Method of RPA Development

jdemeyer

New Member
Greetings!

When you create RPA solutions do you work alone? Do you work with someone familiar with the process and create as you go? Do you have a dedicated team?

Thanks!
Joe
 

VJR

Well-Known Member
Hi jdemeyer,

In a generalised scenario, in any Software Development the phases that are followed are as below-
  • Requirement gathering and Analysis
  • Design
  • Implementation or Development or Coding
  • Testing
  • Deployment
  • Maintenance
This is also applicable to an RPA project too.

Pertaining to your question related to RPA projects-
- When you create RPA solutions do you work alone?
Yes and No.
No, because in organizations there are different roles for each of the above mentioned phases. In some companies multiple phases are also handled by the same person. So it is situational and dependent on the size and scope of the project and the organization.

Yes, because there are lots of freelancers doing RPA projects single-handedly who have the capability to do all the things right from Requirement gathering -> Coding -> Testing to Deployment.

- Do you work with someone familiar with the process and create as you go?
I will tell you about Blue Prism. Other RPA vendors may have different names for these roles but their responsibilities remain the same.

A Blue Prism Analyst typically performs the requirement gathering. Companies who are adopting the RPA technology are converting their existing Business Analysts or hiring new resources by giving them certain training who play the role of a Blue Prism Analyst. An analyst has to definitely work with someone from the business side who has good knowledge and information of the existing process that needs to be automated.

A separate role designated by the Blue Prism company is that of a Blue Prism Controller who generally monitors the Work Queues (a feature in Blue Prism), reports issues to the Developer, kicks off processes when needed, Schedules them, manages the work load etc. In some organizations these activities are also conducted by an RPA Developer. A Blue Prism Controller can also be involved in setting up the RPA tool on the Developer's machines, configuring the RPA solution on the end user's side, etc. In some companies there are designated I.T. or Networking or Database teams who look into the infrastructure related activities.

Then we have an RPA Developer who carries out the 'Implementation or Development or Coding' phase of the project. This role performs the Development, bug fixes, Changes to the Blue Prism Process when the requirements change, Unit Testing, and some of the above mentioned activities.

RPA Testers are gaining a lot of scope in the field of RPA because of their already existing knowledge on Automated Testing where they run scripts and various tests are automatically performed on the application (not exactly but) similar to how an RPA tool works.
Under testing there are lots of activities like Integration testing, System testing, Sanity testing, Smoke testing, Interface testing, Regression testing, Beta/Acceptance testing and so on.


- Do you have a dedicated team?
Yes, due to the fast growing nature and high demand of RPA implementation projects, there are separate dedicated teams who are heavily involved in delivering any RPA solution. In addition to the above roles in the team there are also roles like RPA Managers, Automation Architects, Solution Designers etc just like the way it is in any Software Development Project.

Also do take a look at these links-
https://www.edureka.co/blog/rpa-developer-roles-and-responsibilities/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/phases-roles-rpa-project-richard-ahl-phd


I'm sure our forum members may have inputs on how an RPA project is implemented at their work area.
 

MadhuG001

Member
Hi jdemeyer,

In a generalised scenario, in any Software Development the phases that are followed are as below-
  • Requirement gathering and Analysis
  • Design
  • Implementation or Development or Coding
  • Testing
  • Deployment
  • Maintenance
This is also applicable to an RPA project too.

Pertaining to your question related to RPA projects-
- When you create RPA solutions do you work alone?
Yes and No.
No, because in organizations there are different roles for each of the above mentioned phases. In some companies multiple phases are also handled by the same person. So it is situational and dependent on the size and scope of the project and the organization.

Yes, because there are lots of freelancers doing RPA projects single-handedly who have the capability to do all the things right from Requirement gathering -> Coding -> Testing to Deployment.

- Do you work with someone familiar with the process and create as you go?
I will tell you about Blue Prism. Other RPA vendors may have different names for these roles but their responsibilities remain the same.

A Blue Prism Analyst typically performs the requirement gathering. Companies who are adopting the RPA technology are converting their existing Business Analysts or hiring new resources by giving them certain training who play the role of a Blue Prism Analyst. An analyst has to definitely work with someone from the business side who has good knowledge and information of the existing process that needs to be automated.

A separate role designated by the Blue Prism company is that of a Blue Prism Controller who generally monitors the Work Queues (a feature in Blue Prism), reports issues to the Developer, kicks off processes when needed, Schedules them, manages the work load etc. In some organizations these activities are also conducted by an RPA Developer. A Blue Prism Controller can also be involved in setting up the RPA tool on the Developer's machines, configuring the RPA solution on the end user's side, etc. In some companies there are designated I.T. or Networking or Database teams who look into the infrastructure related activities.

Then we have an RPA Developer who carries out the 'Implementation or Development or Coding' phase of the project. This role performs the Development, bug fixes, Changes to the Blue Prism Process when the requirements change, Unit Testing, and some of the above mentioned activities.

RPA Testers are gaining a lot of scope in the field of RPA because of their already existing knowledge on Automated Testing where they run scripts and various tests are automatically performed on the application (not exactly but) similar to how an RPA tool works.
Under testing there are lots of activities like Integration testing, System testing, Sanity testing, Smoke testing, Interface testing, Regression testing, Beta/Acceptance testing and so on.


- Do you have a dedicated team?
Yes, due to the fast growing nature and high demand of RPA implementation projects, there are separate dedicated teams who are heavily involved in delivering any RPA solution. In addition to the above roles in the team there are also roles like RPA Managers, Automation Architects, Solution Designers etc just like the way it is in any Software Development Project.

Also do take a look at these links-
https://www.edureka.co/blog/rpa-developer-roles-and-responsibilities/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/phases-roles-rpa-project-richard-ahl-phd


I'm sure our forum members may have inputs on how an RPA project is implemented at their work area.


Hello VJR,

Nice explanation.
Could you please explain the Deployment part in detail.

Thank you.
 
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