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Robotic Process Automation Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Robotic Process Automation distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

PiqCue — piqcue.com/robotic-process-automation/cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Software Bot

A software program configured to execute a sequence of automated steps that replicate human interactions with digital systems. Bots can log into applications, enter data, perform calculations, and move data between systems without human intervention.

Attended Automation

An RPA deployment model where bots work alongside human users on their desktops, activated by the user to assist with specific tasks. The bot and human collaborate in real time, with the human making judgment calls while the bot handles repetitive steps.

Unattended Automation

An RPA deployment model where bots run independently on servers or virtual machines without human interaction, typically scheduled or triggered by specific events. These bots can operate 24/7 and process high volumes of transactions.

Process Mining

An analytical technique that uses event log data from enterprise systems to discover, visualize, and analyze actual business processes. In RPA, process mining helps identify which processes are the best candidates for automation based on volume, frequency, and standardization.

Orchestrator

A centralized management platform that schedules, monitors, and controls the execution of RPA bots across an organization. It manages bot queues, handles exceptions, distributes workloads, and provides dashboards for tracking automation performance.

Intelligent Document Processing (IDP)

The use of AI technologies such as optical character recognition (OCR), natural language processing, and machine learning to extract, classify, and validate data from unstructured or semi-structured documents like invoices, contracts, and forms.

Center of Excellence (CoE)

A dedicated organizational unit responsible for establishing RPA governance, best practices, standards, and a pipeline of automation opportunities. The CoE typically includes business analysts, RPA developers, solution architects, and change management specialists.

Exception Handling

The mechanisms built into RPA workflows to detect, manage, and resolve errors or unexpected situations that arise during bot execution. Proper exception handling ensures bots fail gracefully, log errors, and route issues to humans when necessary.

Hyperautomation

A business-driven approach that combines RPA with complementary technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, process mining, and low-code platforms to automate as many business processes as possible end-to-end.

Bot Lifecycle Management

The end-to-end process of planning, designing, developing, testing, deploying, monitoring, and maintaining RPA bots throughout their operational life. It includes version control, change management, and periodic reviews to ensure bots remain effective as underlying systems change.

Key Terms at a Glance

Robotic Process Automation:Technology that uses software bots to automate repetitive, rule-based digital tasks by mimicking human interactions with computer systems.
Software Bot:A configured software agent that executes automated steps replicating human interactions with digital applications.
Attended Automation:An RPA deployment model where bots work alongside human users on their desktops, triggered interactively.
Unattended Automation:An RPA deployment model where bots run independently on servers without human interaction, often scheduled or event-triggered.
Orchestrator:A centralized management platform for scheduling, monitoring, and controlling RPA bot execution across an organization.
Process Mining:An analytical technique using event logs from enterprise systems to discover and visualize actual business processes.
Task Mining:A technique that records and analyzes user desktop interactions to identify repetitive tasks suitable for automation.
Intelligent Document Processing:The use of AI technologies like OCR, NLP, and ML to extract and classify data from unstructured or semi-structured documents.
OCR:Optical Character Recognition, a technology that converts images of text into machine-readable text data.
Center of Excellence:A dedicated organizational unit responsible for RPA governance, standards, best practices, and managing the automation pipeline.
Exception Handling:Mechanisms in RPA workflows that detect, manage, and resolve errors or unexpected situations during bot execution.
Hyperautomation:A business-driven approach combining RPA with AI, ML, process mining, and other technologies to automate end-to-end processes.
Cognitive Automation:The integration of AI capabilities with RPA to enable bots to handle tasks requiring judgment, pattern recognition, or unstructured data interpretation.
Screen Scraping:A technique used by RPA bots to read and extract data from application screens, including legacy systems lacking modern APIs.
Bot Sprawl:The uncontrolled proliferation of RPA bots without proper governance, leading to maintenance burdens and security risks.

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Robotic Process Automation Cheat Sheet - Quick Reference Guide | PiqCue