Software robots are the ideal employees: they work fast and flawlessly, never get sick, don’t go on vacation and can work 24 hours a day, without a break. True, but even a software robot can fail. For example, if it uses a business application that has changed (unexpectedly).

The application of RPA often grows step-by-step in an organization. Gradually, software robots take over more and more tasks. It then becomes more important to be able to rely on the deployability and continuity of the robots. A reliable management function is absolutely essential here. Because even a robustly built software robot can fail and must then be patched up again as soon as possible.

Practice shows that a mature RPA management function is certainly not a given. Many RPA developers especially enjoy developing new processes all the time, but have less time for (or feel like…) maintaining or repairing existing processes. Especially if such an existing process was developed by an external partner who has since left. Or by a former colleague who is no longer employed. And if it then also turns out that the documentation of the robot script is not in order or that the script was not built according to the agreed development standards, we thus have a challenge. How do we solve this?

Challenges in managing RPA

Managing RPA requires attention. This is often glossed over by implementation partners. As is the fact that developing robust, secure robotic scripts is also more complex than RPA software vendors would have you believe. Some of the reasons why managing RPA can be challenging:

• Limited adoption of development standards
• Limited management documentation
• Variation in processes (department, application, complexity)
• Building knowledge in own organization takes time
• Release management procedures are often lacking
• RPA is sensitive to changes in applications and processes

So it is important not to become dependent on the initial RPA developer. And to properly secure the functional management of RPA. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right RPA consultancy, read in this article what you should pay attention to.

Tacstone RPA Service Desk

To support our customers in managing RPA, we have set up an RPA Service Desk in 2019. With this management service, we will help more than 20 organizations in the management of RPA anno 2022. In total, we support more than 200 automated processes for which we provide support. Some features of our RPA management support:

• Administrators are experienced, certified UiPath Developers
• RPA Service Desk available between 08:00 and 18:00 CET
• Guaranteed response and resolution times depending on priority (SLA)
• Quarterly reporting on commitment required

Experience resolving RPA incidents

In our experience, especially in the beginning, when the robot is just becoming operational, incidents can occur. This is often due to practical exceptions that did not emerge during the design phase. Consider application performance when processing a high volume of transactions. Over time, robot scripts become stable. The most common incidents are then due to applications, infrastructure or changed processes. Therefore, ensure that RPA is included in application release management. This is to ensure the proper functioning of the robot – even after implementing any changes.