Beyond pilots: Strategic discovery as the foundation for scaling banking automation

This paper argues that the persistent gap between automation potential and automation adoption in banking is not the result of technological limitations but of inadequate discovery methodologies. Although banks have invested heavily in robotic process automation (RPA), intelligent document processing (IDP) and process mining technologies, most institutions remain confined to tactical, department-level deployments that emphasise short-term efficiency gains. Traditional discovery methods focus on operational metrics such as full-time equivalent (FTE) reduction, cycle-time improvement and error-rate reduction, producing business cases that rarely resonate with executive decision makers responsible for strategic capital allocation. This paper demonstrates that scaling automation requires a shift toward strategic discovery centred on benefit–cost ratio (BCR) analysis, which integrates operational assessment with quantification of multi-year strategic value, including regulatory resilience, competitive positioning, customer experience enhancement and workforce enablement. By embedding BCR analysis into the discovery phase rather than applying it only during evaluation, institutions can construct business cases that reflect the full scope of value delivered by modern automation initiatives. The paper outlines a practical framework for implementing BCR-enhanced discovery and illustrates, through case evidence, how this approach strengthens executive sponsorship, accelerates adoption and enables financial institutions to evolve from isolated pilots to enterprise-wide automation transformation. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks .com/business/.