A well-planned and executed Intelligent Automation Centre of Excellence (IA CoE) can deliver significant business impact to the organisation by fostering an open and innovative culture, enhancing employee and customer engagement, and delivering a competitive edge.

A typical IA CoE team consists of people with different skill sets, sharing resources, and working collaboratively to ensure smooth implementation of automation processes across the enterprise.

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How is an IA CoE created? 

‍Establishing a CoE framework is as important, if not more, than the work it does. Businesses need to invest time in creating a clear and effective framework for sustained success. Below are the five critical steps for establishing an IA CoE.

Step 1: Define why a COE is needed. 
The most critical step is to establish the purpose and objectives of the centre. While the team and projects can start small, the overall objectives need to be in alignment with larger business priorities. It is also important to establish design principles, lay out the scope of work and its operating model, and articulate how success will be measured.

Step 2: Determine the technology stack. 
Ascertain the technology scope of the centre and what tools it will be responsible for implementing, managing, and maintaining based on the organisation’s automation objectives. This stack should enable the business to achieve its vision rather than just meet current requirements. It is vital to avoid legacy tools that would prevent you from future-proofing.

Step 3: Establish a governance structure. 
A COE needs to be innovative, agile, and well organised for it to be successful. Based on the automation goals of the business and where it is in its automation journey, an appropriate governance structure must be implemented.

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• Centralised CoE: In this structure, all automation activities, from development, testing, documentation, and delivery, are handled by a unified, central team. It is most beneficial for companies that are starting or have just started their automation journey. It sets the stage for scaling with best practices, standardised deployment and methodology, and reusable assets.
• Federated CoE: In this structure, each business unit has its own CoE, enabling faster scaling of automation programs. It is usually used when the automation journey picks up within an enterprise, as the need of the hour is accelerated adoption across the enterprise.
• Hybrid or partially federated CoE: This structure is usually adopted when a company is moving from a centralised CoE model to a federated CoE model. In this model, smaller CoEs are formed but still leverage skills and resources from the centralised CoE. It is effective when certain business units have larger requirements that need to be prioritised or a niche requires specialised skills.

A strong and relevant governance structure provides stability to automation programmes and ensures the clear and rapid implementation of automation opportunities.

Step 4: Mobilise the resources and skills 
‍Assemble a strong team with the right attitude, knowledge, and expertise, and empower them with the relevant tools and budget. For businesses starting small, the team can comprise only the critical roles that are well-defined. As the automation programme grows, so does the IA CoE team.

Step 5: Futureproof the CoE
‍To ensure the sustainability of the CoE, it must stay relevant and useful and improve continuously. Reusing existing components and developing new reusable components ensures standardisation across the business while also bringing down costs. Also, leveraging ideas and assets from the grassroots builds a stronger automation culture, allowing businesses to stay competitive. Regular monitoring and review of the CoE’s progress can enable quicker course corrections or sprints as needed and feed into the firm’s success factors.

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Who should be on the CoE?

‍An IA CoE is responsible for using its collective expertise and knowledge about the industry to support the organisation’s automation objectives. An effective unit must include both technical and business roles.

In its infancy, a nimble and effective CoE should have four critical roles: business analyst, infrastructure engineer, developer, and C-Suite champion. The C-Suite champion needs to come on board as soon as possible because it plays a key role in finding new automation opportunities for the organisation.

• Business Analyst: Business analysts help identify the right opportunities for automation, liaise between business and automation teams, and oversee the process definitions and process maps.
• Developer: A developer designs, develops, tests, and supports the automation implementation.
• IT Infrastructure Engineer: Infrastructure engineers are mainly responsible for providing support for installing and troubleshooting servers.
• C-suite champion: This person is the executive sponsor and is critical to ensuring various teams rally together to ensure successful automation. Typically, the COO is the sponsor, with the CTO supporting the programme.

As the CoE team grows, there are more roles required in a typical CoE.

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• Evangelist: Someone who will advocate adopting automation across the organisation. The evangelist’s responsibility lies in showcasing the benefits of automation and building an automation pipeline.
• Change Manager: A change manager oversees a smooth transition and is responsible for communicating with all stakeholders about the changes and keeping them updated throughout the process.
• Solution Architect: The solution architect is the technical backbone and is responsible for designing the solution, how it will be built, and overseeing its progression through the development and implementation phases.

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Read more the Roadmap to an Intelligent Automation Centre of Excellence and Foster innovation, engage employees and customers, and gain a competitive edge.