1. What is Robotic Process Automation?

The process of automating tasks with the help of software/tools to deploy bots which will reduce the involvement of humans to perform any task is said to be Robotic Process Automation.

There are three terms that you need to understand i.e: Robotic, Process, and Automation. Let me explain to you each of these terms one by one.

Robotic: Entities that mimic human actions are called Robots.

Process: A sequence of steps that lead to meaningful activity. For example, the process of making coffee or your favourite dish, etc.

Automation: Any process which is done by a robot without human intervention.

When we summarize all the above terms together then, mimicking human actions to perform a sequence of steps that lead to meaningful activity, without any human intervention is known as Robotic Process Automation.

2. What are the differences between robotic automation and Screen Scraping?

The major differences between robotic automation and screen scraping are as follows:

Robots are considered to be application orchestrators, as any machine used by man can be used by modern robots also. They could be either web service-enabled applications, legacy applications, mainframe, etc.

Robots build a shared library by collecting procedural knowledge. This knowledge can be r-used by any other robot or device.

Also, the applications are read by the robots either through the operating systems prior to application display, through the screen in the context of the native application or through dedicated APIs. In the case where the applications are read through the screen in the context of a native application, the robots read the same way as that the user. So, while a robot is trained, it is shown how to read the application’s display. Similar to that of a user.

3. What are the features of RPA?

The features of RPA are as follows:

Accurate: Less prone to errors and work with high precision and uniformity

Consistent: The RPA software is built in such a way that, all the repetitive tasks are performed in the same manner.

Cost Cutting Technology: Aims to reduce the manual workforce and thus reduces the cost used to perform any task.

Productivity Rate: The execution time to perform any task is much faster when compared to the manual approach.

Reliable Software: This software is reliable, as bots can work 24*7 without a break, with the same efficiency.

No/Less Coding Required: RPA tools do not require much coding knowledge. 

4. Can you mention a few general requirements of RPA for front and back-office processing?

Well, there is no definite answer to this question. But, you can answer the interviewer by saying that apart from the tools, and the client requirements, most of the requirements are the same for both front-office and back-office processing. The same configuration can be easily deployed and the results that can be derived are always superior in every aspect.

5. What points are to be considered during the planning phase of automation.

During the planning phase of automation you have considered the following:

Best RPA Tool for your project

Collect the in scope and out of scope parameters

Testing environment

Project timelines

Identification of deliverables

6. What is the need for Blue Prism in the market?

Since Robotic Process Automation aka RPA cannot be implemented without the RPA Tools, Blue Prism is one of the most popular RPA Tools is used to design automation scripts for various departments and tasks. Blue Prism supports both internal and external encryption or decryption of keys.

Apart from this, it also enables Audit Logs which makes it easy for the users to debug. Well, these were just a few points, but I am sure once you start using the tool, you will understand the benefits of Blue Prism.

7. What do you understand by the Environmental variable in Blue Prism?

Environmental variables are those variables that are available to all processes and business objects. So, these variables are used as dynamic variables, to make sure they can be used whenever required across the Blue Prism platform.

To use an environment variable follow the below steps:

Add a new data item to the chosen Process or Object

Open the Data Properties form

In the ‘Exposure’ combo box select the ‘Environment’ option

The ‘Name’ edit box at the top of the screen will become a combo box. Select the Environment Variable you want to use from the combo list

Click OK

8. What kind of support is required from Blue Prism Professional Services?

Blue Prism offers a wide range of services. So, it completely depends on the abilities that you already have and what you wish to learn next. Blue Prism can provide complete training to learn the tool, 24*7 support to ensure that you learn the tool quickly and start automating tasks. Here, Blue Prism takes the responsibility of delivering business benefits within the agreed service levels.

9. Can you mention the hardware requirements used to execute the Blue Prism Platform?

Well, there are as such no hardware requirements. But since Blue Prism is designed to match with the IT standards suitable for IT security, operational integrity, and operational supportability, this software is designed in a ready to be deployed manner.

In front-office processing, it runs on the standard/ local desktop whereas in the back office processing it runs on a large number of systems.

10. What do you understand by Visual Business Object?

Visual Business Objects are used to provide an interface to an application. This application interface is not configured in the Process Studio but is configured in a separate environment called an Object Studio environment. So, a Business Object is not exposed to the Control Room but is always used by a Process.

11. Mention the components in Blue Prism

Blue Prism comes with various tools, libraries and run time environments to enable the users to automate tasks. Out of all of them, there are mainly two components of Blue Prism. They are:

Process Studio – Process Studio is the area in which the Process Diagrams are created. This component of Blue Prism offers features such as business logic, object call, control loops, and variables. Each and every process created has the Main Page which gets executed first.

Object Studio – Almost all enterprises need to have communication with external applications to automate tasks. Since it cannot happen in Process Studio, Object Studio is used. Object Studio is the area where Visual Business Objects(VBO) are created. These objects are nothing but diagrammatic programs interacting with external applications that perform operations. One Business Object provides an interface with only one external application. Also, let me tell you that each Object Studio, does not have the Main Page, but it does have two default pages organized as a flat group.

12. What do you understand by the Process in Blue Prism?

A process is quite similar to that of a business object. It acts like a human user and implements a software robot logic. Each and every process is defined by using one or more pages, where each page contains various stages. A process always starts at its main page and then carries forward to the other pages. Here, each page has its own individual tab to ensure that the processes are divided into various logical groupings.

13. Mention the steps to create a Process in Blue Prism

Follow the below steps to create a Process in Blue Prism:

Open the Blue Prism window, and choose the Studio icon.

Then right-click the Processes heading under the Studio tab and select “Create a Process”.

After that, enter the name and description of the Process

Once the process is created, it will appear beneath the Processes heading. Just double-click on it to open.

Now, once the Process is opened, the next step is to add a stage. To do that, go to the Stages toolbar on the left-hand side and drag it into the workspace.

After the stage is added, you can go forward and create the process flow.

14. How can you get started on delivering processes using Blue Prism?

Well, Blue Prism recommends a phased approach to get started as the Operational Agility framework is scalable. This kind of environment is used to target the configuration between 1 to 10 processes initially, and then a rolling program of processes being introduced once the framework is established.

15. What do you understand by Blue Prism Process Template?

Blue Prism Process Template is used as a base for all the processes created in Blue Prism. These templates ensure processes are easy to configure and support. They also help the user understand how the work queues are used in all the processes created.

With the help of the Process Templates, you can do the following:

Know where the work queues are loaded with the new work and where the Get Next Item action is used.

Route all the complete cases through the Resolve Item page and the exception items through the Resolve Exception page.

Develop and support having multiple Mark Exception and Mark Completed stages throughout the process.

Do fast process development since examples are provided for different work queue loading scenarios.

Easy to familiarize yourself with the existing process following similar templates.

16. What do you understand by SDD and FRQ?

SDD – SDD aka Solution Design Document is used to describe the Blue Prism automation process derived in the Process Definition Document.

FRQ – FRQ aka Function Requirements Questionnaire is used to provide areas for consideration and also a checklist for required details.

17. Can you mention a few ways to secure your applications in Blue Prism?

There are three ways through which you can secure your applications:

User: Used to assign new user information

Credentials: Used to store the secret information

Options: Used to set rules for setting passwords

Apart from this, Blue Prism provides role-based access control for security. Through this, the Blue Prism administrator defines what roles a user can act in, the system will allow that user to perform only the actions allowed by these roles. An administrator can also examine the records of activities such as when a user logs into Blue Prism, when that user starts or deletes a process, when that user changes her password, and more.

18. What is the use of Global Mouse Click and Global Send Keys?

Global Mouse Click and Global Send Keys are examples of operations that need an active application. In the scenario, where the application is not front-end, operations will click or type into whichever window is active. This could also be a different application or an empty desktop.

19. Elaborate on the different phases of the Blue Prism life cycle.

There are three phases of the Blue prism life cycle:

Phase 1: Developer and tester work with each other to prove that the automation solution verifies the Process Definition Document.

Phase 2: You will repeat Phase 1 in Process Studio, tests are executed in live data testing more often.

Phase 3: This phase will have the following:

To test the final solution, the process solution is installed with a test environment.

The solution is in such a way that it should be able to manage the performance of the environment and any remaining issues.

Finally, the process runs in the control room of Blue Prism.

Then the acceptance criteria must publish the sign after meeting a full test report. Once it is done the process is executed in the production.

20. What are the work queues in Blue Prism and mention the steps to set the priority for work queues in Blue Prism? 

Work Queues are mostly used to break large volumes of work into small volumes. To do this, multiple bots can be used to reduce time consumption. Also, a work queue is one of the most efficient ways to deploy bots. If you are working in queues, you have to set the priorities of the queue item. To do that,

You have to add the first item to the queue with the help of Add to Queue action.

Next, you have to work with the Queue item, to start the priority of the process started. Once the priority of an item is added to the queue, then it cannot be changed.