The document discusses challenges faced by automation solution architects (SAs) across different phases of an automation project. It outlines common challenges SAs may encounter in requirement gathering, documentation, access management, development, testing, deployment, delivery, change requests, and support/maintenance. Specific challenges discussed include managing stakeholder expectations, lack of documentation, infrastructure requirements, integration challenges, testing complex processes, and addressing incidents in production. The document provides guidance on approaches SAs can take to effectively address many of these common challenges.

1. Challenges and
Lessons Learnt
Final session on Automation Solution Architect
series to learn more about Challenges, and
Lessons learnt by SA and kick start your journey in
RPA as Automation Solution Architect

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About Me
Divyojyoti Sinha
Solution Architect
UiPath
www.linkedin.com/in/divyojyotisinha

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Agenda
01 Challenges in Requirement Gathering Phase
02 Challenges in Documentation Phase
03 Challenges in Access Phase and Development Phase
04 Challenges in Testing and UAT Phase
05 Challenges in Deployment Phase
06 Challenges in Delivery and Handover Phase
07 Challenges in Change Request Phase
08 Challenges in Support and Maintenance Phase
09 Some Common Challenges & How to Address them?
10 Lessons Learnt and some guidelines
Quiz
11
Q&A
12

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Challenges of Automation SA in Requirement Gathering
Phase ?
Understanding current As-Is Business Processes
 Complexity of the business process
Business processes may involve multiple systems, applications, and stakeholders. It becomes difficult to understand
how each component interacts with each other.
Common Guidelines :
 Break the process into smaller sub-processes
 Design a scalable solution
 Identify the parameters which might change in future and keep it configurable
 Identify the pain points / bottlenecks and adapt the design of the solution to address them.
 Lack of documentation
 Limited documentation available for the business processes.
 SA need to rely on interviews with stakeholders and observation of the process to gain a deeper understanding
of the processes.
 Changing business requirements
 SA may need to adapt and change their designs to meet new needs.
 Solution architect should identify the impact of the changes on the existing automation solution and should
monitor the updated automation solution over time, refining it as needed to ensure that it continues to meet the
evolving needs of the business.
 Lack of Technical Expertise among the stakeholders
 SA may need to explain the functioning of UiPath tools in simple terms
 To provide training/support as and when required.

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Challenges of Automation SA in Requirement Gathering
Phase ?
Understanding current As-Is Business Processes
 Resistance to change
Stakeholders may show resistance to change their process in adopting new technologies or processes.
Common Guidelines :
 Understand the reasons behind the resistance
 Address concerns
 Demonstrate value
 Involve stakeholders in the design process
 Start with small wins
 Communicate regularly
 Be Patient
 Lack of standardization of Business processes
 Solution architects may need to work with stakeholders to standardize processes before designing
automation solutions.

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Challenges of Automation SA in Requirement Gathering
Phase ? (contd..)
Managing Stakeholder Expectation which may be unrealistic at times
Aiming for high client satisfaction is crucial during any implementation process. One of the most effective
ways to achieve this is by clearly defining the deliverables that the client can expect and establishing
a timeline for their delivery. This helps manage the client's expectations from the outset and ensures that
they are aligned with what the implementation team can deliver.
Common Guidelines :
 During the project Kick-Off stage, understand all the expectations of the stakeholders.
 Document all the expectations and during the kick-off meeting, go through the document to ensure that
stakeholder’s expectations are aligned with what you are going to deliver.
 Conduct Weekly project meetings with the stakeholders to ensure all the expectations are aligned.
Defining the metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of the
automation solution
 Challenges in defining metrics and KPIs if the business objectives of the automation solution are not
clearly defined
 Challenge in identifying metrics that are relevant to the success criteria and that can be measured
accurately
 Limited data availability : Automation solution architects may face challenges in obtaining sufficient
data (like sufficient sample invoices for training a DU ML model) to establish meaningful metrics and
KPIs

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in
Documentation Phase?
Ensuring Document Accuracy
 Automation Solution Architect need to ensure all the technical design details like TO-BE Solution Flow,
Exception Handling, Scheduling of the process and all kinds of risks should be accurately documented in
Solution Design Document (SDD).
 It becomes a challenge during the initial design phase to understand the complexities which might be
involved even before the development starts.
 Any design change during the development phase also need to be documented accurately in the SDD.so
that the Design Document accurately reflects the automated process.
Managing Document Version Control
 In case when the processes are too complex or there are large number of processes to be automated, managing the
different versions of the SDD/ PDD / UAT test cases tracker becomes difficult.
 In such cases, you can have a single consolidated document – PSDD after aligning with the respective stakeholders.
PSDD should contain - PDD, SDD, UAT test cases all maintained under different sections in the single document PSDD.
Defining Document Approval Processes
 Obtaining stakeholder approval for the PDD or SDD or UAT test cases can be a challenging process for
automation solution architects. It can be because of the following reasons –
 Stakeholders may have different expectations for the automation project
 PDD or SDD may not be clear or detailed enough to provide stakeholders with a complete understanding
of the automation solution. This can result in confusion or misunderstandings during the approval process.
 Lack of Technical expertise of Stakeholders in understanding the PDD/SDD/UAT tracker.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in Access
Phase and Development Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during Access Phase
 Identifying Access Requirements
 One of the major challenge of Automation solution Architect is identifying the different accesses required including
access to systems, data, and applications.
 Defining the roles and permissions required for each of the accesses is also another aspect which Automation SA
need to take care of.
 Different users or Robots may require different levels of access to applications or data. For example, a developer
may require more access than a business user, who may only need access to specific reports or dashboards.
 Data that is highly sensitive, such as financial or personal information, may require stricter access controls than
less sensitive data.
 Managing Access Requests
 As the number of developers or users increases, it can become challenging to manage access requests at scale. This
can result in delays and inefficiencies in granting access, which can impact project timelines.
 Conflicts may arise when multiple developers or users request access to the same application or data.
Automation solution architects need to manage these conflicts effectively to ensure that the right people have the
right level of access.
 Maintaining security is a critical consideration when managing access requests. Automation solution architects
need to ensure that all access requests are secure, and that access is only granted to authorized users.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in Access
Phase and Development Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during Access Phase (contd)..
 Addressing Infrastructure Requirements
 The network architecture required for different accesses to applications or data is an important consideration when
deciding on infrastructure. Automation solution architects need to consider factors such as firewalls, VPNs when
designing network architecture.
 The infrastructure required for different accesses to applications or data needs to be scalable to accommodate future
growth and increased demand. Automation solution architects need to consider factors such as server capacity, load
balancing and database performance when making decisions about infrastructure.
 The cost of infrastructure is an important consideration when making decisions about the infrastructure required for
different accesses to applications or data. Automation solution architects need to balance the cost of infrastructure with
the need for security, scalability, and reliability.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in Access
Phase and Development Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during DEVELOPMENT Phase
 Ensuring consistency
 Ensuring consistency in development standards across the UiPath automation project can be challenging, particularly
when different businesses have different standards to be implemented.
 Automation solution architects need to ensure that all developers are following the same standards to ensure
consistency in the codebase.
 Standardizing where possible
 Standardizing development practices where possible can help ensure consistency across the automation project.
 Automation solution architects should consider standardizing practices such as Inserting log messages, proper
annotations, naming conventions and error handling.
 Outlining all technical specifications and requirements in Solution Design Document (SDD)
 All the detailed technical requirements should be clearly documented in SDD by the SA.
 Identifying opportunities for reuse
 Identifying opportunities for reuse can be challenging, particularly when working with complex business processes or
multiple automation projects.
 Automation solution architects need to identify components that are likely to be used across multiple automations and
ensure that they are designed in a way that makes them reusable.
 Ensuring Version Control
 Managing daily commits and resolving conflicts in Source Code repository like Github is an important responsibility of
automation solution architects.
 By establishing clear processes, encouraging communication, standardizing development practices, and testing
thoroughly, automation solution architects can manage daily commits and conflicts effectively and ensure that the
codebase remains stable and functional across multiple automation projects.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in Access
Phase and Development Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during DEVELOPMENT Phase
 Conducting Code Reviews
 Conducting code reviews is an important responsibility of automation solution architects, as it helps to ensure that the
codebase is of high quality, adheres to development standards, and is free of errors.
 However, conducting code reviews can be challenging, particularly when working with large codebases or multiple
automation projects.
 Addressing Integration Challenges
 By identifying integration requirements, understanding the integration technology, building custom activities, using pre-
built activities, testing thoroughly, and documenting integrations, automation solution architects can address integration
challenges in UiPath workflows effectively and ensure that the workflow integrates seamlessly with other systems or
applications.
 Automation SA also need to make sure to use API or Background Automation wherever API’s are readily available.
 Load Testing should be performed to identify performance bottlenecks
 Identifying performance bottlenecks can be challenging, particularly when working with complex business processes or
large data sets. Automation solution architects need to identify areas of the workflow that are causing performance
issues and determine the root cause of the issue and come up with efficient solution.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in Testing
and UAT Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during TESTING/UAT Phase
 Managing test data
 Automation solution architects need to ensure that the test data used during testing and UAT is accurate, complete,
and representative of real-world usage scenarios.
 This can be challenging, particularly when working with large data sets or complex business processes.
 Coordinating with multiple teams
 During testing and UAT, automation solution architects may need to coordinate with multiple teams, including
developers, testers, and business stakeholders. This can be challenging, particularly when managing different
schedules and priorities.
 Managing test environments
 Automation solution architects need to ensure that the test environments are set up correctly and that all necessary
software and hardware components are available. This can be challenging, particularly when working with complex or
distributed systems.
 Addressing issues identified during testing and UAT
 Automation solution architects need to address any issues identified during testing and UAT promptly and effectively.
This can be challenging, particularly when working with complex workflows or systems.
 Getting sign off on UAT (User Acceptance Testing) test cases by the business stakeholder
 It can be a challenging task for automation solution architects, as it requires close collaboration and communication
with the business stakeholders to ensure that the test cases are comprehensive and meet their requirements.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in
Deployment Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during DEPLOYMENT Phase
 Technical issues may arise during the deployment phase, such as compatibility issues with existing systems, software
bugs, and network connectivity problems. RPA Solution Architects should be available to provide timely support to users and
address any technical issues that may arise during deployment.
 Automation Solution Architects need to prepare a Deployment Plan considering all aspects like – Production Orchestrator
and Bot setup, Data Security and Privacy compliance, Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan, User Access Management –
Defining the correct Roles and permissions to the users as well as the Robots, Deployment and Monitoring of Bots in
production.
 RPA Solution Architects need to ensure that the infrastructure supporting the UiPath project is adequate and can
handle the expected workload. Also, they need to ensure that all application versions of Production and Development
/Testing should be matching so that there are no surprises at the last moment.
 RPA Solution Architects need to manage costs associated with the UiPath project deployment phase, including
licensing, hardware, and personnel costs. Accordingly, they need to plan the scheduling of the process and if required multi-
bot architecture should be followed so that the process can be scaled up and down as per business needs.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in
Delivery and Handover Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during DELIVERY/HANDOVER Phase
 User acceptance: The automation system needs to be accepted by users and integrated into their daily work processes.
Automation Solution Architects need to ensure that users are trained and comfortable with using the system.
 Training and support: Automation Solution Architects need to provide adequate training and support to users to ensure that
they can use the system effectively.
 Handover to support teams: Automation Solution Architects need to hand over the system to support teams who will be
responsible for maintaining and supporting the system after delivery.
 Post-delivery evaluation: Automation Solution Architects need to evaluate the success of the automation project after
delivery and identify areas for improvement. This includes gathering feedback from users and stakeholders and addressing
any issues that may arise.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in Change
Request Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during CHANGE REQUEST Phase
• Scope creep: Change requests may result in scope creep, where the project scope expands beyond the original
requirements. Solution Architects need to manage change requests carefully to avoid scope creep and ensure that the project
remains on track.
• Impact analysis: Change requests may have an impact on other parts of the automation system or other systems in the
organization. Solution Architects need to conduct a thorough impact analysis to identify any potential issues and ensure that
the change request does not cause any unintended consequences.
• Prioritization: Change requests may require reprioritization of tasks and activities in the automation project. Solution
Architects need to prioritize change requests based on their impact on the project and their alignment with business
objectives.
• Technical feasibility: Change requests may require changes to the UiPath automation system that are technically challenging
or not feasible. Solution Architects need to evaluate the technical feasibility of change requests and provide alternative
solutions if necessary.
• Additional Effort / License Requirement: Change requests may require additional licenses and resources, which can impact
project timelines and budgets. Solution Architects need to ensure all these additional requirements involving time, cost &
resource constraints carefully and communicate any impacts to stakeholders.
• Alignment of Change Requests with Process Owners : Change requests may require communication with stakeholders,
including users, sponsors, and other project team members. Solution Architects need to communicate change requests clearly
and effectively to ensure that everyone is aware of the changes.

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Challenges of Automation Solution Architect in
Support and Maintenance Phase ?
Understanding Challenges during SUPPORT & MAINTENANCE phase
• Root cause analysis: Solution Architects might have to support the developer to conduct a thorough root cause analysis to
identify the reason for the BOTS failure. This includes reviewing system logs, error messages, and other relevant information.
• Continuous improvement: After resolving the incident, Solution Architects need to identify opportunities for continuous
improvement of the UiPath automation system. This includes identifying any areas for improvement in system design,
development, or maintenance.
• Regression Testing: After resolving the incident, Solution Architects need to ensure that thorough testing has been performed
to ensure that it is functioning as expected. This includes conducting regression testing and other types of testing as
necessary.
• Communicating the issue/resolution to Stakeholders: Solution Architects need to communicate the incident and any
updates or resolutions to stakeholders, including users, sponsors, and other project team members. This includes providing
regular updates on the status of the incident.
• Documentation: Solution Architects also need to ensure to document the incident, including the root cause, resolution, and
any other relevant information. This documentation can be used for future reference or to identify areas for improvement.
• Publishing the updated code into Production : Pushing the updated workflow file into Source Code Repository like Github
and publishing it into UiPath Orchestrator with the correct commit history requires careful planning, coordination, and
execution to ensure a successful deployment.

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Some Common Challenges & How to Address them?
High Client Expectations
 To ensure successful engagement with customers, it is important to understand their
expectations and deliverables. This can be achieved by having a direct conversation with
them and using a Project Kick off template to document and align expectations.
 It is also important to have regular project status meetings to ensure alignment between
the customer and the implementation team, which can be facilitated by using the Weekly
Project Status Update deck.
Scope Creep
 To begin a project, a Statement of Work (SOW) is needed. The SOW scope is reconfirmed
during the Kick off call and any changes to the scope must follow the Change Request
process.
 Any factors that may affect the scope will also be discussed during the Weekly Project
Updates.

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Some Common Challenges (contd..)
Unorganized UAT
 It is important to have clear responsibilities for User Acceptance Testing (UAT) communicated
early in the engagement.
 During Kick off , Solution Architect should explain how the UAT phase should happen and estimate
effort needed from UAT participants on the business side.
 During Process Analysis, the client determines success criteria and creates the UAT Plan in
collaboration with the Business Analyst.
 The Solution Architect validates the feasibility of requirements and the UAT Plan outlines tests
and logistics for end user testing.
 The Technical Testing plan, including UAT scenarios, is prepared during Solution Design by the
Solution Architect and Automation Developers.
Access Delays
 From the Kick off stage itself, Issue Tracker should be used to report any issues that are
impacting the progress of implementation, which must be discussed with the stakeholder during
weekly project update meetings.
 The Application Tracker should be used during the Solution Design stage to record access
requirements for automation development and UAT and Production runs. It is best to use the
Application Tracker early in the Kick off stage to record access requirements.

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Some Common Challenges (contd..)
Stakeholder Availability
 At the beginning of the engagement, it is important to decide with the customer on the number of
subject matter experts (SMEs) required per stage, particularly for User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
 The expectation for the number of SMEs needed should be set and an estimate of the number of
hours required for each should be made.

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Lessons Learnt and some Guidelines
 Dispatcher-Performer Architecture :
 Improve the maintainability and efficiency of the solution
 Separate sub-processes for each task
 Easily scale up/down
 For automations involving updating of database tables:
 Plan database design – define database structure, tables and their relationships.
 Normalize database - reduce redundancy and eliminate duplicate data by establishing relationships.
 Appropriate data types – Example - VARCHAR should not be used for storing numeric data.
 Backup and Recovery – Determine the backup schedule (Daily/Weekly/Monthly) and backup strategy (Full
backups/Incremental Backups) as per your requirement.
 Feasibility Analysis/POC for Complex Business process :
 For Complex processes like processes involving Document Understanding or complex use cases like automating
applications inside a VDI
 perform a Proof of Concept (POC) to validate the feasibility
 Helps minimize the risk of project failure or delays
 Multi-Bot Architecture :
 processes involving a high volume of transactions
 using multiple bots to process transactions simultaneously

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Lessons Learnt and some Guidelines (contd..)
 Reusability Guidelines :
 Identify any solution accelerator/marketplace components availability during the solution designing phase.
 These accelerators can help to reduce the time and effort required to develop an automation solution
 Effort Estimation Guidelines : Estimating the development hours or timeline for an automation project can be
challenging for an Automation Solution Architect.
 Include additional buffer of 20-30% to account for any unforeseen issues or delays
 Effort should include Business analysis, Development, Testing, UAT, Go-live and Hypercare period as well while
sharing the timelines with the stakeholders.
 Break down complex processes into smaller sub-processes for Effort Estimations:
 Guidelines for raising Access Requests:
 Recommended that accesses should not be tied to individual email addresses of the developers.
 Instead, separate bot service development accounts or production accounts email addresses should be used.
 Examples –
o svc.devrobot@company.com
o svc.prodrobot@company.com
 Ensures access is managed centrally and is not tied to individual developers who may leave the project or the
organization

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Lessons Learnt and some Guidelines (contd..)
 Production Deployment Plan Guidelines : An Automation Solution Architect should also create a production
deployment plan to ensure that the automation solution is deployed without any glitches or surprises at the last moment.
It should include all aspects –
 Step by step deployment plan
 adjusting screen resolution
 one-time settings/configurational changes
 checking of all accesses for robot service accounts
 Disaster Recovery / Rollback plan in case of Deployment Failure
 Migration of Assets/Package from Dev to Production :
 instead of manually creating all the assets
 Ensure use of UiPath Orchestrator Manager for migrating all assets or other configurations from dev to prod.
 help to minimize errors and rework, while also ensuring that the automation solution is deployed smoothly and
efficiently.
 streamline the migration process and avoid the risks associated with manual asset creation.

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A Quiz
1. Go to https://www.menti.com/
2. Type the code :
OR
Scan the QR code below :

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Q&A

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Academy
• Get crowdsourced support and share product feedback on UiPath Forum
• Check the product documentation
Forum
Community Events
• Connect with like-minded people and share best practices with the UiPath
Community
• Solve challenges in engaging hackathon competitions
• Join meetups and conferences
• Learn the skills of the future on UiPath Academy or through our Academic Alliance
• Earn globally recognized credentials with UiPath Certifications
Vibrant ecosystem of more than 2 million professionals and citizen developers learning,
getting support and succeeding together in their automation careers.

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ThankYouTeam !
Nikhilesh Sathyavarapu Vijay Sekhar Upadhyayula
Associate Manager , Sutherland RPATech Lead ,ValueMomentum

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Thank You