Blue Prism Interview Questions

In Blue Prism, the attached option is used to identify the application currently being used. To identify an application, we are required to enter the appropriate value, such as the Process name or window title.

When you are using an application modeller to identify an application element, you will see two attributes called match index and match reverse. They are available for all types of applications. Both Match Index and Match Reverse are used to control how Blue Prism searches for the element at runtime.

• Match Index: Essentially, Blue Prism searches or looks for elements within the target application whose attributes match those selected in the application model by the developer. In the case of multiple elements matching, more than one element is highlighted. In the case of a Match Index set to 1, Blue Prism will stop looking or searching for elements as soon as it finds the first matching element. When set to 2, the search will stop if a second element matching the criteria is found, and that element will be highlighted instead of the first. This attribute can increase search speed significantly, but it is recommended only for cases in which duplicate elements can be ignored or are unlikely. 
• Match Reverse: This feature allows Blue Prism to search in a bottom-up manner rather than the default top-down manner.

RPA (Robotic process automation) is defined as a software technology that provides the ability to easily build, deploy, and manage bots (also called software robots) that simulate human actions in interaction with digital systems and software. In simple terms, RPA is the process of automating business operations, which reduces human intervention and increases productivity. The RPA automation technique allows users to make bots by observing human actions. Make your bots aware of what to do, and then let them handle the work. RPA bots are able to interact with any system or application the exact same way a human does, like reading screen content and completing keystrokes, navigating systems, identifying and extracting data, and performing a wide range of defined actions or tasks - except that RPA bots can operate 24/7, nonstop, faster and with 100% accuracy and reliability.

FRQ (Functional Requirements Questionnaire) is a document that details information about the production process and its environment that could be relevant during development. Ideally, the document should outline all inputs/outputs, schedules, alert structures, environmental factors, reporting targets, and any other requirements relevant to the business process in sufficient detail in order to ensure that all requirements are met.

• SSD (Solution Design Document): In this document, you will find a high-level design report that will assist you in understanding how the automated solution should be implemented. These reports are very important, so they are generated for each business process that is automated with RPA.
• PDD (Process Definition Document): During the design phase, the process of automating a task is designed. This is done by creating a detailed Process Definition Document (PDD) that contains detailed information about each manual process that is needed to be automated. In most cases, it comes from the client or the vendor whose process we are automating. It will serve as a blueprint or guide for RPA developers when designing automated solutions. 

The data items in a process can store a variety of data types, with each data item being assigned a particular data type. Blue Prism supports the following data types: Number, Flag, Date, DateTime, Time, Timespan, Image, Text, Password, and Binary.

The following are the three types of exceptions found in Blue Prism:

• Internal Exceptions: Internal exceptions arise when mandatory data is missing in the stages.
• System Exceptions: Whenever there is an internet outage, our bot requires internet access, or if the system fails, we will encounter system exceptions. A system exception is raised when Blue Prism is unable to access or interact with an external application.
• Business Exceptions: Business exceptions aren't really exceptions. In fact, you create them based on business rules. They have to be manually fired through the bot. In case of faulty logic in automation, it will cause a business exception.

Generally, when Blue Prism is halfway between Recover and Resume mode, it is said to be in Recovery Mode. When another exception occurs during the recovery stage, it will not be handled by the same recovery stage; rather, it will be passed up to the next level.

Blue Prism solutions place a strong emphasis on exception management. Whenever a mistake occurs in the Blue Prism, it generates an exception. By "exception handling," we mean managing exceptions during unassisted automation. As a result, problems can be automatically resolved if possible or can be quickly identified and repaired by system administrators or by humans if necessary. In the event of an error or exception, Blue Prism must stop processing and notify system administrators or users about the problem.

Exception handling can be achieved by using the following stages:

• Recovery: The Recover Stage allows you to recover from an exception. In the event of an exception on a page containing a Recovery Stage, the process continues there. When the process flow is transferred to the Recover Stage, the process remains in Recovery Mode until the Resume Stage or an exception is encountered.
• Resume: This stage indicates that recovery is complete, and normal processing is resumed. Although the resume stage suppresses the exception, it does not resolve the problem. Once the resume stage is complete, the exception is essentially gone, and the process can continue as usual.
• Exception: The exception stage is used for raising exceptions or errors at any point in the process flow.

 Application modellers are used to spying on applications. Spying involves identifying the elements in an application. Blue Prism supports the following spy modes to spy on elements in an application:

• HTML Mode: This spy mode identifies elements present in Web Browser-based applications.
• Win32 Mode: This mode is normally used to spy on Windows applications, but it can also be used to spy on any unwanted pop-ups during the automation of Web applications.
• Accessibility Mode: This mode applies Microsoft Active Accessibility (AA) to interact with many different types of applications running within a Microsoft Windows environment.
• Region Mode: This mode is used for selecting elements from Citrix environments.

The application modeller is a feature in Object Studio for creating application models. Essentially, it consists of the configuration needed to interact with existing applications and UI (user interface) elements. A software bot identifies these elements based on specific attributes and then interacts and performs the desired operation on them.

It lets you run/execute Blue Prism and your target application simultaneously (side-by-side), and you can tell Object Studio about the features of your target application by pointing and clicking. You can add elements representing user interface elements to the Application Model by opening the Application Modeller and selecting "Add Element". With this step, you introduce Object Studio to an additional or new feature of your target application.

The following are some new stage types available in the object studio but not in the process studio. New stages can be used to control interactions with target applications.

• Navigate stage: This stage allows you to navigate or perform actions in your target application, such as clicking buttons, opening menus, dialog boxes, sending keystrokes, closing windows, etc.
• Read stage: This stage involves reading data from your target application and storing it into data items in VBO (Visual Business Object).
• Write stage: In the write stage, data is written from data items to your target application.
• Code stage: The stage allows experienced users to perform data manipulations from within Blue Prism that would otherwise be cumbersome, or to interact with the API of another piece of software from within Blue Prism. A code stage can be particularly useful if you need to interface with a COM object in a Microsoft Windows environment. The blue prism code stage does not allow programming in Java, but in Python, Powershell, C++, etc.
• Wait stage: By using the Wait stage, you can pause the execution of a business object until certain conditions are met in the target application. For instance, you might wait until a window appears, or you might wait for a particular message to appear in the status bar. The Wait Stage always executes the path of or applies the first true condition and, if the time runs out or the timeout expires, it can perform further actions or raise an Exception if something hasn't worked out as expected. Exceptions at the Timeout stage will alert the Process that an error has occurred. Wait stages can exist without any conditions, and timeouts can be used as pauses.

The main differences between project studio and object studio are as follows:

Below are the four main components of the blue prism:

• Process Studio: In Blue Prism, this is the workspace where processes are created (flow of processes). It facilitates the design, build, test, and modification of automation processes in Blue Prism. In this component of Blue Prism, you will find features such as object calls, control loops, business logic, and variables. Upon creating a process, it will have the Main Page, which is the first to be run.
• Object Studio: A large number of enterprises require communication with external applications in order to automate processes. Since Process Studio cannot facilitate this, Object Studio is used. It is the area in which VBO (Visual Business Objects) are developed or created. It is never possible to configure a Business Object in Process Studio, but instead in a different environment called Object Studio. The Business Object provides interfaces to interact with external applications, and one Business Object provides interfaces with only one external application.
• Control Room: In Blue Prism architecture, the control room can be considered the command center that's used to schedule, monitor, and execute automation processes for the digital workforce. In other words, the control room is used for process scheduling. It provides real-time stats and insights into what software robots are doing, what their speed is, and how efficient they are.
• Release Manager: This component manages, imports, verifies, and exports configuration packages (such as processes and instructions) across Blue Prism environments.

The following are some of the best features of Blue Prism:

• Secure & Accurate: This tool can be used for executing an unlimited number of processes. Using Blue Prism, you can automate any number of processes and receive secure, accurate results.
• Robust: Blue Prism provides a number of robust features, including data encryption, load balancing, and end-to-end auditing. With end-to-end audit support, each change made to the automation process is audited, and results are reported or provided to the related user.
• Scalable & Resilient: Blue Prism offers scalable and highly resilient support through its central management control feature. Process automation is easier with Blue Prism. Depending on the business requirements, every process may be automated and monitored centrally.
• 24*7 Workforce: The tool works automatically without human intervention. It uses a digital workforce (software robots or bots), so it can run 24x7 without taking a break, and all activities can easily be tracked.
• Analytics: This tool has advanced features for configuring Dashboards so that information about sessions can be sent to Monitoring Systems for further analysis.
• Data Security and Data Abstraction: Since this tool is designed to work autonomously, all processing is carried out and stored in the data centre server. Data security and abstraction are thus enhanced.
• Provide cloud support: It ensures a high working capacity according to the business needs. All users have to do is create workers or bots on-demand, then manage them centrally.
• Execution Intelligence: Organizations can train automated engines to run according to business priorities, and then feed them with work so they operate at their own pace (autonomously), responding to changing business situations, systems, and preferences. Similar to humans, robots can adapt and change their allocation based on volume and priority without human intervention.

When planning automation, you must take the following factors into account:

• Choosing the right RPA tool for your project.
• Identifying the in-scope and out-of-scope parameters.
• Testing environment or testbed for bots.
• Timelines for projects.
• Identifying deliverables.

The RPA life cycle consists of the following 6 stages:

• Discovery phase: In this phase, the client's requirements are evaluated to determine if the process can be automated or not. After that, the complexity and benefits of the process are analyzed.
• Solution Design Phase: During this phase, the process of automating a task is designed. An in-depth Process Definition/Design Document (PDD) is prepared, containing detailed information about each step. Having analyzed all the client requirements and created the PD, the next step will be to determine a few requirements for the project such as the budget, number of people working on the project, and so on. You must then create a flowchart or object model diagram to understand the process flow.
• Development Phase: During this phase, the Automation Developer develops or creates Automation Scripts in the selected RPA tool based on the Process Definition Document created in the previous phase. The top 3 RPA tools in today's market are Blue Prism, Automation Anywhere, and UiPath. Code may or may not be required depending on what needs to be automated.
• User Acceptance Tests: This phase involves testing the bot by the Testing team/Development team in a pre-production environment to determine how users may use it to automate a specific task. Once the bot has passed the testing phase, it moves on to the next stage, but if a failure occurs, the bot is returned to the Development Phase to rectify the errors that were found in the test.
• Deployment and Maintenance Phase: Following the development and testing of a bot, the bot is deployed into the production environment, and once the bot has been deployed, users can begin using it. However, if the bot faces any bugs, then it is sent back to the development or testing teams to be resolved.
• Execute Robots: Next, the bots are executed and analyzed to determine their effectiveness.

• Thin Client: A thin client is an application that doesn't allow us to access many attributes of an object. It is an application in which we are unable to get the quality properties when spying using the RPA tool. Thin-client applications can only use region mode. Examples include Citrix and Oracle applications, etc.
• Thick Client: A thick client provides us with access to many attributes of an object. It is an application in which we are able to get the quality properties when spying using the RPA tool. Any mode can be used in thick client applications. Examples include Internet Explorer, Calculator, etc.

Conclusion

So there you have it, folks! The article on Blue Prism Interview Questions comes to an end with this. RPA Tools are making mundane tasks easier for users, which has led to an increase in opportunities for an RPA Developer.  According to market research, the global robotic process automation market is expected to surpass USD 23.9 billion by 2030. Get a jump start on your career as an RPA professional by learning RPA and its various tools, such as Blue Prism. Blue Prism is an enterprise automation pioneer that is changing the way employees work, so it's a great time to start learning Blue Prism and turning yourself into a successful blue prism developer.

Hopefully, we've cleared up any doubts you may have had and guided you in the right direction. Best wishes for your future endeavours.

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Blue Prism's connectors provide low-level interactions with applications' user interfaces. In order to accommodate the variety of application interfaces, Blue Prism provides the following connector choices:

• HTML Connector: This connector enables users to interact or work with ActiveX controls, HTML, JavaScript, and various other components of the browser interface.
• Java Connector: This connector enables users to interact or work with Oracle, Swing, Java applets, and many other JVM-based technologies.
• Windows Connector: This connector enables users to access Windows applications using PowerBuilder, .NET framework, Visual Basic, etc.
• Citrix Connector: This connector enables users to access applications via technologies like Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
• Mainframe Connector: This connector allows access to mainframe applications.

If a process is running in the control room, you can stop it by selecting the Process Session or clicking the Stop Section. In both cases, the process will cease immediately. In the event that the current process is not completed, Blue Prism will mark it as an Exception during clean-up. While right-clicking on the running process session, you see mainly two-stop options:

• Request Stop: Requests the processes to stop at a configured safe stop during their process execution.
• Immediate Stop: Clicking the Immediate Stop button will stop the process wherever it is currently running at that moment. It behaves similarly to the Stop section.

Exception Type and Exception Details are disabled when you check the Preserve checkbox. If the Preserve checkbox is checked, the current exception is thrown again or re-released, and no further details are needed. As a result, you must use the Preserve checkbox in the Recovery Mode, which is between the Recover and Resume stages. In addition, the checkbox will generate an exception if it is used outside the Recovery mode.

Multiple-Part processes are used when a case has to be dealt with in multiple parts at separate/different items. Each work queue item is associated with one request via a parent-child relationship. You can also use this when work is driven from another/external system instead of the Blue Prism work queue. In addition to this, the Multiple-Part process can be used when requests are added throughout a day and must be executed within the service-level agreement period.

Blue Prism provides three ways of securing your applications:

• User: It is used to assign information about new users.
• Credentials: It is used to store confidential information.
• Options: This allows you to assign rules for setting passwords.

Among other security features, Blue Prism provides role-based access control. Therefore, the Blue Prism administrator can define which roles a user is allowed to act in, and the system will allow that user to only performs actions allowed by those roles. Additionally, administrators can review and examine records of user activities, including when a user logs in to Blue Prism, when the user starts or stops a process, when the user changes the password, etc. 

Yes. The Blue Prism platform is both secure and auditable, as security and auditability are built into the platform at several levels. Blue Prism's runtime environment is separate from its process editing environment. In addition, each and every authorized user is given specific permissions for creating, editing, and running processes. As well, a full audit trail of all changes to any process is kept, along with a comparison of the before and after effects of each change. Additionally, the log that is created during the runtime/execution of each process provides a full-detailed, time-stamped history of each decision as well as action taken within an automated process. 

The Blue Prism templates serve as blueprints for all processes created in Blue Prism, making them easy to configure and maintain. A process template is primarily intended to be used by developers to automate processes quickly. The process templates contain basic activities and structure, so developers do not need to create them every time. Furthermore, they provide developers with an understanding of how work queues are implemented in the Blue Prism processes. The templates streamline the overall working process and make it easier to create processes quickly and easily configured.

Blue Prism sessions are able to use environment locks to restrict access to specific resources or critical sections of the process so that other sessions are forced to wait until the lock is released. By doing so, multiple bots cannot access the same path of a process at the same time. The environment lock works by using tokens. During environmental locking, a token is generated to grant access to only one bot at a time. Once the first bot acquires the lock, it will receive the token, and the other bot will not be able to access the environment or excel file until the first bot releases the lock or token. 

Decipher IDP (Intelligent Document Processing) is a tool from Blue Prism for identifying and extracting data from both structured/semi-structured business forms/documents ( like purchase orders, invoices, and other types of documents). It is an easy-to-use and simple Intelligent Document Processing solution that can read/scan any business document, identify data points regardless of document format and location, and then extract and structure the data points for use in RPA processes. Additionally, Decipher IDP allows you to uncover new opportunities and potential as well as increase automation adoption across the enterprise.

Here are some of the main benefits of Decipher IDP:

• Fast and accurate data access.
• Improved processing speed.
• Increased security and compliance across all industries.
• Support for structured and semi-structured documents.

Work queues can be configured in almost all Blue Prism processes to form a list of cases and jobs. This list can be updated easily to include new cases. 

Work queues are basically a way of modelling the queuing, locking, and reporting of work items in the Blue Prism environment. Each queue contains a range of work items that can be locked and worked on within a process or business object. The work queues business object is used to manage and handle the queues. This business object lets you retrieve items from the queue, update the metadata associated with the items, and report on the queue. 

It is possible to create and configure as many work queues as you want within System Manager. The Queue Management panel within the Control Room can be used to monitor and alter queue items. To access the Queue Management panel, open the Control Room and click the Queue Management tab. It is here where you can pause/resume queues, view queue items, delete them or mark them with exceptions.

The most popular and commonly used RPA tools today are Blue Prism and Automation Anywhere. However, they differ in the following ways: