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Journal of Information and Knowledge Management (JIKM) Volume 11 Number 1 (2021)

Planning for a Successful Robotic Process Automation

(RPA) Project: A Case Study
1
Dahlia Fernandez, 2Aini Aman
1
Faculty of Technology Management and Business
University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
86400, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia.
2
Faculty of Economics and Management
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

Email: [email protected]

Received Date: 3 March 2021

Publish Date: 1 April 2021

Abstract. The revolution of technology is often emphasized in any organization

for them to remain competitive in the market. Among the latest technologies is
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) which can mimic humans and take over
their tasks. However, implementing RPA can turn into something complicated
and challenging if it is implemented without proper strategic planning. Hence,
this study aims to understand how to do proper planning in a successful Robotic
Process Automation (RPA) project. This study uses an in-depth case study ap-
proach in one of the largest oil and gas organizations that provides F&A ser-
vices. The result of the study showed that an effective RPA project should have
careful planning as well as a realistic project planning timeline. The project
timeline is very important to ensure that the project remains transparent and or-
ganized. Besides that, clear communication is very important to employees so
that they can accept the changes that are taking place. It is also important for the
employee to receive strong support from the management and information
technology (IT) department for a successful implementation of the RPA project.
Keywords: Robotic Process Automation; Planning; Project Management;
Communication and Change Management; Support and Training

1 Introduction
The finance and accounting (F&A) profession involve many repetitive and high-
volume tasks that require them to meet a tight timeline. Therefore, many
organizations invest money to automate tasks in the F&A unit using technologies
such as computerized accounting systems, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Excel
worksheets and other automation technologies. However, these technologies still
require humans to perform repetitive tasks manually such as typing, copying, and
pasting a number of high-volume tasks from one system to another. However, the

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 Planning for a Successful Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Project: A Case Study

repetition of this structured task can be done automatically without human

involvement using Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
RPA is defined as a technological application that uses software tools to interact
with existing systems and replace humans. IRPA (2014) defines RPA as the use of
technology that allows employees in a company to configure computer software or
‘robots’ to capture and interpret existing applications to process transactions,
manipulate data, and communicate with other digital systems. RPA technology is a
software tool or a virtual workforce that can mimic real user behavior. It promises
various benefits to individuals and organizations namely to increase the effectiveness
of work processes, enhance productivity, reduce the risk of errors, and minimize the
organizational costs (Lacity & Willcocks 2018, 2015a; Willcocks, Lacity & Craig
2017, 2015b). These robotic-enabled tasks allow humans to have more time to focus
on more challenging and value-added tasks that can have a long-term impact on
strategic planning and organizational performance. Therefore, organizations that do
not take the opportunity to use RPA will be reluctant to reap the benefits offered by
this technology such as failing to reduce operation costs and at the same time failing
to maximize business profits.
However, the implementation of new technologies is not necessarily an appropriate
action. This is because investing in the technology may also lead to new problems and
greater complexity in the work process. This is because the implementation of new
technologies can have a negative impact on the organization due to positions and
tasks that have been changed or eliminated (Lacity & Willcocks 2016b; Lacity &
Willcocks 2015a; 2015b; 2015c). Employees who have lost a particular position or
task, and have been reassigned to another position or task, are more likely to be less
productive, which in turn will have an impact on the organization (Willcocks, Lacity
& Craig 2015a).
In addition, the success of the implementation of new technologies depends on the
planning and support received from the organizational management. Support from top
management, information technology (IT) department and even suppliers of these
systems is important to enabling system users to obtain adequate knowledge and
information (Asatiani & Penttinen 2016; Hallikainen et al. 2018; Rozario &
Vasarhelyi 2018). Careful and complete management planning should be available to
support the use of the new system and to adapt employees to the new tasks that have
been changed (Britton & Atkinson 2017). Hence, based on the above issues, the aim
of this study is to understand how to do proper planning in a successful RPA project.
There are three aspects of planning discussed in this paper which are project
management, communication and change management, and also support and training.
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. The next section which is the
literature review gives an overview of the influence of planning in the RPA project. It
is then followed with the research methodology section. Later, the findings and
analysis section is presented. The final section provides the discussion and conclusion
of the study.

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Journal of Information and Knowledge Management (JIKM) Volume 11 Number 1 (2021)

2 Literature Review
The problem of the adoption of new technologies among employees is one of the
issues that can pose an obstacle to the implementation of RPA. Employees may see
robots as competitors and fear losing their jobs, which in turn can lead to tensions
between employees and management. However, this effect can be minimized with
proper change management skills among others by introducing RPA projects
carefully and delivered effectively (Hallikainen et al. 2018; Rozario et al. 2018;
Asatiani & Penttinen 2016). According to the World Economic Forum (2018), new
technologies and trends are influencing business models and changing current job
profiles. The majority of employers expect that there will be significant changes in
terms of the skills required to perform most jobs. Therefore, organizations need to
take proactive steps in facing these changes by supporting and training employees
who will be affected by the implementation of new technologies such as RPA.
Implementation of RPA requires training needs among employees (Britton &
Atkinson 2017; Willcocks, Lacity & Craig 2017). For example, employees should be
prepared to face automation system failures. A problem that may be encountered in
the implementation of automation systems is that it can create situations where staff
are unable to detect automation malfunctions (Fung 2014). This problem should be
addressed during process planning and staff should be trained to deal with this
problem.
Besides that, additional training is also required if there is a shift in tasks
performed by employees. Retraining is required if employees are transferred to other
parts of the organization. To facilitate this training effort, a lifelong learning system
should be run within the organization (World Economic Forum 2018). Investment in
human capital and collaboration with other stakeholders on human resource strategies
should be key goals for long-term growth. In addition, organizations should recognize
and prepare for job losses for entry-level, by creating training protocols or modifying
internal training programs for juniors (Britton & Atkinson 2017). Furthermore,
organizations need to have better learning and training techniques with the
involvement of seniors to support junior employees to interpret the data generated
(Britton & Atkinson 2017).
According to Zhang & Liu (2019), there are two possible configurations that may
speed up business coordination with RPA. First, new corporate strategies with new
leadership that have a digital transformation perception can drive coordination
between RPAs and organizations. When managers realize the importance of digital
coordination within the organization, they will make this coordination happen faster
and better. Second, if the organization has low performance, but with strong
leadership, it has the opportunity to drive RPA business coordination. When financial
or market share decisions decline, the leadership of the organization will think about
the future and methods that can improve this weakness. If managers also have digital
views and transformation perceptions, coordination between RPAs and organizations
can be done at a faster rate (Zhang & Liu 2019).
In a study written by Lacity and Willcocks (2016a), they have outlined five
principles and guidelines for organizations that are considering implementing RPA:

1. Test RPA capabilities with controlled experiments.

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 Planning for a Successful Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Project: A Case Study

2. Develop criteria to determine which processes can be automated.

3. Involve the IT department at an early stage.
4. Communicate effectively at the beginning of the implementation process.
5. Diversify automation resource options.

The first principle of action means that RPA capabilities should be tested to
understand what can or cannot be done, and how it differs from traditional automation
solutions. For example, organizations can compare the capabilities and costs of
different solutions by automating the same process using robots and other automation
systems. Controlled experiments can also be used to assess the capabilities of RPA
providers. This can be done by providing the same process for two RPA service
providers to perform automation in controlled experiments. This step can be a best
practice for comparing their capabilities (Lacity & Willcocks 2016a).
Secondly, the correct process should be identified as not all processes are suitable
for robotics. There are several suitability criteria in the selection of the RPA process.
According to Rozario et al. (2018), organizations need to find a simple victory when
embarking on their RPA journey, and they should avoid choosing complex and
subjective processes. Typically, high-volume processes provide great potential in cost
savings (Rozario et al. 2018; Lacity & Willcocks 2016a; Willcocks et al 2015b).
Moreover, systematically determined and rule-based processes are easier to automate,
as robots still need strict guidelines to complete tasks (Rozario et al. 2018; Lacity &
Willcocks 2016a). Besides that, organizations should aim for a mature process, as it is
more stable, predictable and the cost is already known, making it less risky to
automate (Rozario et al. 2018; Lacity & Willcocks 2016a).
Thirdly, organizations need to bring in intervention by the IT department in the
early stages of RPA implementation. RPA technology is often seen as a business
operations program and therefore many organizations that implement RPA at an early
stage have excluded IT in the early stages of its implementation (Lacity & Willcocks
2016a). The IT department should be involved in its implementation starting either
when it is developed internally or when it is purchased as a service package. If the
organization chooses to develop the RPA on its own, then the IT department needs to
participate in the stage of RPA development, testing and implementation. If the
organization chooses to purchase it as a service package, then the IT department
should support the business in the RPA business case construction process and
participate in the negotiation process with the RPA provider (Lacity & Willcocks
2016a). By understanding the capabilities of RPA, the IT department can function as
an advisor to business units, and its role is also important when considering matters
such as validating the RPA process and optimizing IT infrastructure (Hallikainen et
al. 2018).
The fourth issue is about the importance of effective communication at the
beginning of the implementation process. According to Lacity and Willcocks (2016a),
the most appropriate time to communicate about the use of RPA is in the
experimental phase. Early communication is important so that employees are
receptive and open with the use of RPA. This is because they have to work together in
the development of the RPA while programming the robot. In addition, the
organization can give a human name to its software robots because it can help
professional staff in the organization see it as their assistant (Hallikainen et al. 2018).

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Journal of Information and Knowledge Management (JIKM) Volume 11 Number 1 (2021)

The last issue is that organizations should consider a variety of different resource
options for RPA adoption. As illustrated in Table 1, there are five different source
options. Organizations should choose the most appropriate option for the company,
and the selection can be made based on the resources and objectives of the company
itself. For example, insourcing can be a good option if the organization wants to have
a high level of control and earn cost savings (Lacity & Willcocks 2016a). Outsourcing
can also be considered if the organization does not have sufficient capabilities or
wants to use the expertise of RPA providers. The most well-known RPA software
providers include companies such as Blue Prism, Automation Anywhere, UiPath, and
Ipsoft, which offer easy-to-use tools and can also offer training to business operations
staff for a few weeks so they can manage the process on their own (Lacity &
Willcocks 2016a).

Table 1. RPA Sourcing Options

Options Explanation
Insource Purchase RPA licenses directly from RPA
software providers.
Insource and consulting Purchase RPA licenses directly from RPA
software providers, and obtain consulting
firms for services and configurations.
Outsourcing with a traditional business Purchase RPA as part of an integrated service
process outsourcing (BPO) provider provided by traditional BPO providers.
Outsourcing to RPA providers Purchase RPAs from the new generation of
RPA outsourcing providers.
Cloud-source Purchase RPA through cloud services.

Source: Lacity & Willcocks 2016a

Table 2. Planning Summary

RPA Planning Sources

Project management Zhang & Liu 2019; Lacity & Willcocks
2016a
Communication and change management Hallikainen, Bekkhus & Pan 2018; Asatiani
& Penttinen 2016
Support and training Britton & Atkinson 2017; Willcocks, Lacity
& Craig 2017

Although the selection of the right process or task for RPA is important
(Convergys 2018), but how to determine the appropriate process, sub-process, or task
for RPA is not always easy to see (Agaton & Swedberg 2018). Although
organizations already have checklists (Accenture 2018), ‘questions to ask’ when
assessing the potential of automation (Agaton & Swedberg 2018), and a list of
selection process criteria (Burgess 2018), they still have constraints. Among the
constraints is that the evaluation process is not done based on detailed analysis. In
addition, there is no or lack of strong supporting evidence to strengthen the decision-
making process when choosing which process or task should be automated (Syed et

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 Planning for a Successful Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Project: A Case Study

al. 2020). Table 2 shows a summary of the influence of RPA on organizational

planning.

3 Research Methodology
The aim of this study is to understand how to do proper planning in a successful
RPA project. Thus, this study uses a qualitative case study method (Walsham 2006)
through an interpretive perspective to gain a deep and comprehensive understanding
of the issues of this study. A case study allows a researcher to study an issue based on
various forms of real phenomena that exist in this world (Yin 2013).
A global company operating in one of the largest oil and gas industries in the world
has been selected because it has been using RPA since 2015. This organization is seen
as a strong giant company and is always sensitive to the latest technological
developments in the market and has great competition in the international market.
Thus, by making this organization as a single case study for this research, it can
provide implications and contributions in the research regarding the influence of
planning in the successful implementation of the RPA project. In addition, this single
case study can help researchers to understand the influence of RPA at each level of
management within the F&A unit in the selected organization in more depth.
Qualitative data is gathered through semi-structured interviews with various
respondents that are using the RPA system in the F&A unit. Interviews were
originally scheduled to last for one hour but in some cases lasted up to two hours. In
total, 25 hours of interviews were undertaken with 14 respondents. The interview
session involved respondents from various parties in the organization involved to
ensure that the issue of the study is accurate and existent. Table 3 is a summary of the
list of respondents who have been interviewed for this study. The names and positions
of the respondents have been changed for confidentiality. Each interview has been
recorded and copied verbatim and is recorded. After the transcription process is
completed, researchers identified the issues and identified themes continuously by
repeatedly reading the transcripts.

Table 3. List of Respondents

Interview Session
Name and Position
Frequency Duration (Hour)
1 Sabri, Vice President of Finance and
1 1
Accounting Unit
2 Adam, Vice President of Financial
2 3
Operations
3 Clara, Human Resource Manager 1 2
4 Henry, Operation Manager 1 2 4
5 Aaron, Operation Manager 2 1 2
6 William, Operation Manager 3 1 2
7 Melissa, Unit Manager 1 1 1
8 Jennifer, Unit Manager 2 1 2
9 Olivia, Head of Continuous
1 1.5
Improvement Unit (Finance)

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Journal of Information and Knowledge Management (JIKM) Volume 11 Number 1 (2021)

10 Jason, Senior Manager of Continuous

1 1
Improvement 1
11 Benjamin, Senior Manager of
1 1
Continuous Improvement 2
12 Isabella, Financial Unit Operation
1 1.5
Specialist 1
13 Lucas, Financial Unit Operation
1 1.5
Specialist 2
14 Noah, System Control Manager 1 1.5
Total 25 Hours

In addition to interviews, document review is also used in this study. The

acquisition of data according to this method is to enable researchers to better
understand and confirm the things mentioned by the respondents in the interview
(Myers 2013). The document usage approach also helps researchers as it can increase
the reliability of the interview data. It can provide more accurate information to
compare with the primary data because the document can confirm the correct spelling
and title or name that has been mentioned in the interview. In addition, the document
can provide other specific details on the issues discussed during the interview. It can
also act as a reference and provide clues to understand the issues in this study. The
relevant documents from each person who was interviewed were reviewed with a
recorded story. The documents were collected at the end of each interview, with the
researcher asking if the respondents could provide the documents related to the story
being told.

4 Findings and Analysis of the Study

This section will explain about the influence of RPA on planning within the
organization. Among the aspects that will be discussed are project management,
communication and change management, and followed by support and training.

Project Management

Although RPA has various benefits, the implementation of RPA in various fields
including the accounting field shows that most organizations do not do a good job in
socializing RPA between various departments or groups before launching their RPA
initiative (Zhang & Liu 2019; Lacity & Willcocks 2016a). The RPA implementation
process involves more than just configuring robots. However, it requires a process of
redesigning tasks, navigating stakeholders with various areas of responsibility such as
security, IT, and audit compliance (CFO Innovation, 2018). In addition, it also covers
the navigational process of problematic business units which includes the
coordination of several business units. Before an organization can begin
implementing RPAs, organizations need to assess the business landscape and
stakeholder interests, their operating conditions, the talents they have, as well as the
readiness of senior executives to combine human and virtual manpower. According to
Melissa,

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 Planning for a Successful Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Project: A Case Study

“So, I think project management skills as well as stakeholder engagement skills. For
example, if something happens, how do you involve various units and departments to
make decisions together and move forward ... ”- Melissa, Unit Manager 1.

Therefore, corporate logic helps to explain that effective project management skills
are very important to ensure the successful implementation of RPA projects in this
organization. This was also acknowledged by Jennifer, whose project management
skills are very important in the RPA implementation process. She also emphasizes
good project management skills compared to IT skills.

“… What I think is important to lead a project like robotics, is project management

skills. Therefore, you do not need to have very strong IT knowledge because we have
IT staff to help us do all the programming. But, you need to have excellent project
management skills to really manage the entire implementation phase… ”- Jennifer,
Unit Manager 2.

In addition, an effective project should have careful planning as well as a realistic

project planning timeline. The project timeline is very important to ensure that the
project remains transparent and organized. This is acknowledged by Jennifer,

"… So, first you need to really have a realistic project plan and implementation
date…" - Jennifer, Unit Manager 2.

Figure 1 shows an example of a timeline for an RPA project. It can be seen from
the diagram below that the RPA project takes about a year which includes the process
of planning, reviewing, designing, testing, up to the launch of the robot.

RPA PROJECT TIMELINE

Figure 1. Example of RPA Robot Project Timeline

Source: Document

Figure 1. Example of RPA Robot Project Timeline

Source: Document

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Journal of Information and Knowledge Management (JIKM) Volume 11 Number 1 (2021)

The implementation of RPA in this organization is based on the ESSA approach,

namely eliminate, standardize, simplify, and automate. According to Henry,

“The first and most important thing is not about automation. Automation is the last
thing. We follow the ESSA approach. ESSA is about eliminating, standardizing,
simplifying and then automating. So automation is the last"- Henry, Operation
Manager 1.

The first step in the ESSA approach is to eliminate processes or measures that are
perceived as unnecessary or overlapping. As Henry explains,

“... the first step when someone enters an office is what they do on screen, which
website do they visit, what bank statements are involved, what they extract, what tools
they use, is it Excel, which screen need to go to ERP. They map every step and
process and they eliminate unnecessary steps…”- Henry, Operation Manager 1.

Then, the second step in the ESSA approach is to standardize the process so that it
can produce consistent output especially for processes involving various countries.
This is explained as follows,

“… and then because this organization is a global company, we have many of the
same processes around the world and in different countries. Which one can you
standardize? So in Malaysia we do it this way, Thailand we do it that way, Singapore
we do it this way. But then we realized that the truth is Indonesia is the fastest. Can
we standardize this process as Indonesia does? That is why it is referred to as the
standardization process…”- Henry, Operation Manager 1.

The third step in the ESSA approach is to simplify this process. Without
standardization measures, it will complicate the task replication process in the robotic
system. This is because it will be more time-consuming and more difficult to generate
code and build robots. According to Henry,

“…and then we can simplify. Are the steps too complicated for us to grasp? Or
during the account matching process, we may not need to match all those accounts
with multiple accounts. But in fact we only need to match one account, and it still
gives the same result…”- Henry, Operation Manager 1.

Finally, once all the above steps have been completed, the last step in the ESSA
approach is to automate. In this step, the RPA is decided whether it can be
implemented within the organization or not. We can see that this step is the final step
because the organization does not want to make hasty decisions for task automation
without undergoing thorough measures and so that they are more careful in the RPA
implementation process. As Henry states,

“… After you have identified all the following steps, then finally we arrive at the final
process. We started discussing whether it could be automated. And that's where the

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 Planning for a Successful Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Project: A Case Study

RPA comes in. So, RPA is not the first, but it is the final solution… ”- Henry,
Operation Manager 1.

Apart from the ESSA approach, figure 2 shows the low cost automation (LCA)
action plan followed by the RPA automation process. There are seven phases of RPA
implementation. The first phase is to identify opportunities that can be automated.
The second phase is the End-to-End (E2E) process review which is a process that
requires reviewing the system or service from beginning to end and providing a
complete functional solution. The third phase involves the re-engineering and
selection of LCA. This phase includes activities that simplify, standardize, and
digitize the process. The ESSA approach is the approach involved in this phase. Then,
the fourth phase is the business needs design phase which involves the process of
detailing the business needs design. The fifth phase is solution design which is the
process of making solution design in a more technical language. Next, the sixth phase
is build and test. This phase is the phase that involves the actual robot. The robot will
be inspected and will go through a user acceptance test before it is launched. The final
phase is the implementation phase of the semi-automation process. This phase is the
phase where the robot is launched directly to the user. This phase also involves the
process of hypercare after launch to ensure that the performance of the robot is
closely monitored. Then, once the hypercare is completed, it will be carried out
normally and maintained until there is a benefit from the robot.

Fig. 2. LCA Action Plan

Source: Document

Communication And Change Management

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Journal of Information and Knowledge Management (JIKM) Volume 11 Number 1 (2021)

Implementing RPA sounds easy, but it can also be something complicated and
challenging if not implemented properly. While in the planning stage for the
implementation of RPA, most organizations will focus on strategic and tactical
planning aspects to enable the automation to succeed (Asatiani & Penttinen 2016).
However, organizations should also consider human elements such as the
coordination of organizational culture, values, and behavior in order to achieve the
desired results. Therefore, it can be seen in the action plan in Figure 2 earlier that all
the phases of the LCA action plan involve a governance model that covers the process
of communication and change management at each phase. This shows that this
organization places great emphasis on effective communication and change
management in the success of RPA technology. This is stated by Benjamin as follows,

"So, involvement and change management is very important when launching this new
technology so that they clearly understand the business case or the reason for the
change, how they will be affected by the change and what the expectations of each
unit" - Benjamin, Senior Manager of Continuous Improvement 2.

Besides, this statement is also supported by Isabella who stated that clear
communication is very important for employees so that they can accept the changes
that occur.

“First, they communicate. The most important thing they tell us is what will happen,
before they really happen. They will have a committee or a briefing that explains this
change, why this change was made, what is the objective of this change, how this will
benefit us and things like that…”- Isabella, Financial Unit Operation Specialist 1.

Support And Training

RPA is able to influence the tasks performed by employees in the F&A profession
and change their roles. Thus, it provides an opportunity for employees to move or
change jobs elsewhere in the organization due to the significantly reduced workload.
As a result, the need for additional training for new ways of working is needed. As
William explains,

“... training is provided. Basically, it is during the implementation process because

our lower level staff are not required to operate robots, but for them, training is more
on how to work. So, in the future, robots will do this. So, now your job has changed.
You focus on things that robots do not do… ”- William, Operation Manager 3.

Therefore, support from management and support from the IT department is very
important for the successful implementation of a new technology. Clara recognizes
the importance of support and training to employees in the profession and strives to
provide the best for all employees. According to Clara,

“... we try to provide adequate support and training to employees. Initially, there
were issues in terms of employee adaptation to the new job reshuffle. However, that is

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 Planning for a Successful Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Project: A Case Study

our goal which is to provide solid support and training ”- Clara, Human Resource
Manager.

Apart from that, according to William, he found that support from the robotic
development team is also important in the successful implementation of RPA.
According to him, although the development team does not have F&A skills, their
team has been trained to understand the skills in the profession to smoothen the RPA
implementation process, especially if there are any problems or issues that arise.

“... for the support aspect, I can say most of them are accepted, especially from the
robotic development team. Although they are a team for software development, they
really understand the need for accounting. That means, for example, I say, "Well, we
need to do this step, this step, this step". They can really understand and they can
suggest a way out of how the better way we do things logically so that we can achieve
the objective. So I think that is a very good team that we have, and I remind you again
that they have no accounting or financial background at all ... ”- William, Operation
Manager 3.

In this organization, it is recommended for the management to be aware of the

need to invest in employees and also support the training of their personnel. The goal
is to provide employees with a positive future outlook on technology. In addition, this
organization is also improving the existing process through increasing volume and
further training related to RPA software. The process manager, Melissa, stated that
they get more benefits in terms of process quality and continuous improvement
compared to what they originally planned.

“… Actually when we do more intensive and effective training, we find that there is a
better improvement in terms of the quality of their work. So, effective training and
learning are important in this organization even though it is time-consuming and
looks tedious…”- Melissa, Unit Manager 1.

5 Discussions and Conclusion

Digital transformation is a long-term strategic initiative, especially to streamline
the process and improve the effectiveness of work within the organization. The
success of the implementation of digital transformation strategies in the organization
depends on the skills of management in project management and their ability to
prepare these professionals to face new work patterns. Good preparation is always the
key to success and to reduce the risk of project implementation failure. The results of
this study also found that the implementation process of RPA in this organization is
successful because this organization has made initial planning by standardizing and
coordinating its resources to produce a smooth new project implementation process.
These findings are in line with previous studies stating that change management skills
by introducing RPA projects carefully can influence the successful implementation of
RPA projects (Hallikainen et al. 2018; Rozario et al. 2018; Asatiani & Penttinen
2016).

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Journal of Information and Knowledge Management (JIKM) Volume 11 Number 1 (2021)

Table 4. RPA Planning Summary

RPA Planning Explanation

Project management Effective projects should have careful plan-
ning as well as a realistic project planning
timeline.
Communication and change man- The organization should help employees to
agement clearly understand the changes that will take
place.
Support and training Support from the management and IT unit is
essential for the successful implementation
of the RPA implementation project.

Job changes and fear of losing a job bring negative influences and can even
sabotage automation plans. Therefore, the management team in this organization has
stated that they should have good communication and change management skills with
employees in each phase of RPA implementation to ensure it runs smoothly and
effectively. Respondents also stated that effective two-way communication from top
management to them further enhances their acceptance of job changes in this
organization. Every step of the RPA implementation process must be communicated
to the entire team so that its implementation runs smoothly and effectively. If
employees can understand every implementation step, including the risks that will be
encountered, then, the organization can limit the margin of error while the RPA is
implemented, even make employees to accept the implementation of this new
technology more easily.
RPA is a very influential digital transformation tool and can improve business
performance as long as the right strategies and measures are taken into account.
Although the purpose of RPA is to take over certain processes and tasks from humans
and transfer them to robots, human capital skills are very important in a successful
transition process. Therefore, solid support and incentive training are very important
in the successful implementation of this robotic technology (Britton & Atkinson
2017). The findings of this study also show that this organization places great
emphasis on its human resources because human resources are still valuable assets
after the implementation of robotic systems. In addition, the IT team needs to
understand RPA technology in depth to maintain the quality of the system and to
educate other individuals. If the organization chooses to develop the RPA on its own,
then the IT department needs to participate in the RPA development, testing and
implementation (Lacity & Willcocks 2016a). Table 4 shows a brief description of the
RPA planning.

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 Planning for a Successful Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Project: A Case Study

Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge UTHM Research Grant Scheme (H780-TIER 1) for
funding opportunities.

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