The Developer role is the absolute cornerstone of any Robotic Process Automation (RPA) team, irrespective of its maturity level. This role is responsible for the core function of designing, building, and unit testing the automation solutions. Without a developer, no processes can be automated. While other functions are crucial for governance and scale, the development function is the fundamental prerequisite for an RPA capability to exist. At the earliest stages, a single person may fulfill multiple roles, but the developer function is the one that is non-negotiable and must be present from day one.

A. Project Manager: This function is vital for scaling and managing delivery, but in a nascent team, these responsibilities may be handled by a developer or analyst.

B. Release Manager: This is a specialized governance role that becomes critical as the RPA practice matures to manage deployments across environments, but is not essential for a foundational team.

D. Test Analyst: While testing is a critical activity, a dedicated Test Analyst role is typically introduced as the team matures and testing processes become more formalized.

1. Blue Prism. (2019). Blue Prism® - The Robotic Operating Model (ROM) (Version 1.1).

Page 17, Section: "The Foundation RPA Capability": This section illustrates the initial team structure. It explicitly shows the Developer and Process Analyst as the core of the "Process Delivery" function, highlighting the developer as a foundational role essential for creating automations.

2. Blue Prism. (2020). Blue Prism® - Roles and Responsibilities (Version 2.1).

Page 6, Section: "The Foundation Team": This document describes the initial team required to start an RPA journey. It states, "The foundation team consists of a Sponsor, a Champion, a Process Analyst and a Developer." This explicitly identifies the Developer as a critical role from the very beginning. The document later introduces roles like Release Manager and Test Manager as part of a scaled, mature organization.