[Webinar] Hyper-Productivity: Process Automation with Generative AI

ProcessMaker
29 Sept 202351:12

TLDRIn this webinar, ProcessMaker's leadership discusses the evolution of process automation and the transformative impact of AI on productivity. CEO Jeff Lortz, CTO Alex George, and founder Brian Reel highlight how AI can democratize process design, automate repetitive tasks, and improve decision-making. They demonstrate how AI can generate process maps from natural language descriptions and images, and emphasize the potential for AI to enhance user experience, streamline workflows, and contribute to digital transformation initiatives across various industries.

Takeaways

  • 🚀 AI's impact on process automation is significant, with generative AI being a major unlock for the industry.
  • 📈 The rate of labor productivity improvement has slowed, and AI presents an opportunity to reverse this trend.
  • 🌐 ProcessMaker's platform, powered by AI, aims to close the gap in productivity improvements.
  • 📝 AI can generate process maps from natural language descriptions, simplifying process design for non-developers.
  • 🔍 AI assistants are being developed to help with script writing, integration, and code optimization.
  • 📊 ProcessMaker is working on AI capabilities to improve user experience, collaboration, and process testing.
  • 🔄 AI can assist in automating repetitive tasks, allowing skilled workers to focus on higher-value activities.
  • 📚 The banking and higher education industries can benefit from AI in areas like document processing and decision-making.
  • 🔧 ProcessMaker's future plans include AI-driven process improvements through multivariate testing.
  • 🌐 ProcessMaker offers a free trial of its text-to-process functionality on its website, allowing users to experience AI in process design.

Q & A

  • What is the significance of AI in the field of process automation?

    -AI is a major unlock for the process automation world, as it combines with Business Process Automation (BPA) and Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) to democratize the use of the tool and enable hyper productivity.

  • How has the evolution of process automation tools impacted digital transformation initiatives?

    -The evolution has led to the creation of tools that aim to provide a no-code process automation development capability, allowing non-developers to produce process automation and support digital transformation initiatives.

  • What was the role of ProcessMaker in the early days of business process management (BPM) and business process automation (BPA)?

    -ProcessMaker played a significant role by releasing its Community Edition in 2008, which was a response to the market's need for BPM and BPA capabilities to supplement Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

  • How has AI been integrated into ProcessMaker's platform to improve productivity?

    -ProcessMaker's platform, powered by AI, uses generative AI to unlock the capability to improve activity and address the challenge of decreasing productivity rates, especially in the context of labor productivity.

  • What are the key components of ProcessMaker's AI strategy?

    -The key components include taking natural language descriptions to build process maps, automating the creation of forms, providing assistance in writing scripts and integrations, and generating process maps from images.

  • How does ProcessMaker plan to enhance the user experience with AI?

    -ProcessMaker aims to improve the user experience by enabling collaborative design among multiple users, building an A/B testing capability for process optimization, and ensuring the solution is fast and efficient.

  • What is the potential impact of AI on skilled labor in the banking industry?

    -AI is expected to assist skilled labor by taking over tasks that are repetitive or require less skilled work, allowing skilled workers to focus on higher-value activities, thus improving productivity and efficiency.

  • How does ProcessMaker's AI engine generate BPMN models?

    -ProcessMaker's AI engine does not generate directly to BPMN. Instead, it generates to an intermediate format, which is then used to generate the BPMN app.

  • Can AI assist in designing screens and interfaces by dictation?

    -Yes, ProcessMaker is focusing on using natural language to assist in designing screens and interfaces, which is part of their goal for future releases.

  • Will AI replace skilled workers in the context of business process automation?

    -AI is not expected to replace skilled workers but rather to unlock their potential by taking over tasks that do not require their expertise, allowing them to focus on more valuable work.

Outlines

00:00

📣 Introduction and Background

Matt McClintock introduces the webinar on hyper productivity and process automation with generative AI. He acknowledges the attendees and introduces the speakers: ProcessMaker CEO Jeff Lortz, CTO Alex George, and founder Brian Reel. Jeff Lortz takes the floor, discussing the importance of AI in process automation and provides a historical overview of the evolution of process automation, from IBM's early products in the 80s to the rise of robotic process automation (RPA) in the early 2000s.

05:02

🚀 The Impact of AI on Process Automation

Jeff Lortz continues by highlighting the challenges in making process automation tools accessible to non-developers and the strategic shift towards vertical market strategies. He emphasizes the potential of AI, particularly generative AI, to democratize the use of process automation tools and enable hyper productivity. Jeff also discusses the current economic challenges in labor productivity and the expectations set by AI, as well as the strategies ProcessMaker is adopting to leverage AI for process automation.

10:03

🛠️ AI-Powered Process Automation Tools

Alex George takes over to discuss the specific AI-powered tools ProcessMaker is developing to enhance productivity. These include natural language processing for process mapping, automated form creation, and a co-pilot for script writing and integration. Alex also mentions the goal of improving user experience, collaborative design, and the development of A/B testing capabilities within the platform.

15:06

🔍 AI Capabilities and User Experience

Alex George elaborates on the AI capabilities, such as understanding user intent, making decisions, and resource allocation. He outlines the different ways users can articulate their intent and the decision tools ProcessMaker offers. Alex also discusses the importance of providing the best user experience, moving towards collaborative design, and the future addition of A/B testing capabilities.

20:08

🎯 Demonstrating AI in ProcessMaker

Brian Reel conducts a live demo, showcasing how AI can generate processes from text descriptions. He demonstrates the ability to create a leave of absence process and a purchase request process, highlighting the AI's adherence to BPMN best practices. Brian also shows how the AI can handle different scenarios, such as invoice approval processes with automated tasks and conditional decisions.

25:09

🌐 Multilingual Process Design and Q&A

Brian Reel continues the demo by showing the ability to generate processes in different languages, such as Swahili, and emphasizes the democratizing power of AI in process design. The webinar then transitions to a Q&A session, where questions about technical implementation, PDF generation, AI's impact on BPA, and the potential of AI to replace skilled workers are addressed by the speakers.

30:10

📝 Future of AI in ProcessMaker

The speakers discuss the future plans for AI integration in ProcessMaker, including the ability to generate scripts and screens from natural language dictation, the potential for AI to suggest improvements to existing processes, and the specific processes in the banking and higher education industries that can benefit from AI. The webinar concludes with information on how attendees can try out the text-to-process functionality on ProcessMaker's website.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Hyper Productivity

Hyper Productivity refers to the significant increase in efficiency and output that can be achieved through the use of advanced technologies, particularly AI, in process automation. In the video, it is presented as a goal that can be reached by leveraging AI capabilities within Process Maker's platform, allowing for faster and more effective process management and automation.

💡Generative AI

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, such as text, images, or processes, based on existing data. In the context of the video, generative AI is used to automate the creation of business processes from natural language descriptions, streamlining the process design and enabling non-technical users to generate processes more easily.

💡Process Automation

Process Automation involves the use of software to automate repetitive tasks within a business process. The video discusses how Process Maker's platform, combined with AI, can enhance process automation by making it more accessible to non-developers and improving labor productivity.

💡BPM (Business Process Management)

Business Process Management (BPM) is a discipline that involves the ongoing alignment of all business activities with the goals of an organization. The video traces the evolution of BPM from the 1980s to the present, highlighting its integration with AI to improve process efficiency and management.

💡RPA (Robotic Process Automation)

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a subset of business process automation that involves the use of software robots or AI workers to automate business processes. The video mentions RPA as the starting point for automating manual, repetitive tasks, which has evolved with the introduction of AI to include more complex process management capabilities.

💡IDP (Intelligent Document Processing)

Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) is a technology that automates the extraction and classification of structured data from unstructured or semi-structured documents. In the video, IDP is highlighted as a component of Process Maker's platform that can extract information from various document types, enhancing the automation of processes that involve document handling.

💡AI-assisted Process Design

AI-assisted Process Design refers to the use of AI to aid in the creation and optimization of business processes. The video demonstrates how Process Maker's AI can generate process maps from natural language descriptions, suggesting improvements to existing processes, and automating the design of screens and interfaces.

💡Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a subfield of linguistics, computer science, and artificial intelligence concerned with the interactions between computers and human (natural) languages. In the video, NLP is utilized by Process Maker's AI to understand and generate text, enabling users to describe processes in natural language and have the AI create process maps accordingly.

💡Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation refers to the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how businesses operate and provide value to customers. The video emphasizes the role of AI and process automation tools in facilitating digital transformation initiatives within organizations.

💡Citizen Developer

A Citizen Developer is a non-professional software developer who creates applications for consumption by others, typically using high-level development tools. The video discusses the goal of making process automation tools accessible to citizen developers, allowing them to create and manage processes without extensive technical knowledge.

💡AI-driven Decision Making

AI-driven Decision Making involves using AI to analyze data and make informed decisions. In the video, it is suggested that AI can help in making decisions within business processes, potentially reducing the need for human intervention in certain decision points and improving efficiency.

Highlights

ProcessMaker's webinar on hyper productivity and process automation with generative AI.

Introduction of speakers including ProcessMaker's CEO Jeff Lortz and CTO Alex George.

AI's impact on process automation and its relevance in today's world.

Historical overview of process automation from the 80s to the advent of RPA in the early 2000s.

The release of ProcessMaker Community Edition in 2008 and its significance in BPM and BPA market.

The evolution of process automation tools aimed at non-developers for digital transformation.

The challenge of democratizing process automation tools and the introduction of AI as a solution.

The current economic context and the decline in labor productivity over the past decade.

AI's potential to unlock productivity improvements and its impact on GDP and company profits.

ProcessMaker's platform strategy to close the productivity gap using AI.

The development of AI assistants within the ProcessMaker platform to improve productivity.

The ability to generate process maps from natural language descriptions and images.

The integration of AI for process optimization, decision-making, and resource allocation.

The goal of creating the fastest engine for process automation and measuring end-to-end process speed.

The vision for collaborative design and A/B testing capabilities within ProcessMaker.

The potential of AI to assist in designing screens and interfaces by dictation.

The future plans for AI to suggest improvements to existing BPMN processes.

The importance of AI in unlocking the potential of skilled workers and aiding in decision-making.

The potential applications of AI in the banking industry and higher education, focusing on high volume processes.

The webinar's invitation for attendees to try out the text-to-process functionality on ProcessMaker's website.