Fundamentals of Auditing Process Automation - ITG170

Description

In the quest toward enhanced speed to market, lower expenses and improved customer engagement, enterprises of all shapes and sizes are looking to see how automation can give them the advantage over their competition and aide in maintaining the increased pressure of regulatory compliance. Determining what solution best fits, a given entity can be challenging as automation solutions can range from simple macros to functional specific tools generally used for IT process automation to robotic and cognitive automation tools including Robotic Process Automation.

In this three-day session, we will provide a high-level overview of the preparation required and important changes an entity should plan for before and during the transformation of IT and business processes. Attendees will learn through lecture and small group activities, the differences between various types of process automation and DevOps, the importance of governance and ethics in automation, how to understand workflows and gain tips for assessing automation.

What you will learn

You will learn about the important changes in this field you need to plan for as automation transforms IT and business processes.

Objectives

Automation Explained:

• Explore basic concepts about Business Process Automation (BPM)
• Explore basic concepts of Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
• Explore basic concepts of DevOps
• Discuss the differences between Macros, business process automation and robotic process automation vs. DevOps

Governance (and Management) of Automation:

1. Understand why automation initiates requires effective governance
2. Discuss the fundamental activities performed by Automation Governance Committees
3. Explore common measurements to assess the effectiveness of Process Automation Program Initiatives

Describe Automation Strategy and Program:
1. How to develop a process inventory
2. Explain why a maturity assessment is critical before automation is considered
3. How to conduct an automation maturity assessment
4. How the results of the AMA are used to prioritize
5. How Six Sigma techniques are employed during automation projects
6. What characteristics should be considered when determining whether macros, business process automation or robotic process automation should be deployed

• Examine the critical role played by the Center of Excellence “CoE” and its interaction with Project, Process and Assurance teams within the enterprise

Ethics of Automation:

• Describe automation ethics
• Assess common ethical challenges associated to automation
• Discuss ways to overcome common automation concerns
• Describe how machine learning and Artificial Intelligence are changing “bots” capabilities and how that will impact ethics in the near future

Understanding Workflows – Automation if IT and Business Processes:

• Discuss where each of the three methods of automation is being implemented into common IT and Business Processes
• Gain a better understanding on the importance of process flows in automation initiatives:

1. Describe the use of the SIPOC
2. Describe the use of the RASCI
3. Describe the use of the Process Workflow
4. Traditional Process Flowcharts
5. Swimlanes
6. Describe why dataflow diagrams are necessary in automation projects
7. Describe how API/Service documentation is used in automation initiatives
8. Describe how network diagrams are used in automation initiatives

• Discuss key automation controls including: Access, Change, Tool Configuration, BCP/DR, Backups, Incident Response, Process and Procedure Documentation, and Monitoring
• Discuss common automation vulnerabilities including: Cyber, Process, People, Configuration, Single Point of Failure, Skill set, and Monitoring

Tips for Assessing Automation:

• Overview of Process Automation Self-Assessment Activities for macros, BPM and RPA
• Explore testing activities when conducting a process automation audit for macros, BPM and RPA
• Review a key data requests when conducting a process automation audit for macros, BPM and RPA
• Examine common questions to ask during process automation audits for macros, BPM and RPA