Database Systems Journal (May 2024)
Insights and proposals for RPA implementations
Abstract
This article presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of research articles focused on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) project management. By analyzing a large dataset of scientific papers, this study aims to identify trends and gaps of this subject. To better understand the real-life implications, this study also analyzes different opinions coming from people actively working with this technology. The bibliometric analysis aims at identifying several key themes often addressed in scientific papers and correlations, while also understanding the interest in this field among re-searchers. The analysis is based on a correspondence between Intelligent Automation concepts and methodologies for projectsâ development. The analysis continues with the results of a survey completed by a more detailed series of interviews at the beginning of 2023 that focuses on a real-life perspective, with the objective to identify project phases where teams are often experiencing challenges. Implementation of Robotic Process Automation initiatives depends heavily on the project lifecycles, however RPA in the context of project methodologies is a topic not sufficiently researched at the moment. RPA teams are expressing different preferences regarding implementations, Agile developments being one of them, as it seems that Agile principles are closely matching RPA criteria. Furthermore, based on the findings, this article proposes a set of practical suggestions to enhance the success of RPA implementations in different project phases. The originality of this paper is reflected in the methodology adopted, that includes different techniques, in the attempt to complete each other: the literature overview and current perspectives.
