4 steps to starting your automation journey

The automation journey, like any other journey, begins with a single step — but what if you don’t know what that first step should be?

This is a conundrum for many of our customers. They know automation can deliver business-transforming efficiencies. They may even already own some of the latest automation tools, such as robotic process automation (RPA) or workflow automation.

But when it comes to the automation journey, these organizations don’t know where or how to start. Their tools often exist in operational silos. And just as often, there’s no road map for everyone to share.

That’s unfortunate because the benefits of automation can be powerful. For example, we recently helped a large U.S. technology provider implement a customer-facing chatbot. The company now enjoys significantly fewer customer calls to the help desk, higher levels of customer satisfaction and greater revenue generation.

Sound compelling? Then get your organization’s automation journey started on the right foot. Follow these 4 steps:

STEP 1: Work with stakeholders to define your destination

The automation journey should involve more than just IT. All stakeholders, no matter which function they’re in, should be involved in early joint-planning sessions. The purpose of these meetings is to assess your current state and set goals for the future.

To be sure, IT’s role is important. Your CIO and other senior IT executives should set expectations around what’s feasible. They can also help by identifying technical and skills gaps, explain the most serious challenges and present potential solutions.

These meetings are just the beginning. Ongoing communication is a must throughout any automation project’s full duration. This creates a positive feedback loop, one that helps the organization make continual adjustments, fixes and improvements.

It is also important to involve senior business leaders. The CEO and other top executives may not want to dig into the details of automation implementation. But they should share their views and expectations, and you’ll want to secure their support, whether financial or otherwise.

STEP 2: Automate low-hanging fruit to build confidence and momentum

As you create your automation action plan, start with relatively quick and easy projects. The benefits are many. You’ll give your staff a chance to develop their skills. You’ll build confidence among your stakeholders. You’ll build momentum with both your staff and senior leadership. And you’ll convert early naysayers to your side.

The right collateral can help, too. This can include standard solutions, toolsets, use cases and case studies. All can help ease and speed your deployments.

At this early stage, remember the need for training. Your staff may have little or even no experience with modern automation. But if they’re willing to learn, and you’re willing to invest time and money in their training, all will be well.

You’ll also want a plan for scaling up quickly. Once your early automation projects launch, you need to be ready to capitalize on the momentum and growing interest.

STEP 3: Improve effectiveness by shifting to next-gen automation tools

Once you have a stable state of automation, it’s time to pick up the pace. Now you can channel your progress in the direction of continuous improvement.

The most effective way of doing this is with next-generation tools. For example, let’s say you’ve automated a business process. Now you might go deeper with tools for process mining. Or you might explore tools that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to not only react, but also predict.

Whichever next-gen tools you consider, start with a proof-of-concept (PoC). This approach will let you compare tools with speed and relative ease, then pick the one that best fits your organization and its needs.

For especially complex systems, you may also want to take the additional step of running a pilot phase. For example, instead of rolling out a customer-service automation solution across your entire organization, you might prove the value proposition by running a pilot with just one department. This way, you can catch and fix the inevitable glitches on a relatively small scale. Later, when it’s time to roll out the solution across the organization, you’ll feel a lot more confident.

STEP 4: Re-evaluate completed projects for more advanced automation opportunities

In a sense, the automation journey never ends. With technology advancing so quickly, modern solutions have a short lifespan. Even a two- or three-year-old automation project may already look like legacy technology.

The solution? While driving ahead on your automation journey, also keep an eye on the rearview mirror. That means continuously re-evaluating your past projects and asking whether there are new technologies, new tools and new approaches that could boost their efficiency. If so, then add these refreshes to your to-do list.

For example, we often advise customers to migrate RPA bots from on-prem to a cloud solution. They may also have opportunities to upgrade to a more modern RPA toolset coupled with a cloud approach that can both lower their costs and boost their workflow efficiency.

Follow these 4 steps to start your organization’s automation journey. Need help? Then get in touch with DXC. We’ve been helping customers automate their most important workflows for years. We’re ready and able to help you, too.

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