Blue Prism automates process based on presentation integration.

So do you know what a presentation integration is?

A business logic integration (such as API) uses adapters to connect to

application�s business logic directly.

A presentation integration uses adapters that connect to the user interface of an

application.

Presentation Integration
Benefits of this integration:

Fast and relatively easy to implement.

A straightforward approach to create adapters for existing user interfaces.
Automation process is adaptive to changes in business processes
Deployed to access all types of applications, such as legacy mainframe software and
modern web solutions.
Limitations:

Performance is affected when the information is spilled across different web pages
or screens.

Information exposed through an application�s user interface is only available.

The above benefits and limitations might play a role in the Blue Prism product.

With all the basics said, get ready to learn the foundations of Blue Prism.

Image illustrates the architectural view of Blue Prism.

A big-picture view of how Blue Prism operates is a right place to begin. But before
that, you need to understand more about the product.

In this topic, you will get to know about the important tools used in Blue Prism.
Developers and business analysts create software robots in Blue Prism through
business objects (BO) and processes.

A software robot has two main parts:

One or more business objects, to interact with the application's user interface.

A process that executes the logic of driving the software robot.

Process Studio
Process Studio in Blue Prism helps in creating the graphical representation of a
computer program that interacts with applications, helps with data manipulation and
takes decisions as well performs calculations.

The Process Studio resembles other process modeling applications such as MS Visio.

The tool uses standard flow diagram symbols and notation, and graphically defines
the steps in the robot�s process.

Object Studio
The tool that captures user actions on a window or a screen is known as Object
Studio. In other words, Object Studio helps to create the business objects
graphically.
A Process created using the Process Studio calls in these user actions to perform
the desired task.

You will be reading in detail on both Process and Object Studio in the upcoming
topics.

Business objects, processes, and other information are stored in SQL Server-based
Blue Prism database.

Blue Prism�s management tools are used to schedule the execution of software
robots, helps to view information about currently executing robots, and more.

These tools also allow configuring users, viewing audit logs, and performing other
management tasks.

To enable ease of use, all Blue Prism�s client tools are provided as tabs in a
single application called the Interactive Client (IC).

What is an Object Studio?

Object Studio enables capture of the application`s user interface functionality
that can be called in processes.

The functionalities captured are referred as Business Object in Blue Prism.

Now, are you thinking what a process is?

A Process acts just like a human user by invoking the required business objects to
carry out a specific task.
Blue Prism implements presentation integration through Business Objects (BO).

Alternatively, BO's are referred to as Virtual Business Objects (VBO) also.

BOs act as an adapter to the user interface (UI) of an application.

BO has two main parts:

Application Model (AM) acts as

A connector or mode, a standard library used for communicating with the UI.

An application control interface (ACI), to expose the elements of the UI.

Actions
One or more pages implements all or part of the operation to be performed by a BO.
AM's Connector Functionality
The connector�s task is to manage low-level interaction with an application�s user
interface.

As you know, UI comes in a wide variety, so do the connectors offered by Blue

Prism.

An HTML connector, allows you to work with HTML, JavaScript etc.

A Windows connector, lets you access Windows applications built using the .NET
Framework, and other Windows-based UI technologies.

A Java connector, to work with UIs created using Swing, Java applets, etc.

A mainframe connector, to access mainframe applications through terminal emulators.

A Citrix connector, enables access to applications that provide their UIs throuh
Citrix or XenApp technologies.
AM's ACI Functionality
Each screen in an application�s UI is modeled as a set of elements, or you can say
each element represents an aspect of what�s on the screen.

To help you grasp the one stated quickly - In an HTML interface, the elements can
be, a field used for entering data or a button to click or a hyperlink.

So what is the role of an ACI?

Application control interface (ACI) defines the elements for each application
screen and makes them available to the pages in the VBO

Does the term API ring a bell to you?

ACI works similar to how an API exposes an application�s business logic.

Now you have decided upon what connector to use and have defined the ACI. Is all
set?

No, you are missing an important piece, you need to implement the required logic.

Pages or Actions are here to your rescue.

In a page, user operations are defined as a set of stages along with data items to
hold the information.

A page begins with a Start stage and finishes with an End stage. Based on the
scenario there may be other stages required to perform the required operation.
Page Types
Types
A page can be published allowing it to be called by Blue Prism processes as well as
other software.

A page marked private is available only to other pages in the same BO.

Hope you now have a fair understanding of what comprises a BO.

You will now learn about the available stages in the upcoming cards.

BO Stages
Here you go some commonly used stages:

Read: Gets data from a UI element and stores it in a data item.

Write: Puts data from a data item to a UI element.
Navigate: Opens menus, clicks buttons, and carries out other tasks required to
navigate through an application�s screens.
Wait: Pauses execution until a condition is satisfied in the application.
Link: Creates a link between stages in a page�s operation.
Recovery: Begins a block for handling exceptions.
Resume: ends a block for handling exceptions.
Alert: Notifies subscribers through an email indicating that something has
occurred.

BO Stages
Calculation: Contains an expression that executes a calculation on data items.
Loop: Iterates through a collection of data.
Code: Includes code written in languages like C# and Visual Basic. Used to perform
complex data manipulation.
Decision: Acts like an If statement controls the flow based on the value of one or
more data items.
Choice: Acts like a switch statement, selecting one of several control flow options
based on the value of one or more data items.
Page: invokes another page in this VBO.
Exception: It explicitly raises an exception in the execution of an operation.
Page Operation
An operation or logical flow is created on a page by combining a set of stages.

For your quick understanding, creating a page is like creating a method or

subroutine.

Instead of writing codes, the page is created graphically.

Properties for each stage (such as name) can be as well defined.

Hope you are now confident that you can create a page all by yourself!

In the upcoming card, you will understand how a page looks like.

Each page appears as a tab in the Object Studio design surface.

Now take a look at the Log In page. It shows the data items and stages used on this
page.

The data items include what a login page requires, a username and a password.

Now in the next card, you will read a short explanation of the stages available in
the page.

How does a page look?

Page Stages
As stated previously, it has a Start and End stage.
The Navigate stage named Launch is to start the application.
The Wait stage waits to load the login screen (has a time-out-based error handler
if something goes wrong).
The Write stage, named Enter Credentials, takes in the details from the data items.
The Navigate stage named Submit, is to click the screen�s Login button.
The next Wait stage is used to check if the login was successful.
Summary
You've now seen what an object studio is and the role it plays in capturing the UI
functionality of an application.

But is that all enough?

You now have the UI functionalities captured as stand-alone objects, wouldn't you
want to know the big picture and the role these objects get to play?

Move on to the next topic on Process Studio which will help you know what a process
is and how these objects interact with the process in the automation journey.

Blue Prism aims to automate all or part of a business process.

This is achieved with the help of Process Studio, a tool for creating Blue Prism
processes.

Before looking at this tool, you must understand what a Blue Prism process is!
Blue Prism Process
A Blue Prism Process is built as a flow chart or diagram.

You've already read the definition of a process, here is a quick rerun.

Blue Prism accesses applications through their UI. Similar to how a person might
interact with multiple applications to carry out a series of business steps, a Blue
Prism process invokes BOs to carry out those same steps.

Hope you are now clear and ready to move on to learn about Process Studio.
A Blue Prism process is similar to a BO in the following ways:

A process is defined in one or more pages.

Each page contains a set of stages and data items.
However, there are certain differences to look out for.

The way in which pages are invoked is not the same.

In a BO, a published page is called any time, and the BO exposes a set of pages
that can be executed in any order.
In a process, execution always begins on the Main page, and it follows a defined
order.

Process Stages
The process stages in Blue Prism are similar to those in BO, but not identical.

The control flow stages (such as Link, Decision, Choice, and Loop), Calculation
stage, Page stage, the stages for raising and handling exceptions (Exception,
Recovery, and Resume) are available in both Process and BO.

Are you looking at what is the not available list? Keep reading!

Action Stage - Allows us to use a published page in a process.

Process Stage - Allows a process to call another process.

Stages not available in a process are Read, Write, Code or Navigate and all those
other stages that are used for working directly with an application�s user
interface. Processes rely on BOs to do such actions.

Process Studio
Blue Prism process is defined in Process Studio.

Various stages are connected together using links to form logical structures, a
process diagram.

Stages are chosen from the toolbar and located on the diagram.

They can be selected, moved, resized, formatted, cut, copied, pasted, and deleted.

Stage properties can be accessed by doing a double-click.

Links between stages are created using the link tool. Drag the mouse from the
center of one stage to the center of another.

To select more than one stage at a time, drag without the link tool.

5 of 11
Process Studio
Similar to an Object Studio, every page in a process has its own tab, which allows
the user to divide the process logically.

The tool has a built-in debugger which enables stepping through a process, setting
up breakpoints, and more.

Process studio tracks version control, allowing the user to switch between the old
and new version of the process to find out what has changed.

Process Studio
In case a process has multiple paths, say you are automating hotel room booking
process, process studio will display the real-time percentage of requests taking
success and failure path.

Blue Prism also has a process history tool to track revisions to processes over
time.

Now, check out the next card for a visual explanation of how a process can be
created.
Process Execution
If the process is simple, it can be defined fully in the Main Page.

But in many scenarios, the process will spread across several pages. In such cases,
stages used frequently can be defined in a page which can be called when needed
like a subroutine.

During process execution, the process stages will call operations in BOs as needed.

Process Execution
To pass information to a process, Data Items (that stores data) can be defined in
the process. Or,

Data can be passed through Input parameters when a process is started. Or

You can use a Blue Prism work queue. This will allow multiple processes to read
from a spreadsheet or other file. Or,

Blue Prism processes can get their input from external software, such as an
existing customer workflow system.

As you move along the course, you will read more about Data Items, and Input
Parameters.

Object vs Process Studio

Before you proceed further to learn about how interaction happens between process
and BOs, both Process and Object Studio sounded similar in many ways.

Aren't you wondering what is the differentiator between both tools?

Here is a short summary:

Object Studio offers some types of stages which are not available to Process
Studio.

Object Studio does not have a Main Page, but it does have two default pages.

Pages are organized as a flat group rather than the hierarchy as it is in Process
Studio.
Quick Recap
Before you proceed to learn further, A quick recap of what you learned until now:

Creating a Process is like building a flow diagram.

Toolbars are used to place, move, resize, copy, delete, and link stages.
The Go button starts the Process.
The Reset button readies the Process to run again � resetting Data Items to initial
values.
Flow direction is changed using a Decision stage to work out an expression that is
true or false.
Data Items are used as placeholders for values.
Calculation stages use expressions to calculate new values for Data Items.
Data Items can have an initial value and a current value.

Circular Paths
Blue Prism focuses on automating repetitive work.

So what do you infer from this?

Until now you have been learning a simplistic and linear path approach of process
creation.

But if you are looking at automating a repetitive task, then some steps in the
process will probably need to repeat over and over again.

So the process diagrams may follow some circular path.

There is only one outbound link for most stages but no limit imposed on the number
of inbound links it can have (a stage can be approached from more than one
direction).

The image illustrates a simple circular path, a looping diagram with the decision
stage controlling the number of times the logic will be repeated.

What if you want to repeat the logic not just based on a single value but based on
an array?

Collection and Loop Stage play a crucial role in enabling this.

Watch the video on the upcoming card to understand more.

You will be able to relate collection stage to an array and loop stage with for
each.

Layers of Logic
In a real-world scenario, processes usually will have to deal with many logic
flows, stages, and data items. Hence, a Blue Prism Process will be spread over some
pages arranged in a hierarchy or nested (pages within pages).

The Main Page is at the top of the hierarchy.

How do these pages connect to each other?

It is achieved through the usage of page reference stage.

A Page Reference stage takes the Process from one page to the start of next page.
Upon reaching the end, the Process comes back up to the Page Reference stage that
called it.
Main page cannot be referenced by other pages.

You must have noticed in the previous videos that by default the process was
created in Main Page.

To create a new page:

You need to right-click on the Main Page tab and select �New�.
For the current exercise accept the default name Page 1.
Link the Start stage of the new page to the End stage.
Ok, you've now added a page reference, is that all required?

Go back to Main Page and add a Page Reference stage.

Say, you have created a simple process that loops based on a count of 3.

Now you have added a dummy page 1 and created a reference stage as well.

After you add the Page Reference stage on the diagram, a window, will pop up.

In there, you must create a reference to the existing page, which is your newly
created Page 1.

Position the Page Reference stage in the path looping back up to the Calculation
stage.

Remake the links to ensure the Page Reference stage is connected to the diagram.

Points to Know
Upon selecting the Go button, the process runs.
Default running speed is slow.
Running speed can be modified by using the drop-down sliding adjuster, just to the
right of the Go button.
A Process can be run one stage at a time, referred to as stepping.
Pause and resume of a running Process can be done using toolbar option.
How to make a running process jump to next stage or pause at a specific stage?

Move on to the next card to know about it.

How to Jump a Stage?
To enable jump, you need to use the Set Next Stage option, which can be selected by
doing a right click on the end stage.

Set Next Stage is useful:

To skip past a section of a diagram.

To replay parts of a diagram (by jumping back to an earlier position).
It can yield to undesired effect, in case, the new position you jump to contains
logic which depends on the section that got skipped.

How to Pause at a Stage?

To pause a process at a specific stage use breakpoints. It can be enabled by doing
a right-click on that specific stage and selecting breakpoint. The stage will then
be highlighted in red.

You need to know that the breakpoints will be effective only when the diagram is
open. In case of production, the diagram will not be open during the process
execution so breakpoints will be ignored.
Hope you remember the simple flow diagram explained during the creation of Page 1
in the previous topic.

In that example, Page 1 will repeat the same number of times as Main Page.

If you want to distinguish the execution frequency of Page 1 from that of Main
Page, what will you do?

This is achieved by giving the number of iterations you want Page 1 to perform as
an input.

Open the Start properties from Page 1.

Add a new input parameter by clicking the Add button.
Enter the number of Iterations in the new row created in the Inputs table.
Though the Description field is optional, it's good practice to mention details.
Drag Max Loops Data Item from Numbers into the �Store In� column.
You will notice that the Data Type is automatically set.
You have now setup the number of iterations Page 1 must be p

When you open the properties of the Page Reference stage in the Main Page, you will
see a new row with an empty value in Inputs tab.

Now to define the value you will need to:

Select the Expression Editor button.

Expression Chooser screen appears (value for an input is supplied as an
expression).
But you are going to close Chooser screen and enter 2 in the Value field.
When you execute the process, the Page Reference stage will transmit their values
to the Start stage on Page 1.
This theory will ease your learning when you get a chance to try out hands-on in a
Blue Prism environment.

Output Paramaters
A process end stage will produce Output Parameters.

In the previous cards, you learned how an input is used to transmit values.
Similarly, an Output is used to transmit a value from an End stage on a lower Page
up to the Page Reference stage on the higher Page.

Data Items
Data items are similar to variables used for storing data.

By default, it can be used by stages available on the same page they are defined,
known as local Data Items.

To make it global, the property of Data Item must be modified, uncheck Hide from
other pages in the Process checkbox.

So what do you infer from the image above?

The two local Data Items on Page A is not available to any other Page.
The four local Data Items on Page B is not available for other pages.
The Global Data Item Global 1A is present on Page A but is available for other
pages.
Global 1D is on Page D but is available everywhere.
Even though there are no Data Items present on Page C, it can still use two the
Data Items from other Pages - Global 1A and 1D.

Using Global Data Items

By now you must be thinking why not define all data items as global?

Yes it sounds simple and easy, but there are certain things to take care:

Global names must be unique, unlike locals that can share the same name as long as
they are available in different pages.
When a Data Item is global, it can be modified in any page so you must be aware of
where ever it is being used.
Track of the current value of a global must be kept carefully, to avoid the risk of
undesired impact.

Here is the possible data types allowed to be stored in Data Items.

Number, Text, Flag, Date, Password (Used for sensitive data), Datetime, Time,
Timespan, Image, Binary.

Control Room
Though you can run a Process from the Process Studio, in production, they are not
run in Process Studio.

Processes are run from Blue Prism`s Control Room.

A process will be available in Control Room only when it is published.

How to publish a process?

Move on to the next card and watch the video to learn about the different sections
available in the control room and how to publish and run a process from it.

Topic Prelude
In real-world scenarios, Blue Prism Process will make use of work queues.

What is a work queue?

It is a list of jobs or cases, where information is required for the process to

run.

New inputs will be fed into the queue, which is then updated with results after
each input is processed.
Work Queue Features
The same queue can be used by multiple machines retrieving different inputs at the
same time.

Queues will be monitored and maintained from Control Room.

Metrics such as volumes, performance and exception details can be extracted from
queue data.

A Scenario
Consider a scenario where a customer has called in a store and requested for an
item to be ordered.

The store assistant must determine the shipping cost and then place the order.

In this ordering process, the store assistant interacts with two different
applications. Entering information into every application and gets back some
result.

As indicated in the above graphical illustration, the store assistant enters the
customer's name and mobile number into a Windows application, which in turn returns
the mailing address.

As a next step, the address is validated to ensure that it contains all the
required fields.

In the end, the store assistant enters the required details such as name and
mailing address into a Web-based application, which in turn determines the shipping
cost and then places the order.
Blue Prism Automation
To automate the above scenario in Blue Prism, the developer must use the Object
Studio to build a business object for each application.

These business object must implement the same actions that the store assistant
performs on this application.

Such as, the BO that interacts with the Windows application might contain:

a login action
an action that enters the customer�s name and mobile number
an action that retrieves the customer mailing address
a logout action.

Blue Prism Automation

After the business objects are created, the developer must use Process Studio to
graphically define the steps in the process. These steps can invoke one or more
business object.

In the given scenario, the process will have following parts:

entering data into the Windows application and getting a result

validating the mailing address
entering data into the Web-based application.
Once the business objects and the process are created, the software robot is ready
to be run.

In Blue Prism, software robots are executed in an organization�s data center rather
than on user desktops.