Publicação
Guidelines for IT departments supporting RPA, IPA, APA and Agentic AI implementations
| Resumo: | The increasing demand for agile, scalable and intelligent digital operations has placed automation technologies such as RPA, IPA, APA, and Agentic AI at the forefront of digital transformation strategies. These technologies have demonstrated substantial potential in reducing costs, optimizing processes and enabling scalability. However, their success depends heavily on structured IT support capable of addressing integration, security, governance, compliance, and changing management challenges. Despite the increasing relevance of automation, there is a lack of comprehensive frameworks specifically designed to guide IT departments in supporting the full scale of automation technologies, from rule-based RPA to autonomous Agentic AI. Most existing studies focus on individual technologies, failing to address interoperability, strategic alignment and long-term scalability in a unified and practical manner. This research aims to develop an integrated set of guidelines for IT departments to support the implementation, governance, and evolution of RPA, IPA, APA, and Agentic AI. The objective is to provide organizations with structured tools to ensure successful adoption aligned with technical capabilities, business goals, and regulatory standards. The study is grounded in the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM), complemented by a systematic literature review using the PRISMA protocol and validated through semi-structured interviews with industry professionals. This methodological approach ensures both scientific rigor and practical relevance. The research resulted in a guideline framework covering process selection, technology alignment, infrastructure planning, governance, compliance (e.g., GDPR), training and monitoring. Supporting tools include a maturity model and decision flowcharts to guide IT strategy and execution. The findings emphasize the importance of integration capacity, user adoption and scalability planning in ensuring long-term success. The proposed guidelines give to IT departments with actionable strategies to reduce risk, improve ROI, and support sustainable automation growth. Academically, the study contributes to the standardization of IT support practices in automation and lays the groundwork for future research in intelligent and autonomous systems integration. |
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| Autores principais: | Silva, Rui Miguel C. |
| Assunto: | Robotic Process Automation Intelligent Process Automation IT guidelines RPA IT guidelines IPA RPA and IPA APA Agentic AI SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth SDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure |
| Ano: | 2025 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório Institucional da UNL |
| Resumo: | The increasing demand for agile, scalable and intelligent digital operations has placed automation technologies such as RPA, IPA, APA, and Agentic AI at the forefront of digital transformation strategies. These technologies have demonstrated substantial potential in reducing costs, optimizing processes and enabling scalability. However, their success depends heavily on structured IT support capable of addressing integration, security, governance, compliance, and changing management challenges. Despite the increasing relevance of automation, there is a lack of comprehensive frameworks specifically designed to guide IT departments in supporting the full scale of automation technologies, from rule-based RPA to autonomous Agentic AI. Most existing studies focus on individual technologies, failing to address interoperability, strategic alignment and long-term scalability in a unified and practical manner. This research aims to develop an integrated set of guidelines for IT departments to support the implementation, governance, and evolution of RPA, IPA, APA, and Agentic AI. The objective is to provide organizations with structured tools to ensure successful adoption aligned with technical capabilities, business goals, and regulatory standards. The study is grounded in the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM), complemented by a systematic literature review using the PRISMA protocol and validated through semi-structured interviews with industry professionals. This methodological approach ensures both scientific rigor and practical relevance. The research resulted in a guideline framework covering process selection, technology alignment, infrastructure planning, governance, compliance (e.g., GDPR), training and monitoring. Supporting tools include a maturity model and decision flowcharts to guide IT strategy and execution. The findings emphasize the importance of integration capacity, user adoption and scalability planning in ensuring long-term success. The proposed guidelines give to IT departments with actionable strategies to reduce risk, improve ROI, and support sustainable automation growth. Academically, the study contributes to the standardization of IT support practices in automation and lays the groundwork for future research in intelligent and autonomous systems integration. |
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