This revised edition is a comprehensive guide to the components of automation planning for libraries. Updated with step-by-step techniques for assessing, acquiring, using and maintaining new technology, the guide is suitable for libraries installing a system for the first time.

This book presents the most recent and advanced techniques for creating autonomous AI systems capable of planning and acting effectively.

Publisher Description

From the global automation leaders at Accenture—the first-ever comprehensive blueprint for how to use and scale AI-powered intelligent automation in the enterprise to gain competitive advantage through faster speed to market, improved product quality, higher efficiency, and an elevated customer experience. Many companies were already implementing limited levels of automation when the pandemic hit. But the need to rapidly change business processes and how organizations work resulted in the compression of a decade’s worth of digital transformation into a matter of months. Technology suddenly became the essential element for rapid organizational change and the creation of 360-degree value benefiting all stakeholders. Businesses are faced with the imperative to embrace that change or risk being left behind. In The Automation Advantage, global enterprise technology and automation veterans Bhaskar Ghosh, Rajendra Prasad, and Gayathri Pallail give business leaders and managers the action plan they need to execute a strategic agenda that enables them to quickly and confidently scale their automation and AI initiatives. This practical and highly accessible implementation guide answers leaders’ burning questions, such as: How do I identify and prioritize automation opportunities? How do I assess my legacy systems and data issues? How do I derive full value out of my technology investments and automation efforts? How can I inspire my employees to embrace change and the new opportunities presented by automation? The Automation Advantage goes beyond optimizing process to using AI to transform almost any business activity in any industry to make it faster, more streamlined, cost efficient, and customer-focused—vastly improving overall productivity and performance. Featuring case studies of successful automation solutions, this indispensable road map includes guiding principles for technology, governance, culture, and leadership change. It offers a human-centric approach to AI and automation that leads to sustainable transformation and measurable business results.

The overwhelming majority of a software system’s lifespan is spent in use, not in design or implementation. So, why does conventional wisdom insist that software engineers focus primarily on the design and development of large-scale computing systems? In this collection of essays and articles, key members of Google’s Site Reliability Team explain how and why their commitment to the entire lifecycle has enabled the company to successfully build, deploy, monitor, and maintain some of the largest software systems in the world. You’ll learn the principles and practices that enable Google engineers to make systems more scalable, reliable, and efficient—lessons directly applicable to your organization. This book is divided into four sections: Introduction—Learn what site reliability engineering is and why it differs from conventional IT industry practices Principles—Examine the patterns, behaviors, and areas of concern that influence the work of a site reliability engineer (SRE) Practices—Understand the theory and practice of an SRE’s day-to-day work: building and operating large distributed computing systems Management—Explore Google's best practices for training, communication, and meetings that your organization can use

A proven decision management methodology for increased profits and lowered risks Knowledge Automation: How to Implement Decision Management in Business Processes describes a simple but comprehensive methodology for decision management projects, which use business rules and predictive analytics to optimize and automate small, high-volume business decisions. It includes Decision Requirements Analysis (DRA), a new method for taking the crucial first step in any IT project to implement decision management: defining a set of business decisions and identifying all the information—business knowledge and data—required to make those decisions. Describes all the stages in automating business processes, from business process modeling down to the implementation of decision services Addresses how to use business rules and predictive analytics to optimize and automate small, high-volume business decisions Proposes a simple "top-down" method for defining decision requirements and representing them in a single diagram Shows how clear requirements can allow decision management projects to be run with reduced risk and increased profit Nontechnical and accessible, Knowledge Automation reveals how DRA is destined to become a standard technique in the business analysis and project management toolbox.

With the urgent demand for rapid turnaround on new software releases--without compromising quality--the testing element of software development must keep pace, requiring a major shift from slow, labor-intensive testing methods to a faster and more thorough automated testing approach. Automated Software Testing is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to the most effective tools, techniques, and methods for automated testing. Using numerous case studies of successful industry implementations, this book presents everything you need to know to successfully incorporate automated testing into the development process. In particular, this book focuses on the Automated Test Life Cycle Methodology (ATLM), a structured process for designing and executing testing that parallels the Rapid Application Development methodology commonly used today. Automated Software Testing is designed to lead you through each step of this structured program, from the initial decision to implement automated software testing through test planning, execution, and reporting. Included are test automation and test management guidance for: Acquiring management support Test tool evaluation and selection The automated testing introduction process Test effort and test team sizing Test team composition, recruiting, and management Test planning and preparation Test procedure development guidelines Automation reuse analysis and reuse library Best practices for test automation