What Is PDD and SDD in RPA? Complete Guide for 2026

Ever watched an RPA project stall for weeks because the developer and the business team had two completely different ideas of what the bot was supposed to do? That gap is exactly what PDD and SDD exist to close.

PDD (Process Design Document) and SDD (Solution Design Document) are the two core RPA lifecycle documents: PDD captures the current process in business terms, SDD translates it into a technical blueprint. Together, they turn an idea into something a team can build and maintain.

This guide breaks down what PDD and SDD actually contain, who creates each one, where they fit in the full RPA lifecycle, and the practical differences that matter when you’re building one yourself.

AI Overview

PDD (Process Design Document) and SDD (Solution Design Document) are key documents used to plan RPA automation. PDD explains the business process, requirements, rules, and exceptions, while SDD converts those requirements into a technical blueprint for building the bot. In a typical workflow, the PDD is completed and approved before the SDD is created.

TL;DR Summary

• What PDD and SDD are: the two core documents in the RPA lifecycle, PDD in business terms, SDD in technical terms
• Who creates each: PDD is written by a Business Analyst with input from Subject Matter Experts; SDD is written by a Senior RPA Developer or Solution Architect
• Order matters: PDD always comes first and must be signed off before SDD creation begins
• What each captures: PDD documents the “as-is” manual process; SDD documents the “to-be” automated bot design
• Why both matter: together they prevent scope creep, keep stakeholders aligned, and give future developers a maintainable reference

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What is RPA Solution Design Phase?

The RPA lifecycle is the structure of how automation is delivered, from identifying a business process to automate through to deployment and ongoing monitoring.

Solution design comes right after ideation and assessment, modeling the processes discovered earlier and mapping any dependencies the automation will interact with, like a system or regulation that affects it.

This phase gives RPA developers a blueprint to analyze before any building begins. PDD and SDD are exactly what this phase produces, before the RPA development phase takes over.

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Where Do PDD and SDD Fit in the RPA Lifecycle?

To understand PDD and SDD, you first need to see where they sit in the full 7-stage RPA lifecycle:

PDD and SDD Fit in the RPA Lifecycle

What Is a Process Design Document (PDD) in RPA?

A Process Design Document (PDD) in RPA is a detailed, business-oriented document that captures the current manual process (the “as-is” state) and defines all the requirements, steps, exceptions, and business rules needed for automation.

It is created by Business Analysts in collaboration with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and must be approved by the client before any development begins.

Who Creates the PDD?

The PDD is typically created by a Business Analyst (BA) in collaboration with the Subject Matter Expert (SME), the person who actually performs the manual process today. In some organisations, the RPA Solution Architect or Process Consultant may also contribute.

What Is the Purpose of a PDD in RPA?

• Serves as the single source of truth about what the process does
• Documents every step, decision point, and exception in the current manual process
• Forms the foundation from which the SDD and automation bot are developed
• Protects the project team from scope creep, any changes require a formal change request
• Ensures business stakeholders and developers share a common understanding of the process

Complete Components of a PDD in RPA

A well-structured PDD typically contains the following sections:

What Is a Solution Design Document (SDD) in RPA?

A Solution Design Document (SDD) in RPA is a technical document that translates the business requirements from the PDD into a detailed blueprint for how the automation bot will be built.

It is created by RPA Developers or Solution Architects and describes the “to-be” automated process, including bot behaviour, system integrations, exception handling logic, and data flows.

What Is the Purpose of a SDD in RPA?

• Translates business requirements into a technical automation design
• Acts as the primary reference document for the developer building the bot
• Ensures all stakeholders (technical and business) agree on how the bot will work before a line of code is written
• Enables knowledge transfer, future developers can understand and maintain the bot using the SDD
• Documents the “to-be” process, which may differ from the “as-is” because automation often improves the workflow

Who Creates the SDD?

The SDD is created by a Senior RPA Developer, RPA Lead, or Solution Architect. Unlike the PDD, which is a business document, the SDD is a technical document requiring deep knowledge of the RPA platform (UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, etc.), the exact kind of skill tested in RPA UiPath interview questions.

Complete Components of a SDD in RPA

Real-World Example: PDD and SDD for an Invoice Processing Bot

Reading component lists in the abstract only gets you so far, here’s how PDD and SDD actually differ for a real, common automation use case.

This kind of scenario shows up constantly among real RPA use cases. The process: an accounts payable team manually receives vendor invoices by email, enters the data into an ERP system, and routes exceptions to a supervisor.

What the PDD would capture:

• As-is flow: email arrives, AP clerk opens attachment, manually keys invoice number, amount, and vendor into the ERP, then flags mismatches for supervisor review
• Business rule: invoices above ₹50,000 always require supervisor sign-off, regardless of match status
• Exception handling today: a mismatched invoice is manually emailed to the vendor for clarification
• Transaction volume: roughly 200 invoices per day, peaking at 500 during month-end close

What the SDD would then translate this into:

• Bot architecture: one unattended bot triggered by a shared mailbox rule
• Technical logic: OCR extraction from PDF attachments, feeding into an ERP API call rather than manual keystrokes
• Exception handling design: mismatches automatically routed to a supervisor’s queue in the orchestrator, with an email notification, rather than a manual email
• Logging: every transaction logged with a timestamp and match confidence score for audit purposes

Notice how the PDD stays entirely in business language, what happens and why, while the SDD immediately gets technical about how the bot will actually do it. This is exactly the shift that should happen between the two documents on any real project.

PDD vs SDD in RPA: Key Differences (Comparison Table)

Best Tools for Creating PDD and SDD Documents

Further Reading: Official RPA Platform Documentation

Once you’re comfortable with what PDD and SDD contain, these official resources are worth bookmarking for platform-specific implementation detail.

• UiPath Documentation Portal: the official reference for UiPath Studio, Orchestrator, and platform-specific implementation guidance.
• UiPath’s REFramework: UiPath’s official Robotic Enterprise Framework template, a transactional business process structure that closely mirrors the kind of architecture an SDD would specify.
• Automation Anywhere Documentation: official product documentation covering installation, configuration, and development for Automation Anywhere’s platform.
• Blue Prism Documentation Portal: official technical documentation for teams building on Blue Prism specifically.

Common Mistakes When Writing PDD and SDD Documents

A handful of recurring mistakes with PDD and SDD cause real delays on RPA projects, even with experienced teams.

• Starting the SDD before the PDD is fully signed off. Any late change to the “as-is” process forces rework on technical design that’s already underway.
• Writing the PDD at too high a level. Skipping keystroke-level detail and screenshots means developers have to go back and ask the SME questions that should have been documented upfront.
• Treating exception handling as an afterthought. Both documents need every known edge case captured, a bot that only handles the happy path will fail constantly in production.
• Letting the PDD and SDD drift out of sync. When the “to-be” design in the SDD changes during development, the PDD should be updated too, otherwise future maintainers get conflicting documentation.
• Skipping formal sign-off to save time. Undocumented verbal approval on either document removes the paper trail that protects the project when scope disputes come up later.

Summary

When it comes to PDD and SDD, documenting almost everything is a blessing rather than a curse. Creating PDD and SDD in RPA doesn’t necessarily imply immediate automation but ensures access to key information and knowledge, so that it can be readily accessible to future developers and users.

Read More: Learn 12 essential skills to become an RPA developer.

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