Delivery Approach
The Head of RPA defines the delivery methodology and is ultimately responsible for ensuring the implementation teams follow it. This section will explain the 6 phases of the Blue Prism delivery methodology.
Entry and Exit Criteria for Delivery Phases
Defining the transition between phases is a critical element in establishing a delivery methodology. Understanding what completes one phase and triggers the next is essential for planning, executing and managing progression.
Going Solo
It's normal for an immature delivery team to undertake relatively simple projects at first, and often these are delivered from inception to implementation by a single member of the team. Although such an approach is an excellent means of exposing that person to the entire delivery lifecycle, it does little to foster the teamwork required for larger projects. Solo delivery can affect the discipline and control of formal decision making and documentation, with the design and function of a solution tending to exist only in the head of the individual. Even small yet mature teams should recognize the risk of single-handed delivery and adopt a collaborative approach that will improve quality and reduce project time.
Working Together
Cooperation is key to the Blue Prism methodology and the phased approach is intended for the client and delivery teams to communicate and collaborate during a project. In simple terms, the client has to express what they require from automation for the delivery team to propose a solution, explain how it will work and what will be required to run and maintain it as part of a BAU operation.
Governing Delivery
So regardless of whether a waterfall or agile approach is favoured, understanding the juncture between the stages of delivery is vital. Documentation is merely the vehicle between these points, the type of vehicle is of less importance than its purpose. Within this section you will find multiple document templates to download (at the bottom of each page), but remember they are just that - templates. The Blue Prism methodology is not about slavishly writing documents, but rather it is about acknowledging and governing the delivery progression. Whether this is done using the Blue Prism templates or via some other conduit is irrelevant, it is the activity, the thinking, the collaboration and the agreement that the mechanism represents that is critical.
The 6 Phases of Delivery
- Defining the AS IS process to enable the creation of a TO BE solution design
- Capturing manual process detail and the functional requirements of the business
- Engaging with business process owners and SMEs
- Walking through the definition to confirm accuracy and avoid scope creep
- Finalizing requirements and signing off on definition documentation
Discover more about the Define phase here.
- Providing a TO BE solution design for the client to understand and approve
- Devising design quality control mechanisms such as a Design Authority
- Defining the design technique and collateral to produce scalable, robust and reliable automated solutions
- Designing with consideration of how solutions will be built, tested, implemented, operated and maintained
- Explaining the impact the proposed automation will have on the Business
- Defining the testing appropriate to each stage of the build
- Defining the criteria for user acceptance testing
- Agree the strategy for when and how to start using Live data
- Finalizing and signing off design documentation
Discover more about the Design phase here.
- Providing developers with documented instruction on how each design must be built
- Mandating the use of diagram templates and reusable objects
- Tracking that requirements and design instructions are being met
- Building incrementally and testing frequently
- Delivering through organised cooperation rather than by individual craftsmanship
- Testing at Control Room speed to minimize System Exceptions
- Using peer review to share knowledge and improve development quality
- Using a Design Authority to enforce best practice and adherence to standards and governance
- Finalizing build quality and readiness for testing
Discover more about the Build phase here.
- Execution of test plans by the delivery team, with assistance from the Business where appropriate
- Creating plans with reference to the AS IS definition, the business requirements and the TO BE design
- Defining the data source, volume, quality and variety needed to meet testing requirements of scope and scale
- Considering if, when, where and how Live data will be used during testing
- Planning to test happy paths and unhappy paths
- Planning to test at appropriate volume, scale and speed
- Implementing the plan for controlled testing in collaboration with the Business
- Finalizing the relevant templates required for testing sign off
Discover more about the Test phase here.
- Execution of acceptance plans by the Business, with assistance from the delivery team where appropriate
- Creating plans with reference to the AS IS definition, the business requirements and the TO BE design
- Defining the data source, volume, quality and variety needed to meet UAT requirements
- Considering when, where and how Live data will be used during UAT
- Planning to test happy paths and unhappy paths
- Planning to test at appropriate volume, scale and speed
- Finalizing the relevant templates required for acceptance sign off
Discover more about the UAT phase here.
- Controlling the mechanism for deploying releases into higher environments
- Planning the project implementation, defining the tasks performed by the delivery team, IT and operations
- Defining the instructions, information and advice for running a process in BAU
- Creating the Service Model for running an RPA service
- Defining the activities and controls for when automated solutions are unable to meet SLA
- Maintenance scheduling
- Business continuity planning
- Disaster recovery planning
Discover more about the Deploy phase here.
Tips for Delivery Methodology
- Use the Blue Prism methodology as the foundation for one that fits your organization
- Combine Blue Prism recommendations with your own practices to create an RPA delivery methodology that works for you
- Define an RPA methodology that recognizes its differences from traditional software delivery
- Ensure the methodology enables you to meet requirements, benefit the Business and drive towards the Vision
- Divide your methodology in to phases and focus on the entry and exit criteria required to progress between the phases
- Define how your methodology aligns with your current procedures for managing risk, security and change
Delivery Checklist
- Determine how to engage the Business early and effectively
- Ensure the SMEs provide a definition of the AS IS process
- Anticipate the need to update or enhance the definition detail
- Work out the level of granularity necessary for the definition to be followed by a digital worker
- Verify the accuracy, quality and detail of the definition during a manual walk through with SMEs
- Use the definition phase to also determine the functional and MI requirements of the Business
- Perceive requirements as future acceptance criteria
- Ensure a DA is in place and create a Terms of Reference
- Schedule regular DA meetings
- Ensure the DA acts as advisor and gatekeeper to the development team, supporting and validating designs
- Define how the DA will review and approve or even veto solution designs
- Ensure a proven and tested formal design peer review process is in place
- Create designs the client can understand and approve
- Document instructions developers can follow, build and test
- Where appropriate, reuse from previous projects and design reusable elements to benefit future projects
- Start preparing test plans and test data after design sign off
- Ensure a formal, multi-level test approach is defined
- Start thinking about testing during the design phase
- Once a design is approved, identify the source, volume and variety of test data required
- Establish who will prepare the data and how much time and effort that will take
- Ensure solutions have had the optimum level of testing throughout delivery
- Use a 'fail-fast' approach and test as early and as often as possible
- Agree how, where and when Live data will be first used
- Examine the advantage, risk and mitigation of using Live data in a 'pre-production' environment
- Measure solutions against the agreed design and business requirements
- Ensure acceptance collateral is generated and sign off protocols are in place with the relevant business leads
- Use the default Blue Prism best practices as a foundation for your own
- Define and document the best practices that should be adopted during development
- Use design instructions to aide and direct developers
- Use peer review and mentoring to ensure compliance with standards and governance
- Use process templates to create a common development style that can be delivered faster
- Encourage reuse by establishing and maintaining an object library
- Review lessons learnt to stimulate continuous improvement and expand best practices and standards
- Define a roles and responsibilities matrix
- Have a clear division of labor for roles across your methodology to determine responsibilities
- Remember that people may have more than one role, particularly when the team is small
- Review how the roles can adapt while your RPA capability matures and scales
- Define succession plans for the key roles within your methodology
- Ensure knowledge sharing and lessons learnt are continually fed back
- Ensure knowledgeable and experienced delivery leads are in place to mentor the delivery team