Is GenAI the next frontier for Workflow and RPA technologies
Process workflow has been at the heart of enterprise automation for over 50 years. Starting from simple linear fixed number of steps, usually orchestrated via input forms, validation, computation/calculation and display of results, process workflows have evolved to handle complex enterprise grade application needs.
Modern enterprise application involves user friendly forms that capture the user inputs, validation of data provided, ability to upload documents (images, PDF etc), API integration to regulatory bodies and aggregators, decision agents, and routing using predefined enterprise rules that encapsulate both business logic as well as internal authority matrix. They also offer notifications and updates via email/SMS to users, escalations to internal staff and escalation to alternate / supervisory staff as needed. Enterprise applications that span multiple departments or even subsidiaries also offer ability to submit to another process that may be relevant to the case at hand; initiate a sub-process and integration with enterprise archival platforms, customer communication platforms for an end-to-end experience. One case example could be a modern loan origination system integrated with loan management system integrated with loan / EMI statement generation and communication system.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
While 1st generation processes had limited automation capabilities, modern process and workflow products have a full range of capabilities but mostly relied on human operators for decisions. They did have automated escalations and assignments to alternate / supervisory users, but the decisions were made by humans in nearly all cases.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) introduced the concept of decisions by robotic bots, that were coded with business logic and authority metric and could move the process object down the workflow path “on its own”. The ability to create and manage large swarms of robotic bots that took over human keyboard related tasks and some decision-making tasks was offered as a significant advantage in accelerating digital transformation of enterprises. However, RPA barely moved from automated keypress and UI selection since most useful business decisions involved vague judgement rather than strict rules. Also, few enterprise rule systems had a good mechanism for authority-based rules and exceptions.
Even with big-data and AI based decision making integrated into the robotic bots, the penetration of RPA has been less than promised.
GenAI and Process Workflow
Generative AI tools have demonstrated great proficiency in creating text, articles, poetry, images, audio, video, engg. designs etc. It is forecast that any human produced “content” can be generated by the LLM based AI engines if sufficiently trained on relevant data. Since much of the process artefacts are propriety in nature, it will not be easy for public LLMs to access the same without collaborating with the workflow providers. However, the leading process & LCAP providers can certainly offer GenAI style development & productivity improvements.
Given my experience with process workflows, LCAP products, here are some areas where we can see GenAI style innovations in the next 12–24 months:
· Can GenAI tools create the definitions, validation code, integration API calls, user rules encapsulation and packaging everything to “build” an end-to-end enterprise grade application with commercial grade finishing, security and deployment options?
· Can GenAI tools create the RPA bots using the generative engines with the users having to only provide natural language prompts?
· Can GenAI tools create the rule engine based on business logic and authority matrix as described through prompts?
· Can GenAI tools publish the customer communication package using the layouts, data, analysis of data?
The stable settled world of enterprise process workflow & RPA has been disrupted by GenAI. It will be interesting to see how incumbents respond to the new challenges. Or perhaps, new startups will build GenAI first based new solutions to accelerate enterprise digital transformation.
