Companies have been excited about the prospect of automation since they’ve become more popular, but just because there is enthusiasm doesn’t mean it will always be smooth sailing.
With so many different ways to implement it, there are a wide variety of challenges you may encounter along the way.
Common Challenges & How to Overcome Them
An Unclear Strategy
One of the biggest ways to avoid common challenges is to have a strategy in place. The implementation of automation takes time, even if the process of automation itself doesn’t. Before jumping in to enjoy its benefits, invest time to come up with a clear strategy so automation can in fact, be beneficial. Consider brainstorming with your automation team these points to come up with a clear strategy:
- Objectives for implementing automation
- Timeline: permanent or temporary solution
- Metrics for success
- Scalability goals and considerations
Business Operational Goals & IT Department Are Not Aligned
As a company determines different roles and goals for automation, they often neglect (or forget) to inform the IT department in the planning process. This can lead to a huge delay in implementing the process because the collaboration of the IT department can greatly impact the success of a project. By involving the IT department in the early phases of brainstorming automation possibilities, companies can get a detailed plan going that is based on the reality of capabilities, instead of just having a great idea. To avoid this pitfall that can cost lots of time, money, and employee morale, get a collaborative team together from the beginning.
Ill-Defined Responsibilities
While automation is meant to help ease the load of employees and streamline certain company processes, it still requires responsible employees to oversee and manage. All employees who might be involved in the automation processes must have clearly defined roles to eliminate confusion and error. Different roles might include project design approvals, execution, success rate measurements, etc.
Requires Maintenance
In addition to company processes, which may change over time and then require modifications to be made to the automation commands, the software itself must be kept fresh with regular maintenance that someone should be designated to monitor. Here are a few tasks that are usually involved with automation maintenance:
- Ensure that the software is up to date and all relevant adjustments take place.
- Monitor system maintenance, such as cleaning cache registers or copying data from temporary storage to a larger unit, and step in when necessary.
- Assess the system’s ability to maintain performance for an extended period.
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