Towards a Theory on Process Automation Effects

TL;DR

This paper reviews human-automation interaction literature to develop a model of how automation affects processes and offers insights for optimizing its organizational implementation.

Contribution

It introduces a new engagement model for human-automation interaction within processes based on literature review and proposes future research directions.

Findings

Proposes a human-automation engagement model.

Provides insights for organizational automation optimization.

Suggests new research questions for the automation community.

Abstract

Process automation is a crucial strategy for improving business processes, but little attention has been paid to the effects that automation has once it is operational. This paper addresses this research problem by reviewing the literature on human-automation interaction. Although many of the studies in this field have been conducted in different domains, they provide a foundation for developing propositions about process automation effects. Our analysis focuses on how humans perceive automation technology when working within a process, allowing us to propose an effective engagement model between technology, process participants, process managers, and software developers. This paper offers insights and recommendations that can help organizations optimize their use of process automation. We further derive novel research questions for a discourse within the process automation community.