Proof of Value (POV)

In order to explain Proof of Value you need to understand Proof of Concept, or POC. POC is a common term which is used across software products with a simple meaning; proving the concept, or technology works as claimed. In the automation industry, this usually means showing that a process can be automated and a simple one at that.

Within automation, a POC stands as a waste of time – attempting to prove a concept that has been proven time and time again from America to Australia. This is where Proof of Value, or POV, comes in. Proof of Value may just sound like something a marketing committee came up with, but it’s so much more than that.

A POV is about showing that the business case for automation can be delivered at scale for all their business needs. While a POC will look at simple things such as ‘does the technology work as expected?’ and ‘how has it been deployed?’ a POV will scope the business case, the transformation and map, measure, design and forecast the potential outcome with leadership sponsorship.

Attended Automation

Attended RPA includes scenarios where decision making and/or user input is required, such as desktop automation. These software robots work at an employee's workstation and are triggered by two situations: a user's command and instances were Robots need input from the user to continue a task. Access is often limited to the employees within a specific department or workstation.

Unattended Automation

These software robots that need little—or no—human intervention to carry out actions on a 24/7/365 basis when triggered. These robots complete work continuously in a batch-mode model that allows for around the clock automation. These robots can be accessed remotely by different interfaces and platforms, and administrators can view, analyze, and deploy scheduling, reporting, auditing, monitoring, and modification functions in real-time from a centralized hub.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Optical Character Recognition, is a technology that enables you to convert the printed text in images / scanned documents to machine-readable text data.

Several OCR software (engines) are available in the market. These products have been developed into many kinds of domain-specific OCR applications, such as receipt OCR, invoice OCR, check OCR, legal billing document OCR. OCR software often "pre-processes" images to improve the chances of successful recognition.

Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR)

Intelligent Character Recognition is an advanced optical character recognition (OCR) or to be more specific, handwriting recognition system that allows fonts and different styles of handwriting to be learned by a computer during processing to improve accuracy and recognition levels.

Almost every ICR software has a self-learning system referred to as a neural network, which automatically updates the recognition database for new handwriting patterns.

Full-time equivalent (FTE)

An FTE is the hours worked by one employee on a full-time basis. The concept is used to convert the hours worked by several part-time employees into the hours worked by full-time employees. On an annual basis, an FTE is considered to be 2080 hours.
Calculated as: 8 hours x 5 days x 52 weeks = 2080 hours

In RPA world, FTE is used as one of the measure to calculate the savings and ROI post automation of a business process.

RPA Operating Model

A plan for how RPA will be designed and rolled out. This model often involves process architects, technology experts/advisors, and ongoing maintenance and support staff. The model changes slightly based on company and industry to best suit their automation goals.

Citizen Developer

A citizen developer is a user who creates new business applications for consumption by others using development and runtime environments sanctioned by corporate IT. Citizen developers have little to no coding experience.

Business users building their own solutions is not new, people have been building solutions using spreadsheets and database tools for years, just without the approval or knowledge of IT. Organizations are noticing the value of citizen development. According to a recent Gartner report, 61% of organizations either have or plan to have active citizen development initiatives.

Process Orchestration

Process Orchestration is the means by which a process is executed, monitored and managed throughout its lifecycle. Traditionally, an enterprise service bus been used to orchestrate a series of transactions. In the RPA world, process orchestration is performed by means of integrated workflows automated to perform various tasks. These processes are managed and monitored by an orchestrator or control room centrally.