RPA Workflow API Invocation for Reusable Automation Fragments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Complex RPA projects often require specialized knowledge and are costly due to multiple parties involved in maintenance and customization, and existing automation solutions are not easily reusable or adaptable to specific tasks and environments, posing challenges for 'citizen developers' lacking advanced programming skills.
Innovation Solution
A computer system with an RPA conductor that coordinates RPA robots, receives user inputs to select workflows, determines API call parameter values, and selectively triggers execution by RPA robots, facilitating user-friendly automation for non-specialist developers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If RPA projects are designed by specialized developers, then automation functionality is achieved, but maintenance and customization become costly and slow due to multiple parties involved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables citizen developers to independently create, configure, and maintain RPA workflows through intuitive visual interfaces without requiring specialized programming knowledge. Users can directly modify workflow parameters, add activities, and customize automation behavior through drag-and-drop operations, eliminating dependence on specialized RPA developers for routine maintenance and customization tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The workflow editor provides a universal interface that handles multiple automation tasks and configurations through a single unified system. The same visual editor can create different types of workflows, manage various RPA robots, and adapt to diverse automation scenarios, reducing the need for multiple specialized tools and developers.
2Manufacturing precision
If RPA solutions are tailored to specific tasks and environments, then automation precision is improved, but reusability and adaptability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments RPA projects into modular workflows that can be independently configured, executed, and reused. Each workflow represents a discrete automation task that can be selectively invoked based on specific conditions or triggers, allowing precise automation for particular tasks while maintaining the ability to reuse and recombine workflow components across different environments and use cases.
3Ease of operation
If RPA workflows are made user-friendly for citizen developers, then ease of operation improves, but system complexity increases due to selective invocation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary workflow registration and selection mechanism that automatically matches user needs with appropriate workflows. Instead of requiring users to manually configure complex selection logic, the system provides automated routing and workflow discovery features that simplify the interaction between citizen developers and the underlying complex workflow management infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, an RPA design interface enables a user to select an RPA workflow forming a part of a complex RPA project, and define the selected workflow as a distinct executable entity that can be invoked remotely via an API call (e.g., HTTP request) issued to an RPA conductor orchestrating the execution of multiple RPA robots. The RPA design interface enables the user to customize a set of API call parameters (e.g., HTTP method, URI, input and/or output arguments) for invoking the respective RPA workflow. The user-defined, workflow-specific API call parameter values may then be transmitted to the RPA conductor, for instance as metadata attached to a specification of the RPA project. In turn, the RPA conductor automatically generates an API specification (e.g., OpenAPI or Swagger™) for the workflow fragment. In response to receiving an API call configured with the respective workflow-specific call parameter values, the RPA conductor selectively triggers execution of the selected RPA workflow on a selected RPA robot.