When we talk about robotic process automation (RPA) today, we are usually referring to unattended automation: automation that uses predefined business rules to run without human intervention. The other part of the automation value equation, in no way less impactful, is attended automation, also known in many cases as robotic desktop automation (RDA): automation that sits on users’ desktops and is triggered by humans. As enterprises strive to scale their automation programs and fashion RPA into a native element of their digital business architecture, they are increasingly turning to attended automation as a core lever to help drive adoption at scale and achieve tangible value in the very near-term—while hoping to fundamentally redesign processes in the long-term. Attended automation must be a native part of broader automation, customer and employee experience (CX/EX), and enterprise strategies. It delivers unique value, and people love it, but an enterprise must manage attended automation’s user experience (UX) and maintenance differently than its unattended systems. In