AD01 Blue Prism Accredited Developer Exam Questions and Answers

Tagging Exception Items :

By calling the Exception Stage details and tagging them to the item before marking it as an exception, it ensures that detailed information about the exception is captured and can be viewed later. This helps in identifying the cause of the exception and provides valuable context.

Stage Logging :

Enabling stage logging within each exception properties ensures that all exception details are logged. This allows the Process Controller to view detailed exception information from the session logs, providing a comprehensive view of what went wrong.

Benefits :

These two approaches ensure that exception details are both tagged to the work queue items and logged in the session logs, making it easier for the Process Controller to review and analyze exceptions from different interfaces within Blue Prism.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on exception handling, tagging, and logging.

Analysis of the Requirement:

The task is to ensure that the " New Order " screen in the Centrex Data Solutions application is in focus before Blue Prism interacts with it.

Ensuring the screen is in focus means making it the active window so that subsequent automation actions, such as clicking or entering text, can be performed correctly.

Available Configurations:

Option A: Uses the " Unhide Window " action.

Option B: Uses the " Activate Application " action.

Option C: Uses the " Click Window Centre " action.

Option D: Uses the " Focus " action.

Evaluation of Each Option:

Option A (Unhide Window): This action would unhide the window if it were hidden, but it does not necessarily bring the window into focus.

Option B (Activate Application): This action ensures the application is active, but it might not specifically bring the " New Order " window into focus.

Option C (Click Window Centre): This action clicks in the center of the " New Order " window, which effectively brings it into focus by simulating a user click. This is a direct way to ensure the window is in focus.

Option D (Focus): This action would set focus to the element, but in the provided screenshots, this configuration does not seem to be utilized or shown.

Conclusion:

Option C (Click Window Centre) is the correct configuration because it directly interacts with the " New Order " window to ensure it is in focus by clicking on its center. This action guarantees that the window becomes the active window, ready for further automation steps.

References:

Blue Prism Developer Documentation: Interacting with Application Windows

Blue Prism Training Material on Window and Element Interaction

Spy Mode :

Blue Prism uses different spy modes (e.g., Win32, HTML, Region, etc.) to interact with various types of applications and elements within those applications.

Testing in Process Studio vs. Control Room :

A process may work in Process Studio because elements are correctly identified during testing, but it may fail in Control Room if the wrong spy mode was used, leading to elements not being found in the live environment.

First Check :

Verify that the correct spy mode was used to identify the screen elements. This ensures that the process can reliably locate and interact with these elements during runtime.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on spy modes and element identification.

Reason: When passing the values in the Parameter the parameter should be configured with respect to the window text and pass as the value “close” as other attributes are identical we only have window text to make our fingerprint unique.

Reason: After resume stage the exception is dead so the Re thrown will not worked.

When setting the Window Text attribute for an application in Blue Prism, it ' s often helpful to use wildcards to ensure the element is consistently matched, even if the window title varies slightly. In this case, using a * at the beginning and end of the value will match any window title that contains the text " Centrix Data Solutions - Please Log In " .

Use a * at the beginning and end of the Value (Option B) : This will ensure that any leading or trailing characters in the window title will not prevent a match. For example, *Centrix Data Solutions - Please Log In* .

Other options might not be as effective:

Change the Match Type to Dynamic (Option A) : This is unnecessary if the wildcard approach works.

Position the ' ' after Solutions ' (Option C) : This does not make sense in the context provided.

Change the Match Type to Wildcard (Option D) : This would require more specific adjustments to the value itself.

References Refer to Blue Prism ' s documentation on attribute matching and the use of wildcards for ensuring reliable element identification.

Understanding Priorities :

In Blue Prism, work queue items with a lower priority value are processed before those with a higher priority value.

Setting Priorities :

To ensure that Business Customer cases are worked first, the priority for these cases should be set to the lowest value.

For Business cases, set the priority to " 0 " .

For all other cases (Personal and Joint), set the priority to " 1 " .

Implementation :

While adding items to the work queue, use the Add to Queue action to set the priority.

Ensure Business cases have priority " 0 " and others have priority " 1 " .

References :

Blue Prism documentation on work queue priorities.

Reason: As the window text is not unique when the value is changed and bp is able to spied at time a error would come. So there is no use of window text.

Exception Handling :

When an error occurs and is captured by the Recovery stage, it is often necessary to re-throw the same exception after attempting any retry logic.

Preserve Exception Details :

The option to " Preserve the type and detail of the current exception " ensures that the original exception details are not lost and can be propagated further.

This is crucial for accurate logging and troubleshooting, as it keeps the original context of the exception.

Configuration :

In the Exception stage properties, tick the " Preserve the type and detail of the current exception " checkbox.

Leave other fields such as " Exception Type " and " Exception Detail " to their defaults, as these are unnecessary when preserving the existing exception details.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on exception handling and recovery stages.

Testing Best Practices :

To ensure that the process works correctly under all conditions, it is essential to test with both valid and invalid data.

Verification of Exception Handling :

Using a variety of data inputs allows the developer to verify that exception handling mechanisms are functioning correctly. This includes ensuring that the process can handle incorrect data gracefully and take appropriate actions.

Comprehensive Testing :

By testing with both correct and incorrect data, the developer can ensure that the process is robust and can handle real-world scenarios, leading to more reliable automation.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on testing best practices for process development.

Reason: Global send key events and global keys are not passed through the navigate stage.

The golden rules for Object Design in Blue Prism focus on creating modular, reusable, and maintainable objects. These rules are:

Keep actions small and limited to a specific task (Option A) : This ensures that actions are simple, easy to understand, and reusable.

Do not include business logic in the Object (Option B) : Business logic should be handled in the Process layer, keeping objects focused on interacting with applications.

Use Input/Output parameters to promote usability (Option C) : This enhances the flexibility and reusability of objects by allowing different data to be passed in and out of actions.

However, using a single Object for an entire application (Option D) is not recommended. This approach would result in a monolithic and difficult-to-maintain object. Instead, it is better to create multiple objects, each handling a specific part of the application or a specific type of interaction.

References Refer to Blue Prism ' s best practices and guidelines on Object Design, which emphasize modularity, separation of concerns, and reusability.

Defined within the Object Layer :

Blue Prism Business Objects are defined and created within the Object layer. This is where objects interact with external applications, providing a way to encapsulate the application ' s functionality into reusable components.

Actions Built to No Specific Hierarchy :

Actions within a Business Object are not required to follow a specific hierarchy. They are built to perform specific tasks or operations and can be executed independently of one another.

Incorrect Options :

B. Will always have a Launch action : Not all Business Objects require a Launch action, as it depends on the nature of the application being automated.

C. Can be used as a stand-alone process : Business Objects cannot be used as stand-alone processes. They are designed to be invoked by processes.

D. Do not share any stages with the Process Studio : Business Objects share many stages with Process Studio, such as calculations, decisions, and data items.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on the Object layer and Business Objects.

In Blue Prism, the Wait stage is used to pause the process until specific conditions are met or a timeout occurs. The following points explain why Option B is the correct answer:

If all conditions are met before the TimeOut period expires, the process will continue (Option B) : This is the correct behavior of the Wait stage. If the speci fied conditions are met before the timeout period, the process will continue without waiting for the entire timeout duration.

The other options are incorrect:

The Wait Stage will sequentially check each condition, it does not require all conditions to be met (Option A) : This is incorrect because the Wait stage does not check conditions sequentially but rather waits for any specified condition to be met.

If no conditions are met, an internal error will appear and terminate the process (Option C) : This is incorrect; if no conditions are met within the timeout period, the process will follow the timeout path, which may or may not terminate the process depending on how it is handled.

The Wait Stage will simultaneously check all conditions and follow the logic of whichever condition is met first (Option D) : This is incorrect because the Wait stage waits for any one of the conditions to be met before the timeout, rather than following the logic of the first met condition.

References Refer to Blue Prism ' s documentation on the Wait stage and its behavior in processes, highlighting how conditions and timeouts are managed.

The process will move to the ' Close Down ' page directly from the ' Stop? ' Decision stage under two conditions:

The specified Stop time has passed : This condition checks if the current local time exceeds the configured stop time. In the provided Decision Properties, the condition LocalTime() > [Stop After Time] evaluates if the current time is beyond the stop time.

' Request Stop ' received from Control Room : This condition is checked by the IsStopRequested() function. If the Control Room sends a stop request, this function returns true, causing the process to move to the ' Close Down ' page.

Other conditions like Stop After Items and an immediate stop request from the Control Room are not mentioned in the process depicted in the exhibits. Therefore, only the two conditions mentioned above apply.

References :

The Decision stage properties and conditions as shown in the provided exhibit.

Blue Prism documentation on Decision stages and Control Room interactions for stopping processes.

Upon restarting the Blue Prism Server Service, the scheduler will check for any schedules that should have been executed during the downtime. Based on the system configuration, only the schedules within a defined timeframe will be executed. This is typically set in the ‘Execute missed schedules from the past n minutes’ setting within the scheduler configuration. If a schedule is discovered that should have executed multiple times within the configured period, it will only be executed once.  Schedules that fall outside of this defined timeframe will not be executed and may be marked as exceptions depending on the system settings

To ensure Blue Prism best practices are followed in respect to naming conventions and layout, the developer should design the object with the following action pages: Launch, Attach, Login, Navigate, and Terminate. Each of these action pages serves a distinct purpose, making the object modular and easier to maintain.

Launch : This action page is used to start the application.

Attach : This action page is used to attach to the running instance of the application.

Login : This action page is used to handle the login process.

Navigate : This action page is used to navigate through different menus or pages within the application.

Terminate : This action page is used to close the application properly.

Option C follows these best practices by including Launch, Attach, Login, Navigate, and Terminate action pages, ensuring the object is well-structured and adheres to naming conventions.

The other options do not fully comply with these best practices:

Option A : Does not include a Terminate action page, which is important for cleanly closing the application.

Option B : Uses " Orders " instead of a more generic " Navigate " and does not include Terminate.

Option D : Similar to Option C but uses " Centrix Data Solutions - Basic Actions " instead of the more specific naming convention " Basic Actions – Centrix 01. "

References Refer to Blue Prism ' s best practices documentation on Object Design, emphasizing modularity, clear naming conventions, and distinct action pages for different functionalities.

Input Data Item :

The input data item is " Blue Prism! " .

Decision Criteria :

Path A : Len([Input]) = 10

This checks if the length of the input string is 10. " Blue Prism! " has 11 characters, so this condition is false.

Path B : Right([Input], 6) = " Prism! "

This checks if the rightmost 6 characters of the input string are " Prism! " . This condition is true for the input " Blue Prism! " .

Flow Execution :

Since Path B ' s condition is true, the flow will take Path B.

Calculation Stage :

Answer B : The calculation stage sets the Output data item to " B " .

Final Output :

The Output data item will be set to " B " .

However, based on the diagram provided and the path conditions, it ' s clear that " Right([Input], 6) = " Prism! " " is true for the given input " Blue Prism! " . This means the flow will follow Path B, and the final result in the Output data item will be " B " .

References :

Blue Prism documentation on decision stages and calculation stages.

The provided process logic and decision criteria.

Understanding the Diagram:

The diagram shows an Action in Object Studio with retry logic and exception handling.

The flow includes a Retry Limit, Retry Count, and a decision point to retry or throw a system exception.

Analyzing the Flow:

Option A: The Retry Limit being set to 10 is not inherently wrong; it depends on the requirements of the specific process.

Option B: A Resume stage exists and is properly placed.

Option C: There is a Recover stage missing on one of the routes. Specifically, the flow has a decision to check for a " Missing Element? " but there is no corresponding Recover stage before this check, which is essential for handling exceptions correctly.

Option D: This configuration is not entirely correct due to the missing Recover stage.

Conclusion:

The problem with the current configuration of this Action flow is that C. There is a missing Recover stage on one of the routes through the flow . Proper exception handling requires a Recover stage before making decisions based on exceptions.

References:

Blue Prism Developer Documentation: Exception Handling and Recovery

Blue Prism Training Material on Object Studio and Exception Management

Active Directory Integration :

With Active Directory Integration, user authentication can be managed through the organization ' s Active Directory, enabling better user management and security.

Encrypt and Decrypt Work Queue Item Data :

With the Credentials Manager functionality deployed, it is possible to encrypt and decrypt sensitive data within work queue items, enhancing data security.

Functionality Added :

These functionalities enhance security and streamline user management in future automations.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on Credentials Manager and its integration with Active Directory and work queue item encryption.

Understanding Work Queue Icons in Blue Prism:

Work queue icons in Blue Prism provide a visual indication of the status of cases in the queue.

Each icon represents a different state of a work queue item.

Icons and Their Meanings:

Option A (Flag): This typically indicates a flagged item, often used to mark items that need special attention or have been deferred.

Option B (Lock): This represents a locked item, indicating that the item is locked and cannot be processed.

Option C (Checkmark): This indicates that the item has been completed successfully.

Option D (Three Dots): This icon represents a case currently being worked on by a digital worker.

Conclusion:

The icon that indicates a case currently being worked is Option D (three dots).

References:

Blue Prism Developer Documentation: Work Queue Icons and Status Indicators

Blue Prism Training Material on Work Queue Management

Blue Prism Visual Business Objects (VBOs) are pre-built automation components that need to be imported into the environment. These VBOs are stored in the Blue Prism installation directory.

**[Root Directory]\Program Files\Blue Prism Limited\Blue Prism Automate\VBO**: This is the correct directory where the VBOs can be found. It contains the necessary VBO files that can be imported into Blue Prism.

Other options do not accurately represent the location of the VBOs:

Option A : Incorrect path format.

Option B : Refers to a training directory, which is not the standard location for VBOs.

Option D : Too general and does not specify the correct sub-directory for VBOs.

References Refer to Blue Prism installation documentation for the location of Visual Business Objects.

Exception Handling Best Practices :

Proper exception handling involves not only recovering from an error but also ensuring the system is ready for subsequent operations.

This typically includes resetting the application or any global data to a known good state.

Issue in the Main Page :

In the provided diagram, the flow directly connects the Recover stage to the Resume stage without any intermediate logic.

This is problematic because the system might be left in an inconsistent state after an error.

Required Logic :

Implement logic between the Recover and Resume stages to reset the application or any relevant data.

This ensures that after handling an exception, the system is in a known good state and can continue processing new items reliably.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on best practices for exception handling and process design.

In Blue Prism, certain stages can be found in both Object Studio and Process Studio. These stages are:

Read Stage (Option C) : This stage is used to read data from elements and variables. It is available in both Object Studio and Process Studio.

Write Stage (Option D) : This stage is used to write data to elements and variables. It is also available in both Object Studio and Process Studio.

The other stages listed in the options are specific to either Object Studio or Process Studio, but not both.

References Refer to the Blue Prism documentation and training materials which outline the stages available in Object Studio and Process Studio.

Reason: As the business object is only configure in the Object studio.

Rest all other reasons are failed.

Analysis of the Launch Action:

The action involves launching an order processing application, which brings up a login screen requesting the user ' s login details.

The flow in the question shows a ' Launch ' stage and an ' End ' stage with no intermediate stages.

Blue Prism Best Practices:

According to Blue Prism best practices, after launching an application, it is essential to verify that the application has loaded successfully and is ready for further interaction.

This verification is typically done using a wait stage to check for the presence of specific elements that confirm the application is ready, in this case, elements on the login screen.

Reasoning for the Wait Stage:

The Wait stage ensures that the login screen has fully loaded and the elements are available for interaction.

This prevents the automation process from proceeding to the next steps too quickly, which could lead to errors if the elements are not yet ready.

Implementation:

Insert a Wait stage immediately after the Launch stage.

Configure the Wait stage to check for a specific element on the login screen, such as the ' Staff Number ' field or the ' Sign In ' button.

Only proceed to the next stages (entering login details, etc.) once the Wait stage confirms the presence of the required elements.

References:

Blue Prism Developer Documentation: Best Practices for Wait Stages

Blue Prism Training Material on Login Automation Procedures

In Blue Prism ' s Application Modeller, the " Identify " button offers different options for identifying and working with elements in an application. Understanding the difference between the " Spy Element " and " Navigator " options is crucial for effective element identification and automation design.

Spy Element (Option D) : This option allows you to manually identify an element to use in the Application Modeller. When you select " Spy Element, " you manually click on the element within the application to capture its attributes and use them for automation.

Navigator Options (Option D) : The Navigator options, including " Open Application Navigator " and " Open UI Automation Navigator, " display a tree of elements available to choose from. These navigators allow you to browse through a hierarchical view of elements in the application, making it easier to select and identify elements that might be difficult to manually spy.

The other options are incorrect because:

Option A : This does not accurately describe the functionality of the Spy Element and Navigator options.

Option B : This option misrepresents the primary use of the Navigator options, which is for browsing and selecting elements rather than debugging.

Option C : This is the reverse of the actual functionality. The Spy Element is used for manual identification, while the Navigator options display a tree of elements.

References Consult Blue Prism ' s documentation and user guides on Application Modeller and element identification methods to understand the distinct functionalities of Spy Element and Navigator options.

Attributes in Application Modeller:

Attributes List Consistency (Option A): The attribute list varies depending on the target application and element. Different applications and elements expose different attributes.

Initial Selection (Option B): Blue Prism ' s initial selection is not always optimal. It is recommended to review and adjust attributes for the best match.

Attributes Source (Option C): The attributes are provided by the target business application, meaning they are specific to what the application exposes.

Match Criteria (Option D): Attributes used in matching criteria have a tick in the Match column within Application Modeller, indicating their use in identifying the element.

Conclusion:

The correct statements are:

C. The attributes displayed in Application Modeller are provided to Blue Prism by the target business application.

D. Attributes which are included in the element match criteria contain a tick in the Match column of Application Modeller.

References:

Blue Prism Developer Documentation: Application Modeller Attributes

Blue Prism Training Material on Element Matching and Attributes

Delivery Lifecycle Phases :

The typical phases in the delivery lifecycle of an RPA project include Define, Design, Build, Test, UAT (User Acceptance Testing), and Deploy.

Missing Phase :

The phase between Define and Build is Design. This phase involves creating detailed designs of the automation, including process flows, system interfaces, and data requirements.

References :

Blue Prism delivery lifecycle documentation and project management best practices.

The Saved Quantity data item will contain the sum of all the Quantity values in the Orders collection after the loop. The loop will iterate through each row of the collection and add the value of Quantity to the Saved Quantity data item using a calculation stage. The initial value of Saved Quantity is 0, and after adding each row’s Quantity, it will become 19 (0 + 4 + 5 + 1 + 9). References: https://portal.blueprism.com/sites/default/files/2020-06/Blue%20Prism%20Certification%20-%20Developer.pdf (page 2)

Credential Retrieval :

The automation start-up page requires actions to retrieve the credentials from the Credential Manager to log in to the Blue Prism Portal.

Cause of Exception :

The exception is likely caused because there is no action to retrieve the username and password from the Credential Manager, leading to missing or incorrect credentials.

Steps to Fix :

Ensure that an action is included to retrieve the credentials from the Credential Manager before attempting to log in.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on using the Credential Manager and best practices for secure credential handling.

Step Function in Sub-Page :

The Step function in Blue Prism is used to execute the current stage and then move the focus to the next stage.

Current Stage (Add to Queue) :

The Add to Queue action is configured to add data from a collection to a work queue.

If there is an error in the input parameters (e.g., missing or incorrect Queue Name, Data Collection, etc.), the action will fail.

Error Handling :

When the Add to Queue action fails, the process will trigger the exception handling logic.

The focus will move to the Recover1 stage to handle the exception.

References :

Blue Prism documentation on exception handling and the use of the Step function.

Reason: Is is common as the duplicate elements we are found by default as the attributes are provided by the application not by the blue prism. how do make our elements unique is not done by practicing and experience. ( This is also mentioned in the Foundation course and as well as in other Pdf too)

Reason: This is happening when identifying the elements in application modeler some of the details which are changing on the different environment and while identifying the elements in application modeler the developer takes the element whose values are changing and when the application run on the different path at that point of the time the process is able to expecting values eg same url, date or title but it is not at there so the process terminates. Follow the best practice for this.

Understanding Session Variables:

Session variables are specific to a running instance of a process and can be changed dynamically during the execution of the process.

Behavior of Session Variables:

When the value of a session variable is changed, it is designed to be immediately available to the running process. This allows for real-time adjustments and interactions during the process execution.

Conclusion:

The new value of a session variable is available to a running process immediately after it is changed.

References:

Blue Prism Developer Documentation: Session Variables

Blue Prism Training Material on Process Execution and Variable Management