Business Process Automation Research Articles

Application of a compliance system to prevent corporate fraud in large companies

The use of compliance systems is one of the most important components of ensuring the functioning of the activities of large companies in conditions of a high level of security. Working with big data puts organizations in front of various problems related to confidentiality and information security. Compliance systems can reduce risks by increasing the competitiveness of enterprises in the market and raising awareness of employees about illegal actions in general. Recently, the application of laws preventing corrupt business transactions has intensified, and the escalating foreign economic situation requires effective actions from business leaders, therefore, the study of ways to apply the compliance system in large companies is necessary. Within the framework of this article, the author examines the essence of compliance, its main functions, as well as methods and methods of compliance control in large organizations operating in the domestic market. An important role in this scientific article is assigned to the levels of development of the compliance system, consideration of international standards, as well as the areas of compliance in large companies, which are highlighted by the author in accordance with the specifics and features of the activities of large companies in the domestic market. The author also considers compliance principles, the observance of which is necessary to ensure the achievement of the company's goals, the development of methods for their adoption, as well as ensuring system control of the functioning of the organization. The paper focused on the need to continue implementing the development strategy of large companies aimed at automating business processes. The main tools for countering corporate fraud that are used by large companies in conditions of aggravation of the risk of corporate fraud are listed.

Governance of Autonomous Agents on the Web: Challenges and Opportunities

The study of autonomous agents has a long history in the Multiagent System and the Semantic Web communities, with applications ranging from automating business processes to personal assistants. More recently, the Web of Things (WoT), which is an extension of the Internet of Things (IoT) with metadata expressed in Web standards, and its community provide further motivation for pushing the autonomous agents research agenda forward. Although representing and reasoning about norms, policies, and preferences is crucial to ensuring that autonomous agents act in a manner that satisfies stakeholder requirements, normative concepts, policies, and preferences have yet to be considered as first-class abstractions in Web-based multiagent systems. Towards this end, this article motivates the need for alignment and joint research across the Multiagent Systems, Semantic Web, and WoT communities, introduces a conceptual framework for governance of autonomous agents on the Web, and identifies several research challenges and opportunities.

МЕТОДИКА ОЦЕНКИ И ВЫБОРА PLM-СИСТЕМ ПРИ ЦИФРОВОЙ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИИ МАШИНОСТРОИТЕЛЬНОГО ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯ

As part of the transition to the sixth technological order, the question of effective implementationof the digital transformation of the enterprise is acute for industrial enterprises. To do this, enterprisesneed to ensure the transition to process management, automate business processes and integrate allprocesses, applications and data on a single platform. There is a problem of choosing a way to combineinformation flows between various software tools in the enterprise, one of the solutions is the use of aPLM system. With a discrete type of production, their use is difficult due to the large number of softwaresolutions in the main, organizational, supporting and business development processes. In this regard, itis necessary to determine the optimal system that would meet all the necessary criteria for building asingle platform for a "seamless" production process. There are a large number of PLM systems on themarket that implement a certain number of functional appointments. The choice of a PLM system shouldbe based on the satisfaction of an interconnected set of enterprise requirements, which are determinedbased on business processes. This will eliminate most unsuitable software solutions. At the same time, aPLM system that has the widest functionality may not meet the requirements for creating a system forensuring integration with business process automation systems, as well as economic, social, politicaland other requirements. Therefore, an individual list of criteria is compiled for each enterprise in accordancewith the field of activity, the type of production, the availability of various software, the existinglevel of automation and other parameters. The article proposes a methodology for choosing PLMsystems for a radio-electronic engineering enterprise, based on the analysis of business processes anddetermining the requirements of the enterprise, monitoring and determining the functional purposes ofPLM systems and determining the optimal option based on the hierarchy analysis method. Obtaining anintegrated assessment of certain criteria and software solutions options will allow an objective choice ofthe optimal PLM system for a particular enterprise. The use of the methodology will speed up and improvethe quality of the PLM system selection process for a certain enterprise in the conditions of transitionto the sixth technological order and industry 4.0.

Ontological Support for Harmonization and Integration of Ukrzaliznytsia Information Systems Data

Purpose. The development strategy of Ukrzaliznytsia includes the following areas: integration and standardization of information systems, increasing the truthfulness of data and automating business processes. The integration of railway information systems is possible by ontological means without changing their structure. In this work, the main aim is the analysis of existing transportation ontological developments and determination of approaches to the application of related domains developments to the objectives of Ukrzaliznytsia’s development. Methodology. Ontological developments are systematized according to the type and format of their resources, the level of data integration, and the goals of ontology-based software. Methods of system analysis are used. Findings. The analysis showed that European Union railway transport ontologies are used to integrate infrastructure description data, train timetables, and others. At the same time, insufficient attention is paid to the regulatory support of the transportation process. There are software tools for annotating texts, extracting knowledge from tables and developing ontologies, but they are not used to support the Ukrainian railway transportation process. It has been determined that the actual problem is normative documentation annotation to establish a link between the ontology and the regulation texts. Originality. The basis for achieving the development goals of Ukrzaliznytsia by ontological means was laid, using the analysis and systematization of existing ontological developments of transport and related domains. The possibilities of using ontological means in railway transport are scientifically substantiated for: formalization of regulatory support; data transformations; data integration; checking the consistency of information systems data and regulations. Practical value. The work made it possible to identify the most significant ontological projects in transport. The foundations for the implementation of the conceptualization of the tabular representation of knowledge and the development of an ontology for the integration of models of railway subsystems have been laid.

Future-Oriented Digital Skills for Process Design and Automation

The digital transformation in both the social and business fields requires the development of new skills related to the use and implementation of contemporary IT technologies, which provide the basis for Industry 4.0. One of the main concepts of these changes is the automation and robotization of business processes. The design, implementation and use of solutions in this field require appropriate skills. Therefore, it is necessary to identify gaps in digital skills and reduce them with adequate training and development. The main objective of the paper is to identify both current gaps and future needs for digital design skills to support and understand the automation of business processes. A survey was carried out in manufacturing companies from six European countries. Its results have enabled us to create a future-oriented digital design competence framework that addresses the requirements of process design and automation in the Factory of the Future.

Analysis of the Conditions Influencing the Assimilation of the Robotic Process Automation by Enterprises

More and more companies are implementing the RPA (Robotic Process Automation) tools that belong to the newly emerging category of IT solutions used to automate business processes and enable the development of the so-called software robots. The term robot has a metaphorical meaning here – it is a special kind of software, not a device. Due to the fact that this is a new product category and many companies do not have extensive experience in this area yet, the use of the RPA tools is associated with many risks. At the same time, due to the increasingly competitive environment, it seems that there is no turning back from the implementation thereof. For this reason, two goals have been set in the article. The first is to build and verify a research model based on the TOE model (Technology-Organization-Environment), allowing for the identification of the determinants (drivers) influencing the assimilation of the robotic process automation by enterprises. The second goal is to develop recommendations for the managers responsible for implementing the RPA tools that will allow for increasing the assimilation of the robotic process automation. The following methods were used to accomplish these goals: literature research, a survey (conducted on 267 Polish enterprises) and statistical analysis (with the use of the structural equation models).

The process approach using for the optimization and risk decreasing of the business marketing activity

The aim of the article. The aim of the article is an investigating process approach inoculation advantages for the risk decreasing and sales policy enterprise optimization. Analyses results. It was considered the main organization management approaches and the application features in the article. The strategy choice is determined by management goals, the period of application, making management decisions time, the tasks’ difficulty, the senior management qualification, the organization status during the time of decision-making, and the internal and external environment characteristics. In conditions of the variability increasing and environment complexity, the process way allows to ensure the organization flexibility and adaptability, eliminate interfunctional barriers, and increase interest in client satisfaction. It involves to the management through the business implementation processes as a sequential logical actions for processing resources into a product or service that satisfies the needs of internal or external consumers. The main, auxiliary, management business processes and development business processes are distinguished by their influence on value formation. The sequence of process management implementation consists in carrying out a strategic analysis, developing an organization strategy, setting priorities, compiling a register of business processes, establishing their goals and metrics. Also, a necessary component is the owners’ determination and limits of business processes, the creation of a planning and controlling system, a detailed description and documentation of business processes. The management of the organization makes possible to identify and timely eliminate such mistakes as the duplication presence, redundant functions, lack of information, violations in its transfer or information creation that is not used, inconsistency of interfaces, low productivity or business process isolation. The need to model sales activity is determined by the creating the organization's value chain role. Providing value to the consumer is realized through the sale of the company's products or services, which is one of the main business processes. The article examines the external and internal factors of influence on the formation of the company's marketing sales policy, the factors that determine the level of the quality, complications that may arise in the absence of business processes automation. Conclusions and directions for further research. The further development of company's marketing sales policy involves the progressive techniques using and sales process organizing methods with the help of automatic data recording and the creation of a customer contact center that has an interactive virtual customer reply and includes: the creation and development of the distribution ways structure and the system management; the sales methods option for different product groups and geographic markets; the security of the funds influx for the overturn products and services. All these activities influence to the predictability of the organization's working results increasing and business risk decreasing. The most difficult automating business processes creating problem is the processes decomposition of the upper conceptual level into the comprehensive work operation with the logical mistakes avoidance. Further theoretical investigation thereupon consists in the idea of the management procedure model agreement and the implementation model reasoning course, which is achieved through the process mining modeling strategy implementation and description of the enterprise's sales activity business processes

MOFTI: Mobile Self-Service Framework to Uplift Customer Experience for the Telecommunications Industry in Malaysia

The new era of digital technologies has caused customers to require more efficient, easier access and immediate services. The first concern in the telecommunications industry is unpleasant conventional interactions (live agents) and interactive voice responses. The second area of concern is the operational change due to the MCO, which has impacted customer experience at physical counters. MCO imposes physical distancing at physical counters, with customers required to be at least one metre apart. Some businesses have imposed long queues to avoid congestion within a limited space, forcing customers to queue outside business spaces: perhaps along the road, in front of other premises, and under uncertain weather conditions. The shortened working hours during the MCO have amplified the number of unresolved issues among customers and long queues. This research aims to formulate a proposed framework for uplifting customer experience while managing the restrictions people face due to the MCO. The proposed solution is based on a literature review, reviewing existing mobile apps, and analysing data collected in 2020 through surveys and interviews. The evaluation results show that the proposed solution can be a guide for telecommunications service providers to enhance the customer’s experience of their self-service platforms while managing the restrictions people face due to the MCO. The novelty of this research is aligned with the Industrial Revolution 4.0 to reduce the workforce through the automation of business processes to meet the demands of the future economy.

Working with robotic process automation: User experience after 18 months of adoption

This paper reports a study of User Experience (UX) with Robotic Process Automation (RPA), in the perspective of workers of EdP Brazil, a large electric utility company that operates in Brazil. RPA are software solutions for automating business processes that find increased interest of companies because they are inserted in workgroups as a co-worker, emulating human workers operating on GUI interfaces. Although the technology promises to drive a new wave of productivity in service companies, its impact on co-workers' experience is still unexplored. Based on projective interviews using the AXE (Anticipated eXperience Evaluation) protocol, after the first 18 months of RPA operation, the analysis of workers' collaboration with the robots has evidenced multiple facets of UX, technology acceptance and innovation adoption. For this case, RPA has provided an overall positive user experience mainly due to the perceived utility of the spared time, the upgrade in career opportunities and the pride for actively participating in the innovation adoption. Negative experience comes mainly from the lack of visibility that hinders robot management for efficiency and improvement. The methodology used in the study was successful in capturing the multifaceted workers' experience and is potentially useful to support user research in new expansion RPA projects.

Pathways to Greener Pastures: Research Opportunities to Integrate Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Business Process Management Based on a Systematic Tertiary Literature Review

Sustainable Business Process Management (BPM) is a research field that aims to improve the sustainability performance of organizations’ operations. With its focus on business processes, it has the potential to bring sustainability considerations from external reporting to the core of organizations. We present a systematic tertiary literature study to provide a catalog of existing literature reviews and primary work and to give a consolidated overview of the state and research needs of the field. We find that Sustainable BPM research has focused on modeling approaches and most of the work so far is largely conceptual, with a limited sustainability perspective. Based on these findings, we propose an integration of BPM and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), an established and rigorous method for sustainability analysis. We present research opportunities to show how both disciplines can synergize and leverage methods and techniques for business process automation and innovation to effectively improve the sustainability performance of organizations.

Technology-based business model: A startup perspective

This paper examines how a startup can develop its business model for using virtual reality in the healthcare education sector. Due to the detail of the study, which is required to show the mechanisms of business model modification, a single case study was conducted for a startup located in the Czech Republic. The studied company develops virtual reality technology and solutions in industries such as healthcare, education, social services, engineering, and government sector. The study provides empirical evidence on the main mechanisms shaping the elements of a business model and shows the expansion of virtual reality implementation. The study shows also how the digital capabilities and the information technologies can impact the external and internal business processes that respond to the three approaches of BM development: service-oriented approach, network-oriented approach, and user-driven approach. Business model development is required in today’s market, typically due to the fourth industrial revolution, which leads to automation and digitization of business processes.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR MEASURING THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE INDICATORS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS WORK

Today, the old methods of management are transformed into qualitatively new achievements of management science. So, the question of the effectiveness of management of educational institutions is still open. One of the important areas of management reform is the use of the latest management technologies, such as information systems that are successfully integrated with proven management methods. The source of information for determining qualitative and quantitative indicators of the work of higher education institutions (HEI) should include special systems and services, which will provide the processing of indicators of scientific, educational, economic activities, etc. Indicators and criteria for their evaluation should be clearly defined and approved, and, accordingly, special algorithms and approaches to their calculation and analysis should be developed. Accordingly, the aim of the article is to suggest algorithms and tools for measuring quantitative and qualitative indicators of the work of HEI, and their implementation on the example of Kherson State University. In particular, the method of rating evaluation of research and teaching staff was considered in the paper. The main tools and technologies for automating the monitoring of research and educational personnel (REP) activities, as well as examples of their use, were described. The main feature of the described approach is the ability to ensure the automation and transparency of the main business processes of the HEI. Developed software, information, and analytical systems allow for assessing the qualitative and quantitative indicators of the HEI's work, taking into account its visibility in the domestic and international scientific and educational space, which includes the results of scientific activities (indicators for WoS, Scopus, etc.), educational activities indicators of graduates 'success, management of students' research works, student surveys, etc.).

Актуальные тренды автоматизации бизнес-процессов в отечественных компаниях

The article analyzes the current and promising trends in the automation of business processes on the example of domestic companies. The assessment of the state of the world and Russian markets of BPM and ERP solutions is given. Ratings of the most successful companies developing BPM and ERP solutions in the domestic IT products market are built. The analysis of the results of this study became the basis for the formulation of a key modern trend in the field of business process automation – the expansion of the practice of using both local BPM solutions and global (multifunctional) corporate ERP systems with subsequent integration of the developed solutions.

Hybrid Integration Model in Industry 4.0 for Lean Management (HIM)

In many large organizations, there is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that needs to be integrated with a third-party system to provide real-time services to their customers. To achieve this, these organizations’(ERP) systems should have inbound (IB) and outbound (OB) integration capability through APIs. In this paper, we have proposed and implemented a Hybrid Integration Model (HIM) in Industry 4.0 for Lean Management. This research was implemented in an Airline Travel Company (ATC) in which an In-house ERP system is real-time-integrated (In-bound) with Global Distribution System (GDS) through API’s i-e, soap &rest-based web services for online ticketing as well other Miscellaneous facilities i-e (Auto SMS Email) using Horizontal Integration Model in Industry 4.0 and also integrated (Outbound) with 3rd party General Ledger (GL) system. Integrating an ERP system with GL is an automated business process that requires implementing API’s and developing automatic routines to move the data between ERP & GL Systems as per user requirements. Our proposed model is fully automated where no human intervention is involved while transferring data from ERP to GL and following all standards recommended by industry 4.0 for Lean Management.

Improving the quality of business process automation by developing and testing a method for evaluating the effectiveness of the use of CRMplatforms based on the use of Salesforce system

Problem. In order to develop your business, you need to keep track of products that interest people and the services they buy from your company, their place of work and other connections, giving an idea of the customers. Goal. The purpose of this article is to analyze, study and test the theoretical and methodological principles and characterize the criteria for improving the efficiency of business process automation using CRM-technologies in the enterprise, as well as building a model to assess the effectiveness of information systems such as Salesforce-CRM. Methodology. Methods, technologies, and tools are used for analyzing the effectiveness of automation of business processes of the enterprise using CRM-applications, research, and testing combinations of methods to determine the impact of the Salesforce-CRM-system’s implementation in the enterprise. Results. Development and justification of measures to improve the information and analytical management system of the organization. Methods of effective implementation and analysis of CRM effectiveness include determining its features and the main criteria of performance indicators and choosing the best strategy that would correspond to the company's business processes. Originality. Since the aim of the article is to analyze the theoretical and methodological foundations and determine the criteria for improving the efficiency of business process automation using CRM-technologies in the enterprise, the following tasks were performed: the purpose and role of CRM-system in enterprise automation were distinguished; a model for evaluating the effectiveness of CRM-system implementation for business process automation was built; quantitative estimates were obtained and recommendations for the SalesforceCRM implementation were provided. Practical value. The proposed research can be used to identify and measure the attributes of the benefits of CRM implementation, such as, for example, cost, efficiency, innovation and improvement of the quality of services, the number of regular customers. As part of the writing of this paper, a customer-oriented model for evaluating the effectiveness of CRM was built.

Modern trends and vectors of digital transformation in Ukraine

Introduction. Digital transformation is taking place gradually and in stages in Ukraine. However, the coronavirus pandemic and the full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine strengthened digital transformation processes in society in almost all types of activities. It should be noted that Ukrainians are quickly mastering new digital technologies, which accelerates digital transformation. That is why constant research and analysis of modern trends and prospects of digital transformation in Ukraine in current conditions is quite relevant. The purpose of the article is the research process of modern trends and vectors of digital transformation in Ukraine. The results. It has been studied that Ukraine has significantly increased its ranking in Open Data in Europe over the past two years. It was noted that in 2021, Ukraine received the maximum value of 220 points for open data management, 160 points for portal use, and 134 points for portal stability. The analysis of modern trends in digital transformation showed insignificant changes in enterprises' digital transformation indicators in 2020, in some cases even smaller than the indicators of 2018. In general, for the years 2018-2020, there were positive changes regarding the increase in the number of enterprises that allowed e-commerce, the share of enterprises that conducted "big data" analysis, completed training in the field of ICT, used 3D printing, and found/attempted to see specialists in the field of ICT. On the other hand, a negative trend of decreasing indicators of the share of all enterprises that sent invoices and the number of enterprises that had vacancies for ICT specialists that were difficult to fill was determined. Conclusions. It is substantiated that in the conditions of global challenges and military aggression, digital transformation is most effective in three main areas, namely: scale, scope, and speed; property, assets, and economic value; relationships, markets, and ecosystems. Furthermore, it is emphasized that the number of vectors of digital transformation in Ukraine in the conditions of war and globalization challenges are: innovation management, self-service, digital business, shared services 4.0, economic regulation, thinking design, automation of business processes, modeling, knowledge base, innovation ecosystem, digital chain сost, future software, etc. Keywords: digital transformation, digitalization, vectors, open data, rating, Open Data in Europe.

Development and Validation of the Business Process Automation Maturity Model: Results of the Delphi Study

ABSTRACT Realizing the full potential of automation requires not only the selection of technologies but also arranging the complex implementation environment. At the same time, managers lack verified tools facilitating automation evolution and fostering benefit realization. With the research purpose to outline key areas of successful business process automation management, a novel Business Process Automation Maturity Model (BPAMM) was designed and tested, using the Delphi Method. BPAMM supports practitioners in building the automation vision and strategy.

Exploiting smart contracts in PBFT-based blockchains: A case study in medical prescription system

Smart contracts allow application developers to automate business processes through a decentralized computation architecture. Contemporary blockchain platforms such as Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric offer support for smart contracts through consensus mechanisms such as Proof-of-Work (PoW) or other types of transaction validation and ordering services. This article exploits smart contracts in the Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) blockchain platforms. In particular, we explore Tendermint and Hyperledger Besu, BFT blockchain platforms, and apply them to a decentralized e-prescription case study to evaluate their effectiveness. We adopt Hyperledger Besu and Tendermint in this research, given that both are BFT-based blockchains. Also, it is noteworthy that smart contracts in BFT blockchain platforms such as Tendermint are not well established and not widely adopted yet. Our article empirically evaluates the performance of smart contracts in Tendermint and Hyperledger Besu using a decentralized medical prescription case study and compares their results with Ethereum, a PoW blockchain. Our results demonstrate that BFT blockchain platforms are efficient for multi-stakeholder applications such as e-prescription and supply chains. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the implementation of smart contracts in BFT blockchain platforms, such as Tendermint and Hyperledger Besu.

Psychological security of the individual in the social processes of career growth

The problem of ensuring psychological health in the process of building a career and professional growth is a significant task of scientific and practical work. Automation of business processes dictates the restructuring of not only the structure and data flows, but also imposes increased requirements on the security and stability of the employee's working condition. A person as a member of a team or an independent unit in different periods of the life cycle may experience adverse effects of sociodynamics. A feature of scientific analysis is the consideration of the problem within the framework of career growth, that is, dynamically deploying the labor process in an organization with a lot of incoming and outgoing data. The concept of "restraining mechanisms" is proposed as a way to protect the individual from the destructive phenomena of modern business on the psychological health of a person. Deterrent mechanisms are socio–psychological states, properties and processes of ensuring psychological, social, financial, mental and other security. These include the transition from one social class to another or reaching a new socio-professional and material-economic level as a result of changing jobs, the accumulation of a "critical mass" of experience that allows you to make transitions to new places of work, the acquisition of new experience of social interaction, a new level of opportunities in overcoming geographical distances, the ability to form a balance in terms of time and effort for work activities and personal time, reflection on oneself and the ongoing social processes, finding new contacts with the old former circle of communication, finding a new picture of the world, etc. Thus, the aspects of psychological security of the individual in the processes of career development are shown and the directions of its formation are proposed.

Автоматизации бизнес-процессов на малых предприятиях и повышение их уровня цифровизации за счет развития цифровой инфраструктуры посредством «Трансформации системы оборота информации»

The article is devoted to the study of the possibilities of modern means of automating business processes in small enterprises and increasing their level of digitalization through the development of the digital infrastructure of such companies through reengineering and transformation of the information circulation system. The article shows the possibility of using the developed author's methodology for transforming the information turnover system («TSOI»), which includes a number of algorithms and makes it possible to increase the efficiency of reengineering business processes in small businesses. The authors, within the framework of the article, describe the application of the developed specialized software (software) to automate the process of collecting tender documents from the platforms of electronic trading – «ROSA». The article substantiates the possibility of introducing the developed toolkit into the activities of small enterprises, and also conducts its approbation on the example of reengineering of business processes of a real enterprise. The effectiveness of the proposed toolkit has been proven within the framework of the case under consideration due to the calculations of the economic effects obtained from the implemented tools of the complex of business process automation tools.