Robotic Process Automation: Contemporary themes and challenges

• Published in: Computers in industry Vol. 115; p. 103162
• Main Authors: Syed, Rehan, Suriadi, Suriadi, Adams, Michael, Bandara, Wasana, Leemans, Sander J.J., Ouyang, Chun, ter Hofstede, Arthur H.M., van de Weerd, Inge, Wynn, Moe Thandar, Reijers, Hajo A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.02.2020
• Subjects: Process automation; Research agenda; Robotic Process Automation; Service automation; Software bots; Systematic literature review; Process automation; Research agenda; Robotic Process Automation; Service automation; Systematic literature review; Software bots
• ISSN: 0166-3615; 1872-6194
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compind.2019.103162

•A contemporary review of the state of the art on Robotic Process Automation.•A research agenda in the form of 15 challenges.•Introductory paper for a special issue on Robotic Process Automation. Through the application of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) organisations aim to increase their operational efficiency. In RPA, robots, or ‘bots’ for short, represent software agents capable of interacting with software systems by mimicking user actions, thus alleviating the workload of the human workforce. RPA has already seen significant uptake in practice; solution technologies are offered by multiple vendors. Contrasting with this early practical adoption is the hitherto relative lack of attention to RPA in the academic literature. As a consequence, RPA lacks the sound theoretical foundations that allow for objective reasoning around its application and development. This, in turn, hinders initiatives for achieving meaningful advances in the field. This paper presents a structured literature review that identifies a number of contemporary, RPA-related themes and challenges for future research.