Humans have tried to use tools to decrease the amount of physical labor we do for most of the time we’ve been a species on this planet. This includes building tools to ease gardening, creating pulleys and inventing the wheel. And as things have become more digital, we have turned to machines to decrease the amount of manual labor we have to go through. Automation is using technology, with lessened human involvement, to complete some sort of action. This leads to increased efficiency and higher accuracy (due to the lack of human error).
Basic automation is the automation of simple tasks. This can include automating sending materials to a group of people and forwarding files. Process automation is the automation of more complex/multi-step tasks. For example, it can be used with process mining, business process management and robotic process management.
Process mining is the combination of data mining and process analytics. It can help reveal patterns within a process. Organizations that may not have artificial intelligence implemented yet can turn to process mining as a tool to help answer some questions. Typically, process mining molds the data into a graph model through which patterns can be detected. Process mining looks at control flow and timestamps.
Process mining has three types: discovery, conformance and enhancement. Process discovery is when the process model is created without anything external influencing it. This is to set the foundation for a future process model. Conformance is testing the process model: Does it have any deviations from what’s intended? Enhancement is when more information is used to improve a process model. This is the optimization aspect.
Business process management looks at business strategies and processes as a whole. It also specifically looks at processes that are repeatable. It combines analytics, activity monitoring and decision management to result in actions that help businesses.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) aids with performing repetitive tasks through scripts (pieces of code). RPA tools autonomously execute different tasks across software systems and can be done at a high volume. Thus, it can help higher-ups accelerate the pace at which they’re going.
Intelligent automation is the type of automation that combines AI, business process management and robotic process management. This furthers the decision-making that occurs throughout the organization. With tools like natural language processing and RPA, costs can be lowered while increasing efficiency and productivity.
Within businesses, automation can be used for content management, document processing, document management, workflow automation, decision management and process mapping.
Automation is so emphasized due to how much more can be done accurately with less money spent. The idea is that as processes become more automated, humans can use their creativity to dive into more innovative and strategic endeavors. Technology’s advancements mean that industries will transform through the adoption of those tools. The overarching goal with automation is to unlock new avenues for growth.
VAAGEESHA DAS is a college student and columnist for The Dominion Post. Information comes from: IBM. (2021, July 27). What is automation? IBM. https://www.ibm.com/automation; IBM. (2021, Oct. 15). What is process mining? IBM. https://www.ibm.com/products/process-mining
