry-leading test automation to support RPA
    Worksoft’s Connective Automation is designed to empower organizations to incorporate the same proven test automation capabilities trusted by the world’s leading global enterprises to their RPA. In addition to testing, Connective RPA adds robust orchestration, governance and security compliance–everything you need to manage and maintain RPA effectively.

  • Eliminate Bot Fragility
    Seamlessly adjust to process variations with patented object action framework
    Create more durable bots the first time with Connective RPA. While most RPA systems are fragile when it comes to system changes, our patented object action framework recognizes and proactively adapts to variations of shared and reusable objects, reducing maintenance time and costs and making your RPA bots more resilient.

  • Realize ROI Faster
    Scale and reuse automation to streamline bot development and maintenance
    If your RPA requires complex script development or repetition of your testing or QA efforts, the efficiency and associated savings are diluted. Worksoft's Connective RPA lets you repurpose existing automation to avoid duplicative efforts, skip time-consuming systems integrations, expedite bot development, and scale automation with speed and ease. The result? Rapid return on investment that continues to increase over time.

To learn more about the common strengths of test automation and RPA, review one of the resources below or talk with an automation expert.