# Process Automation and Blockchain in Intelligence and Investigation Units: An Approach
## 4 The Proposed Approach
### Overall Approach
#### 4.2.3 Blockchain Application  
During the stages of classification (understanding), simplification, and automation (when applicable), several digital assets can be generated, i.e., models, records of internal operating procedures, standards, investigation and analysis methodologies, techniques applied in the processes, and more. In this case, specialists responsible for these assets need to not only perform CRUD operations on the generated assets but also have available means to perform access and authentication control, auditability, versioning identification, and integrity verification of the generated digital assets with greater reliability. Inspired in this context, in this session, application of blockchain technology is proposed as a support mechanism in the management, storage and/or sharing of generated digital assets. Figure 8 presents a scenario where, during the execution of various activities inherent to the application of process automation, different assets are generated and there may be a need to manage their use, storage, and/or sharing. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Primary areas** & **Descriptions** & **Questions (e.g.)** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Combining} & Combining operational steps can help in the simplification of processes and increasing productivity, also contributing to the reduction of unnecessary actions, socialist idle time, among others & 1. & Are there activities/steps that perform similar tasks (whether performed at different times)? \\  & & & Are there activities/steps that can be adapted to incorporate tasks from other activities/steps? \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Eliminating} & Examining steps within the activities performed in a process and elimination of duplication or unnecessary efforts (e.g., redundant tasks). & 1. & Are there activities/steps that can be discarded (all are really mandatory)? \\  & Examining steps within the activities performed in a process and elimination of duplication or unnecessary efforts (e.g., redundant tasks). & 2. & Is there a possibility of replacing the activity/step with a less complex one? \\  & Reorganization of steps to a different location of the process or improving information collection through accumulation, among other or rearranging. & 1. & Is there a possibility of distributing high volumes of information in different activities to be carried out in parallel or to reduce bottlenecks that may lead to longer waiting times? \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Increasing} & Increasing steps sometimes can contribute to simplification. For example, a new step linked to an existing complex activity can enable better distribution or division of tasks. & 1. & Is there a possibility of inserting a new activity/step that allows greater agility in the execution of the process or reduction of complexity? (e.g., making it possible to distribute high volumes of information between an existing activity and a new one inserted) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 7: Primary areas for simplification and adopted questions examples. Figure 8: Scenario: iteration of specialists in the management, storage, and/or sharing of digital assets. In the proposed design, three layers were adopted. The user layer is composed of one or more front-end applications to enable users to access the system management layer, perform operations with digital assets and other management activities. Through this layer, users send transactions proposals to call backend services (e.g., CRUD operations, check log entries, or sharing digital assets) provided by the blockchain network that transforms the ongoing data between the nodes. The system management layer is where the blockchain network is implemented and is composed of nodes responsible for the secure and efficient running of the scheme. Information about all operations is recorded in a distributed ledger where each block contain transactions that are hashed and encrypted. A sample example of the system management layer blockchain network topology is presented in Appendix A.