Leveraging tools like test automation is no longer a luxury–it’s a vital element of organizational efficiency. The desire to automate processes has surged among enterprises and large organizations, offering a way to mitigate risks and ensure operational efficiency. 

However, a critical concern arises: approximately 70% of automation projects fail to deliver their expected return on investment (ROI). In this blog post, we will explore how to not only initiate automation but how to do it effectively and efficiently to achieve both short-term and long-term ROI, avoiding key pitfalls that many unprepared teams encounter and driving sustained success.

The Path to Automation

Before diving into the crucial aspects of connective production process automation, let's take a broader look at the path to automation. Automation is a journey that involves three crucial elements: Process Discovery, driven by Process Intelligence, Test Automation, and Production Process Automation. In the initial phase of Process Discovery, organizations capture and analyze their existing processes to understand their current state and identify areas for optimization. This step provides a roadmap for the automation journey, helping organizations focus on tasks with the highest potential for return on investment.

The second phase, Test Automation, involves creating automated tests to validate that business processes function as expected. These tests cover a range of scenarios, from unit and functional tests to integration and regression tests. Test automation reduces manual testing efforts, accelerates development cycles, and maintains process quality.

In the final phase, Production Process Automation, the benefits of automation become tangible. Automated processes are executed in a live environment, enhancing security, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and establishing governance and change control measures. This phase is critical for achieving significant ROI. Worksoft's solutions play a pivotal role in each of these phases, providing tools and capabilities to streamline the automation journey effectively.

Process Discovery: A Crucial First Step

Process discovery is the cornerstone of successful automation. It is the crucial first step in the automation journey where organizations gain a deep understanding of their existing business processes. With Worksoft, the process begins with Process Capture, where actual processes in the organization are recorded. These captures then undergo analytics, which involves in-depth examination for patterns, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement. Based on these insights, organizations define a future state, often referred to as the "to-be" state, that represents optimized processes.

Test Automation > Manual Testing

Test automation is the next step in the automation journey, where the precision and efficiency of your automation efforts truly come to the forefront. Unlike many automation tools that primarily focus on technical aspects, Worksoft takes a unique approach by placing an emphasis on end-to-end business processes. In this phase, business processes performed by your team members are transformed into automation elements, ensuring that the tests align seamlessly with your organization's goals rather than just technical requirements. This approach simplifies the automation process and, most importantly, eliminates the need for manual intervention, thus accelerating the pace of development cycles and maintaining impeccable process quality.

The Importance of Production Process Automation

Production Process Automation is the pivotal phase where automation strategies transform from theory to tangible results. It represents the bridge between preparation and execution, where investments in automation start yielding efficiency gains, cost savings, and improved reliability in day-to-day operations. However, this phase comes with complexities, especially regarding regulatory requirements, security, and governance. Organizations must ensure compliance with industry-specific regulations, protect sensitive data, and establish a clear governance framework to manage changes and accountability.

Worksoft's RPA Orchestrator plays a vital role in simplifying the transition to Production Process Automation. It addresses regulatory compliance by providing a clear audit trail and security through granular security models. The RPA Orchestrator also streamlines governance, ensuring that accountability is maintained throughout the automation lifecycle. With Worksoft's solutions, organizations can automate with confidence, knowing that their processes run smoothly and securely in a production environment.

With the right tools and strategies, organizations can navigate this phase successfully and unlock the full benefits of their automation initiatives, driving efficiency and maximizing ROI. Worksoft's comprehensive solutions are designed to support this journey, ensuring that automation projects deliver on their promise.

In conclusion, the journey to automation is not just a matter of adopting technology but a strategic transformation that transcends theory to drive tangible results. By employing the strategies and practices outlined in this blog post, businesses can achieve automation success that delivers both immediate and sustained ROI. Worksoft's comprehensive solutions serve as reliable allies in this transformative process, empowering organizations to unlock the full potential of their automation initiatives.