Attended Automation Examples, Management, and Optimization

When someone thinks of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), they usually relate it to large, repetitive tasks or transactions that are performed in the background. Still, there is much more to take into consideration.

RPA bots can be categorized based on different criteria. For instance, bots can be classified depending on the level of human interaction, such as attended or unattended automation.

Attended and unattended bots each provide unique value to an enterprise, and both should be considered when building a well-rounded RPA center of excellence.

However, several businesses focus on building unattended automations, overlooking the advantages that incorporating lower complexity, task-oriented attended bots can bring to their RPA solutions.

Watch Video Episode: How to Manage Attended vs. Unattended Bots

Attended Automation

Attended automation, or Remote Desktop Automation, refers to a bot that lives on the end-user’s desktop. In attended automations, the user closely interacts with the bot to complete a specific task.

The bot’s primary function is to “assist” humans to complete these day-to-day tasks in real-time, taking on the more tedious, data-driven actions so the user can focus on the critical part of the job, which only a human can perform.

Related Read: Which Processes Can Be Automated Using RPA: Top Use Cases

Usually, attended bots will stop at specific execution points and wait for a triggering event or action from the user. Based on this event, the bot will continue with a line of logic, which means that the user has control over how a process will behave.

Attended Automation Examples

Some of the most common use cases under the attended automation umbrella involve processes requiring human interaction.

In call centers, customer support agents must constantly multitask and switch their efforts between engaging with a customer and performing data-driven actions.

Bringing an attended bot as a “virtual assistant” will allow them to interact freely with customers while the bot accesses and compiles customer data from multiple applications, processes this data for the end-user, and enters it into another target application.

In this case, the user works alongside the bot towards a single goal, improving customer satisfaction, reducing processing time, and reducing errors in data processing.

Other attended automation cases include:

• Finance & Accounting: processing invoices
• Healthcare: claims processing and documentation  
• Retail: sending receipts or inventory management 
• Human Resources: onboarding new employees
• Payroll: processing and voiding checks 

Additional case studies and examples can be found here.   

Challenges of Attended Automation 

As with any technology, there are certain factors that the user must be aware of before implementing an attended automation solution. Because of its human-in-the-loop nature, attended bots must be agile and responsive.

The end-user interacting with the bot should always feel comfortable. The interface should be user-friendly and provide visual cues to guide them along, so they know which step of the process the bot is currently executing.

OpenBots Studio provides commands specifically designed for user interaction; these can be found under the Automation Commands – Input subgroup.

Since attended automations rely on user input, bots must be resilient to different actions that the user may take. Most challenges that arise during development or UAT can be prevented by undergoing a thorough discovery and mapping process of the business task at hand.

Advantages of Attended Automation 

When it comes to attended automation, the advantages surely outweigh the challenges. The development cycle is usually shorter for attended automations than for unattended automations.

Most attended cases are very task-specific, meant to tackle a particular job at hand. Also, since a human supervises bots during runtime, less reporting, self-recovery, and logging mechanisms are usually needed.

Related Read: Simplify Office Automation with OpenBots

In addition, attended automations require minimal setup. For example, an OpenBots solution would only require the installation of Agent on the targeted Desktop.

Once installed and configured, users can manually deploy their automations through the Agent interface whenever their assistance is needed. Thus, increasing productivity on every run and allowing the business to achieve rapid Return of Investment (ROI).

Attended Automation Management  

Managing an attended automation practice requires utilizing a robust software solution that will allow developers to implement air-tight automations and enable business owners to manage said automations.

OpenBots core products—Studio, Agent, and Server—provide the functionality needed to accomplish this task.

OpenBots Studio facilitates the development process by providing a low code interface equipped to build resilient attended bots. Using Studio Input commands like “Prompt for Input” or “Prompt for HTML Input” lets developers create an easy-to-follow flow for the end-user.

OpenBots Server is the primary managing tool for both attended and unattended automations. Here, automations, assets, and credentials are hosted and available for all users within the organization. Also, automation logs and auditing logs are sent to the Server to monitor all actions performed by bots and users.

OpenBots Agent is the execution host, which runs all automations published by OpenBots Studio. Agent points to Server or to a local path repository where automations are hosted. Users then deploy these automations manually as an attended bot through the Agent application. 

Attended Robotic Process Automation

Attended Automations are an essential part of RPA. They often target specific business cases, which require human interaction throughout the automation execution.

For those new to RPA, attended automations provide a good starting point. Enterprises can take advantage of its simpler structure, and business owners can get familiarized with the RPA process cycle.

OpenBots provides full-fledged RPA software, equipped with the necessary tools to develop, manage and execute attended and unattended solutions.

To get more information on how to get started automating with OpenBots, check out OpenBots Academy and programs to get started automating today: QuickPacks, Bot Migration, Citizen Developer JumpStart.