Robotic process automation (RPA) has lowered the threshold for process automation, with repetitive tasks previously carried out by humans now in the hands of software robots. In this paper by Prof.dr.ir. Wil van der Aalst who will be a key speaker at PEX Live: Process Mining Live 2021, the godfather of process mining argues that RPA does not need to change or replace pre-existing information systems. Instead, he says software robots should replace users by interacting directly with the Graphical User Interface (GUI).
With RPA often seen as "the poor man's workflow management solution" due to it often being a cheaper alternative to traditional automation, van der Aalst assets that it can be used to automate routine work that would normally not be cost-effective, with process mining playing a key role in deciding what to automate and how.
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As this paper finds, prior to the introduction of RPA, users need to analyze the processes that they want to automate, within which process mining can help identify promising candidates. After RPA has been implemented, process mining can also be used to monitor processes even if they use a mixture of RPA, workers and traditional automation.
This paper aims to explain the history of workflow management and business process management, how RPA works and why process mining is key to preventing RPA projects failure.