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18CS745
SUBJECT
ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION
Mod-1
Chapter-1: RPA Foundations
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Course Outcomes
The students are able to
1. Analyze the benefits and challenges of RPA and differentiate it from
other types of automation
2. Install and learn UiPath Studio tool and demonstrate app/web/task
recorder jobs.
3. Apply suitable variables, control flows and data manipulation techniques.
4. Design workflows, Debug errors and handle the exceptions during
automation
5. Evaluate the importance of RPA in business through case studies.
6. Comply with UIpath Academic Alliance Program and get Diploma of
Completion certification from UiPath/any MOOCs
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Mod-1: Robotic Process Automation
What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)? (Origin)
Term automation
derived from the Greek words
• autos meaning self
• motos, meaning moving
• coined in the year 1940s
why because
• there was an increased use of automated devices in mechanized production lines in the
Ford Motor Company
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RPA
• In November 2018, Automation Anywhere announced that the Softbank Vision
Fund invested $300 million in the start-up.
• RPA is becoming a bigger focus for our customers, which is why it’s important for
us to partner closely with Automation Anywhere, a market leader.
• In April 2019, UiPath announced it raised $568 million for its Series B round, with
tier-one investors like Coatue, Wellington, CapitalG, Accel, and Sequoia.
• Business leaders everywhere are augmenting their workforces with software
robots, rapidly accelerating the digital transformation of their entire business and
freeing employees to spend time on more impactful work.
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Definition RPA
•Is a technology that deals with the application of machines and
computers to the production of goods and services.
•Helps in getting work done with little or no human assistance.
• The word “robotic”does not refer to a physical robot – instead, it is about a software-based robot (or
bot) that can automate human actions in the workplace.
• RPA involvesbots that perform a set of specified actions or tasks, such as the following:
• The cut-and-pasteof informationfrom one app to another
• The opening of a web siteand login
• The opening of an e-mail and attachments
• The read/writeof a database
• The extractionof content from forms or documents
• The use of calculations and workflows
• RPA is focused on those tasks that are reallya waste of efforts for workers
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•UiPath : “RoboticProcess Automation is the technology that allowsanyone today to configure
computer software, or a ‘robot’ to emulate and integrate the actions of a human interactingwithin
digital systems to execute a business process
• RPA robots utilize the user interface to capture data and manipulate applications just likehumans do.
• They interpret, trigger responses and communicate with other systems in order to perform on a vast
variety of repetitivetasks.
• Only substantially better: an RPA software robot never sleeps, makes zero mistakes and costs a lot less
than an employee.
•AutomationAnywhere:“RPA is reallyas simple – and powerful – as it sounds.
• Robotic Process Automationenables you with tools to create your own software robots to automate any
business process.
• Your ‘bots’ are configurablesoftware set up to perform the tasks you assign and control.
• It’s code-free, non-disruptive, non-invasive, and easy
•PEGA:“Roboticprocess automation (RPA) can be a fast, low-risk starting point for automating
processes that rely on outdated legacysystems.
• Bots can pull data from manual systems without APIs into digital processes, ensuring faster and more
efficient outcomes.
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Kryon Systems : “Robotic Process Automation enables enterprises to createtrue virtual
workforcesthat drive business agility and efficiency.
• Virtual workers (robots) complete business processes, just as a person would, but in less time, with
greater accuracyand at a fractionof the cost.
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what RPA doesn’t do
• It doesn’t transform your organization all by itself, and it’s not a fix for enterprise-
wide broken processes and systems.
• For that, you’ll need end-to-end intelligent automation.
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But what is the difference with RPA vs. other forms of automation?
•Isn’t the technologyjust like an Excel macro?
•Not really.
• First of all, a macro is only for a particularapplication ,But with RPA, the
system can be used for just about anything, whether on a PC or even a
mainframe.
• RPA can record a person’s actions to help create the automation.
• Some systems will even use sophisticatedtechnologies like AI (Artificial
Intelligence) to help with this.
• RPA platform will become a valuable repository of knowledgeabout how
work is done in an organization.
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What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
Definition
The RPA is a software program which runs on an end user's pc, laptop
or mobile device.
It is a sequence of commands which are executed by Bots under some
defined set of business rules.
Main Goal of RPA
To replace repetitive and boring clerical task performed by humans,
with a virtual workforce.
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What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
• Allows organizations to automate task
• Transfer the process execution from humans to bots
• Robotic automation interacts with the existing IT architecture
• No complex system integration required
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Flavours of RPA
•Attended RPA(robotic desktop automation or RDA)
• Emerged in 2003
• The software provides collaboration with a person for certain tasks
• Ex: Callcenter wherea rep can have the RPA systemhandle looking up informationwhile
he or she talks to a customer
•Unattended RPA:-
• This technology was the second generation of RPA
• You can automate a process without the need for human involvement
• Ex: bot is triggered when certain events happen, such as when a customer e-mails
an invoice
• unattended RPA is generally for back-office functions
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•Intelligent process automation or IPA:- (cognitive RPA)
• latest generation of RPA technology which leverages AI to allow the system to
learn over time
• Ex: interpretation of documents, such as invoices , RPA software will use its own
insights and judgements to make decisions.
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Historyof RPA
•First mention of the concept was from Homer’s The Iliad?( In the
poem, he described how Hephaestus (the Greek god of blacksmiths)
used automatons (or machines) to build weapons for the gods of
Mount Olympus.
•Mainframe Era
• huge machines developed by companies like IBM.
• useful in helping manage core functions for companies, such as payroll and
customer accounts
•PC Revolution
• Intel’s development of the microprocessor and Microsoft’s development of its
operating system revolutionized the technology industry.
• Any business could automate processes, say by using word processors and
spreadsheets.
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•Automation technologies still have their draw backs
•They could easily result in complex IT environments, which
required expensive and time consuming integrations and
custom coding
•RPA market got scant attention. It was mostly perceived as
low-tech and a commodity.
•Around 2012 or so, the RPA market hit an inflection point.
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•There was a convergence of trends that made this happen,
such as the following:
1. Traditional technologies like ERP were reaching maturation. So
companies needed to look for new drivers.
2. RPA was considered an easier and more cost-effective way to go
digital.
3. In other words, there was a compelling need to find ways to
lessen the paperwork and improve audit,security, and control.
4. RPA technology was starting to get more sophisticated and easier
to use, allowing for higher ROI (return on investment).
5. Large companies were starting to use RPA for mission-critical
applications.
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The Benefits of RPA
• Most talked about benefit of RPA is the ROI
1. The Impact of Small Improvements: some companies will keep track of the
metric of how many hours are saved by using RPA, which becomes a part of the
overall ROI calculation.
2. Relative Ease of Implementation: Unlike traditional business applications like a
CRM or ERP, RPA generally does not involve an onerous implementation and
integration. there is no requirementfor understanding complex coding.
3. Compliance: one violation of a government regulation can have a serious
adverse impact on a company. Yet this is not an issue with RPA. You can easily
configure a bot to make sure the actions are compliant with regulatory
requirements.
• Another benefit of compliance is that there will be less intervention with the
data from people, which lessens the possibility of fraud.
4. Customer Service: people want quick and accurate responses. RPA can take the
processing of a mortgage application from 15 days to 7 minutes.
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5. Employee Satisfaction: Employees do not have to spend their valuable time on
tedious activities.
6. Wide Application: It’s common for an enterprise application to focus on a certain
part of a company’s departments or functions. But RPA is wide
7.Data Quality: It should be greatly improved as there will be less chance of human
error.
8. Digital Transformation: RPA is an approach that can help to replace legacy systems,
which is often quicker and less costly.
9.Scalability: If there is a sudden jump in demand, It is much cheaper and faster to
ramp up new bots to meet the demand.
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The Downsides of RPA
• Cost of Ownership: The business models vary. Some have a subscriptionor multiyear license.
Other vendors may charge based on the number of bots.
• Technical Debt: The softwarethat is not a comprehensivesolution that ultimately requires
ongoing reworking, updates, and changes. And yes, this is an issuewith RPA. As a company’s
processes change, the bots may not work properly.
• Enterprise Scale : It can be extremely difficultto manage the numerous bots and there also
needs to be strong collaboration among IT.
• Security: As the technology covers more mission-criticalareas of a company’s processes . if
there is a breach, then highly sensitiveinformationcould easily be obtained
• Expectations: Accordingto a survey from PEGA, the average time it takes to develop a quality
bot was18 months, with only 39% being deployed on time
• Preparation: You need to do a deep dive in how your current tasks work. If not, you may be
automating bad approaches.
• Limits: RPA technology is somewhat constrained. For the most part, it works primarily for
tasks that are routineand repetitive.
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RPA Compared to BPO, BPM, and BPA
• business process management (BPM), business process outsourcing (BPO), and business process
automation(BPA).
BPM:
• Companies needs to improve their efficiency and competitiveness.
1. different management approaches, such as
• Six Sigma
• leanproduction
• TQM
2. greater focus on computer technologies.Eg:FileNet (digital workflowmgmt.)
3. ERP
4. Management approaches+Computer Technologies+ERPimprovebusiness process +optimizing
systems for employeesand IT Assets
5. BPM solutionsLaserfische
• BPM requires much more time and effort with the implementation(it is about changing extensive
processes, not tasks)
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• also needs to be detailed documentationand training
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RPA Skills
• RPA does not require programming skills, there is still a need to understand highlevelconcepts about
technology
• On-Premise Vs. the Cloud
• The traditional IT system approach is the use of on-premise technology company purchases and sets
up its own hardwareand software in its own data center.
• benefits include
• complete controlover everything
• better ability to customize the solution to
• your company’s unique needs and IT policies.
• Issues
• large up-front capital expenses
• need for maintenance, upgrades, and monitoring
• many files spread across the organization
Cloud Computing
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• possible for users to use the software through a browser(Softwareas a service)
downsides with cloud software
1. more vulnerabilities to security and privacylapses.
2. costly for enterprises that need reliability.
• Gartner projects the market size and growth of the cloud services industry at nearly three time the
growth of overallIT services by 2022.
• AWS essentially handles the complexadministrative and infrastructure requirements likestorage,
security, compute, database access, content delivery, developertools, deployment, IoT (Internet of
Things), and analytics.
• The two most common ones include Microsoft’s Azure and GoogleCloud.
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Different approaches of cloud
• Public Cloud: This is the model we’ve been covering so far in this chapter. That is, the cloud is accessed
from remote servers, such as from AWS, Salesforce.com,and Microsoft.
• The servers have an architectureknown as multitenant that allowsthe users to share a large IT
infrastructure in a secure manner. This greatlyhelps to achieveeconomies of scale, which would not be
possible if a company created its own cloud.
• Private Cloud: This is when a company owns the data center. True, there are not the benefits of the
economies of scale from a public cloud. But this may not be a key consideration. Some companies might
want a private cloud because of control and security.
• Hybrid Cloud: This is a blend of the public and private clouds. For example, the public cloud may handle
less mission-criticalfunctions.
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• As for RPA, the cloud has different implicationsand impacts
1. Platform needs to deal with complex distributed applications, which can be difficult if a company
develops custom programs on a cloud service.
2. most RPA platforms actually started as on-premise software and generallydid not transition to the
cloud until recently.
3. developingcloud-native systems is not easy for RPA as there needs to be deep hooks
across many applicationsand environments.
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About UiPath
UiPath is an RPA technology vendor who designs and delivers software that helps
automate businesses. The RPA platform consists of three parts:
1. UiPath Studio to design the processes
2. UiPath Robot to automate tasks designed in UiPath Studio
3. UiPath Orchestrator to run and manage the processes
HQ: Bucharest, Romania
CEO: Daniel Dines
Key Clients: Atos, AXA, BBC, Capgemini, CenturyLink,
Cognizant, Middlesea, OpusCapita, and SAP
Source of revenue by region: North America, Continental Europe,
the UK, and APAC
Source of revenue by industry: BFSI, healthcare, telecom and
media, and retail
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About UiPath Continue…
• The company aims to do away with repetitive and tedious tasks, allowing humans to engage
in more creative and inspiring activities.
• CEO. It has offices in London, Bucharest, Tokyo, Paris, Singapore, Melbourne, Hong Kong,
and Bengaluru.
• The company has shown remarkable growth in the last year, both in terms of revenue and its
workforce.
• Today, its software is being widely used to automate business processes.
• Major clients of UiPath in the industry include BFSI, Telecom and media, healthcare, retail
and consumer, and manufacturing.
• With UiPath automation software, one can configure software Robots to mimic human action
on the user interface of computer systems.
• The basic components of the UiPath RPA platform are in line with what was explained in
Components of RPA, these components are necessary for enterprise deployment
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About UiPath Continue…
The components of the UiPath platform are UiPath Studio, UiPath
Robot, and UiPath Orchestrator, see the following sections.
1. UiPath Studio:
UiPath Studio helps users with no coding skills to design Robotic
processes in a visual interface.
It is a flowchart-based modelling tool.
Thus, automation is faster and more convenient.
Multiple people can contribute to the same workflow.
The presence of a visual signal that points out errors in the model,
and a recorder that performs what the user executes, make modelling
much easier.
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About UiPath Continue…
2. UiPath Robot:
UiPath Robot runs the processes designed in UiPath Studio.
It works in both attended (working only on human trigger) and
unattended environments (self-trigger and work on their own).
3. UiPath Orchestrator:
UiPath Orchestrator is a web-based platform that runs and manages
Robots.
It is capable of deploying multiple Robots, and monitoring and
inspecting their activities.