Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Lab
Introduction
Many organisations still route approvals by email, rekey data between systems and chase paper signatures, so simple requests take days and errors go unnoticed. Automating a poor process only makes the problem run faster. This Core Concept course teaches practitioners to map and redesign processes first, then choose the right automation approach, from workflow engines and low-code platforms to robotic process automation and AI document capture. Working hands on in lab sessions, participants build a Process Automation Design Pack for a process from their own organisation.
Course Objectives
- Identify and prioritise automation candidates using process inventories, the APQC Process Classification Framework and opportunity scoring
- Model current and future processes in BPMN 2.0 and business rules in DMN decision tables
- Redesign workflows with Lean techniques to remove waste before automation begins
- Build working workflow prototypes on low-code and robotic process automation platforms
- Apply controls for exceptions, security, records retention and AI use within automated workflows
- Produce a Process Automation Design Pack with a business case and rollout plan
Target Audience
- Process and business analysts who document and improve operational workflows
- Automation, low-code and RPA developers who build digital workflows
- Operational excellence practitioners running Lean and continuous improvement work
- Records and document control coordinators digitising paper-based workflows
- IT business partners translating departmental needs into automation requirements
Course Outline
Day 1: Automation Landscape and Process Discovery
- Automation Spectrum: Workflow, Low-Code, RPA and Intelligent Automation
- APQC Process Classification Framework for Process Inventories
- SIPOC Diagrams for Process Scoping
- Process Mining Discovery from System Event Logs
- Automation Opportunity Scoring Matrix
Day 2: Process Modelling Standards and Redesign
- BPMN 2.0 Notation: Events, Gateways, Pools and Lanes
- As-Is Process Modelling in Camunda Modeler
- DMN Decision Tables for Business Rules
- Value Stream Mapping and Lean Waste Removal
- To-Be Process Design and Handoff Reduction
Day 3: Building Automated Workflows in the Lab
- Microsoft Power Automate Approval Flow Build
- UiPath Unattended Bot for Legacy System Data Entry
- Electronic Forms and Digital Signature Workflow Design
- Intelligent Document Processing for Invoice and Form Capture
- API Integration Versus Screen Automation Decision Criteria
Day 4: Controls, Risk and Scaling Automation
- Human-in-the-Loop Review and ISO/IEC 42001 Controls for AI Steps
- Segregation of Duties and Access Controls under ISO/IEC 27001
- ISO 15489 Records Retention in Digitised Workflows
- Bot Failure, Process Drift and Automation Monitoring Dashboards
- Automation Centre of Excellence Operating Model and Bot Governance
Day 5: Lab Work and the Automation Design Pack
- Purchase Request-to-Approval Lab: End-to-End Workflow Build
- Employee Onboarding Lab: Multi-System Automation and Exception Paths
- Automation Business Case: Hours Saved, Error Reduction and Payback
- Process Automation Design Pack Assembly
- Live Prototype Demonstration and Peer Review
Skills You Will Gain
- Process Discovery
- BPMN Process Modelling
- Decision Modelling
- Lean Process Redesign
- Workflow Automation Build
- Robotic Process Automation
- Automation Controls Design
- Automation Benefits Estimation
Why Attend This Course
- Return with a Process Automation Design Pack, including a working prototype, for a process in your own organisation
- Choose between workflow, low-code, RPA and AI capture using clear criteria rather than vendor preference
- Avoid automating waste by redesigning the process before any build begins
- Gain confidence on the platforms through repeated hands-on lab exercises
Conclusion
Automation delivers lasting value only when it rests on a well-designed process with clear rules and controls. This course moves from discovering and scoring automation candidates, through BPMN and DMN modelling and Lean redesign, to building workflows, bots and document capture in the lab, then securing and scaling them. The final day brings the work together in a Process Automation Design Pack that participants can present to process owners and use to start delivery on their return.
