Robotic Process Automation (RPA): To Automate or Not to Automate

The rush to incorporate artificial intelligence into processes often requires a deeper examination of which services should be AI-enabled.

Constellation’s latest framework for augmenting humanity encompasses seven factors (see Figure 1):

Repetitiveness: The greater a process is repeated, the more likely the process should be AI-powered. One-offs and custom processes with minimal repetition are lower-priority candidates for artificial intelligence.
Volume: When the volume of transactions and interactions exceed human capacity, the smart service should be AI-powered. Volumes within human capacity will remain human-powered.
Time to complete: High time-to-market requirements favor AI-powered approaches. -Lower time-to-completion requirements will remain human-powered.
Nodes of interaction: Simple interaction nodes will lean toward human-powered. AI best serves complex and high-volume nodes of interaction.
Complexity: Good candidates for AI-powered include complexity beyond human comprehension and simple tasks that can be optimized by AI.
Creativity: The cognitive processes required for creativity mostly reside with humans today. Higher creative powers will be less likely to be AI-powered. However, with advancements in cognitive learning, one can expect creativity to improve with AI-powered approaches over the next decade.
Physical presence: Processes that require a heavy physical presence will most likely require human-powered capabilities. However, processes that put lives in jeopardy serve as great candidates for AI-powered automation. In general, low physical presence requirements play well to AI-powered approaches.

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Still not sure if you should automate? Explore “RPA: A no-hype buyer’s guide” and sign up for the no-cost, IBM Robotic Process Automation software trial.

R "Ray" Wang

Principal Analyst, Founder, Constellation Research

Paula Williams

Content Director, Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

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