Understanding Process Flows in Blue Prism: A Comprehensive Guide

Process flows in Blue Prism are at the heart of automating tasks and workflows. Just like building a complex flow diagram, design and create robust processes to streamline and automate your business operations. In this guide, we'll delve into the basics of process flows in Blue Prism, explaining the various functions and stages involved in developing efficient and accurate automation scripts.

What is a Process Flow in Blue Prism?

This guide aims to demystify the concept of process flows in Blue Prism, which can be defined as a series of actions or tasks that a 'bot' performs to automate processes. Think of it as a blueprint for how a bot should interact with various applications and systems to complete a specific task. This is similar to the way a human user would interact with multiple applications to carry out a series of steps.

Toolbars in Blue Prism

The toolbar in Blue Prism is your primary interface for managing processes, where you can perform various tasks such as moving, resizing, copying, deleting, and linking stages (also known as 'at stages'). This is the canvas where you can design the flow of your process automation.

1. Move: Drag and drop a stage to a different location within the flow.

2. Resize: Adjust the size of a stage on the canvas to accommodate more information or make it more prominent.

3. Copy: Duplicate a stage to use it in different parts of the process flow.

4. Delete: Remove a stage from the flow that is no longer needed.

5. Link: Connect stages to create a logical flow of tasks. This can be done using direct connections or predefined connectors that Blue Prism provides.

Starting, Resetting, and Direction Control in Processes

Once your process flow is designed, you need to give it a start, control its direction, and ensure it can be reset if needed. Here are the key elements involved in managing your process flow:

The Go Button

1. The Go Button: Located in the toolbar, the Go button initiates the process. When the button is clicked, the bot starts executing the sequence of actions defined in the process flow. This is an essential step to ensure your process automation is active and ready to execute its tasks.

The Reset Button

2. The Reset Button: Positioned in the toolbar as well, the Reset button offers the functionality to restart the process. This is particularly useful in situations where you need to reset the process to its initial state. For instance, if you encounter an error and need to start over, or if you want to run the process again with different initial data items.

When you click the Reset button, all Data Items are returned to their initial values, ensuring a clean slate for the next execution. This feature is crucial for maintaining the integrity of your process and avoiding issues that might arise from residual data left over from previous runs.

Flow Direction Control

3. Flow Direction Control: In some cases, you may need to change the direction of the process flow. This is where the Decision Stage comes into play. A Decision Stage allows you to insert a decision point at any part of the process flow, where the bot can evaluate an expression or condition. Based on the result of this evaluation, the bot can take different paths in the process flow. This is a powerful tool for creating conditional logic within your processes.

For example, if you're developing a process that involves different steps based on whether a certain condition is met or not, you can use a Decision Stage to route the process flow accordingly. By evaluating the condition, the bot can proceed with the appropriate set of tasks, ensuring that the process is tailored to the specific situation at hand.

Conclusion

In summary, understanding and effectively utilizing process flows in Blue Prism is essential for successful process automation. By harnessing the power of toolbars, using the Go and Reset buttons, and incorporating Decision Stages, you can design, control, and refine your bot's interactions with various applications and systems.

By mastering these components, you can create robust and efficient automation scripts that not only save time and reduce errors but also ensure compliance with business requirements and improve overall operational efficiency.

Keywords: Blue Prism, process automation, workflow automation