Implementation of Robotic Process Automation in U. S. Federal Government

Abstract

The U. S. federal government is pursuing robotic process automation (RPA) technology to increase efficiency and effectiveness. RPA is an office automation that uses a software application to automate structured, routine, repetitive and tedious tasks currently performed by employees. With all the potential benefits of RPA, little is known about the implementation of the technology in national level government. More scholarly work is needed to understand RPA adoption in the U. S. federal government which then may be used to examine other types of emerging technology implementation at the national level. Three areas of literature set the foundation for this exploratory research - innovation adoption process in organizations, technology adoption process, and the public sector innovation adoption process. Twelve expert interviews from individuals involved in RPA implementation in nine U. S. federal agencies plus a review of supporting government documents inform the answers to two research questions: What factors facilitate RPA implementation? What factors are barriers to RPA implementation? Three preliminary insights were found. Resource availability was a facilitator and barrier, and organizations made choices about the type of resource to use during implementation based on the constraints that were in place at the time. Cyber security related barriers were the most common barrier and included both policy and process. Most public sector specific factors differed from those found in the literature. Further research should explore the relationship between the types of resources, constraints, and leadership decision-making, and explore the ways in which U. S. federal government sector specific factors, including regulations, impact innovation adoption and implementation. In addition, further research is needed to refine and test an RPA technology program specific innovation decision process.