Towards an Actionable Development Method for Robotic Process Automation Using Process Mining

Developing Robotic Process Automation bots involves a wide range of skill sets. Besides insights from business process management, software development knowledge like systems interaction and network knowledge is required. For a well functioning process automation these different skill sets must be combined. In a design science research study, concepts from business process management, software development, and best practices are combined to design an actionable development method for RPA. The resulting PM2RPA method structures the development process in four stages: pre-Development, design, development and operations. Within these four stages, 14 activities support product owners, developers, and process experts over the course of the development process. The PM2RPA Method is demonstrated in an environment characterized by frequently changing business processes and heavy resource restrictions due to a lack of skilled workers. The PM2RPA method allows process-driven development while focusing on systems integration and reporting, resulting in a structured and comprehensive method for developing RPA bots. Practitioners can use this method to manage their automation projects. At the same time, researchers benefit from a baseline method aiming to address methodological research challenges and early insights into wider operational strategies for RPA.