Browser Automation
One of the ways how humans evolve is via the tools that we use every day. Our history has many examples of tools that came along and changed how we work. Sometimes the changes were so significant that they changed the nature of our work itself.
This evolution is driven by our desire to increase productivity and increase the overall economic impact of our work. This change is also assisted by the fact that as our tasks become repetitive, we look to technology to offload the banal parts.
Let’s go through some examples.
Zero Clicks
A search done on Google is categorized as ‘Zero-click’ when the user selects a search result that is served by a Google property. In such cases, the search traffic stays on Google properties, and the user does not click through to other sites. Hence the name ‘Zero clicks.’
More than 50% of the searches done on Google result in zero clicks. A report published last year discusses this statistic in detail and shows how the percentage has increased over time. This statistic is a brilliant example of our desire to avoid banal work.
Most of the time, when I search, I am not in the ‘research’ mode. I am in ‘get me an answer so that I can get on with my life’ mode. I appreciate the fact that I don’t have to scrape through search results looking for an answer. Instead, someone has done the work for me and saved me time and energy.
The search engine has evolved from showing search results to find the answer for the user.
Given a choice between two search engines, a user would prefer to use the one that did part of the work for the user.
Automated Guided Vehicles
Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) are used in industrial settings to automate tasks that require mobility. Earlier forms of AGVs need some external guidance, whether it’s permanent wires, magnetic strips, or sensors embedded in the floor. A more recent type, called Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), can be installed without any supporting infrastructure like markers or wires or magnets.
Out of the many success stories for AGVs, the most impressive one has been in fulfillment. This video talks about AGVs developed by Kiva Systems. Kiva’s robots and inventory management systems were breakthrough technologies a decade ago. They enabled items that were to be shipped to be brought to the packer instead of the more traditional method of the picker/packer going out into the warehouse, picking the goods, and returning to pack and ship them.
In 2012 Amazon bought Kiva Systems for $775 million in cash. According to a Deutsche Bank note, published a few years later, Amazon had cut the so-called “click to ship” cycle down from the 60–75 minutes to just 15 minutes. Kiva acquisition had saved the company 20% on operating costs.
A fulfillment chain scales up by evolving from ‘the packer fetching the items’ to ‘the items are fetched for the packer’.
If you enjoy watching robot armies busy at work (in a non-evil setting), search for ‘fulfillment AGV’ on youtube. Today, AGVs are an essential requirement for new warehouses and fulfillment centers to scale up material handling and packaging logistics. This evolution is driven by the need to do more work per human worker.
Web Applications
While we might still find some good examples of desktop applications, for about a decade and a half, web applications have been the defacto choice for software delivery. This is especially true for enterprise applications, compared to consumer applications, where we have seen mobile replace the desktop as the device of choice.
In enterprise applications, we have seen the rise of the SAAS software delivery model and the subscription economy. SAAS solutions are now available for all enterprise functions such as analytics, HR, payroll, sales, marketing, design, data management, etc.
The advantages that drove this evolution are well documented. Accessible from anywhere, hassle-free update, better for experimentation, learn user behavior faster, more iteration, cost-efficient due to centralization, etc.
I have burnt a lot of time in the ‘gold CD + patches’ era. I can attest to all of the above.
However…
While we have seen a constant evolution in software delivery, we have not seen a similar development in how we use that software.
A co-worker stumbles around a website, looking for the right link to click or the correct form to fill. Another performs the same routine of clicks/copy/paste/fill/verifies multiple times a day. Yet another goes through an extensive training course to learn a new application, which she might end up using for only a few months. Can you relate to any of these examples?
We see a pattern here. Similar to that of a user scanning through search results. Or a packer walking around the warehouse looking for packets to pick.
The browser should evolve from a tool where we figure out how to do something to a tool which we tell what needs to be done.
workerB
At workerB, we see an opportunity here. One which brings the desired functionality to the employee — rather than having the employee look for it or even knowing where to look for it. One of saving time and effort for the employee. One of reducing banal work and increasing mindful work.
To solve this, we are laying down the guardrails by taking a fresh look at browser automation. We are developing a library of functions that mimic user actions taken in the browser. We are developing an extension where such actions can be run. We are building a store to make it easier to find existing actions for known platforms.
We are excited about the possibilities.
Want to try out what we are building? We would love to hear from you.
