Process automation is one of the decisive features for digitalization and sets the course for success or failure for the future competitiveness of companies. From the RPA Developer to the Cloud Automation Engineer, the roles are clearly distributed and perfectly adapted for their respective subarea within automation. But what about project management in relation to automation topics in general? In today's article, we would like to answer this question with a role presentation from "Bots & People".
The Automation Strategist as a solution
Topics relating to the automation of processes are becoming increasingly important. An IDG study by Computerwoche attested technologies such as Process Mining or Robotic Process Automation (RPA) a high priority among corporate decision makers. It is therefore not surprising that 53% of the companies surveyed see RPA as a core technology in the field of automation and two-thirds of the companies see process mining as one of the most important pillars in the topic of digitization. The implementation of new, far-reaching technologies often requires changes to core processes. However, people are even more important than software and processes.
People are one of the decisive factors for successful change. At Bots and People, we develop certifications that enable people to prepare themselves optimally for the issues surrounding automation, take a holistic view of automation and think outside the box. That's why we've developed a new job profile that we believe belongs in every organization to successfully meet the challenges of automation in business: The Automation Strategist.
Where is an Automation Strategist needed?
For the Automation Strategist, we highlight the three main areas of application in this article:
Proof of Concept (POC)
The beginning of an Automation Journey is exciting. Many companies and project managers talk about a steep learning curve at the beginning of the implementation of topics such as process mining, robotic process automation (RPA) or Cloud Business Process Automation (BPA). The Automation Strategist is knowledgeable about all of these topics. He knows when which technologies are best to use and leads the respective company to success in just a few steps.
For example, RPA is not always suitable as a method for process automation, and the multitude of alternative options can raise important questions. Should processes be improved beforehand and the end-to-end process made visible, using data-driven process mining? Such problems are answered by the Automation Strategist and help to avoid cost-intensive mistakes, especially in the POC phase.
Exceptional situations, such as the Corona pandemic, are also part of his comprehensive planning, which makes companies more crisis-proof with the help of process optimization and automation.
Head of a specialist department
For us, topics such as process automation or process mining are part of the future skillset of every department or team leader. The advantage: The gap between the IT department and the business department is closed. A department manager is close to the processes of the business department and knows them very well. With the Automation Strategist's know-how, department managers are empowered to make process automation a high-priority topic in their department. Depending on the structure of the company, processes can then be driven forward by the department head/automation strategist himself (decentralized approach) or he can pass on processes to a Center of Excellence.
Consulting firm
The Automation Strategist is ideally suited to provide customers with a holistic picture of automation, rather than imposing blunt standard concepts as well as methods. Rather, he or she is able to select the perfect approach and technology for each client. The Automation Strategist represents a strong "competence lever" for junior and senior level consultants, creating an advantage over competing offerings that should not be underestimated.
In addition to these areas of application, there are of course others which, however, have individual characteristics and must therefore be examined from company to company. In general, however, the Automation Strategist can be used as an all-rounder and automation manager in order to provide uniform preparatory work for the more specific role assignments and to effectively prepare and accompany process automation.
How to become an Automation Strategist
Basically, anyone can train to become an Automation Strategist. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced IT professional or a finance expert without IT know-how. An affinity for technology and software is an advantage, but not a must. From students to consultants to experts from the automation industry who want to broaden their horizons, a wide variety of groups have taken part in the Automation Strategist training program to date.
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