What are some RPA design patterns that can improve process automation?

1 Data-Driven Pattern

The data-driven pattern is a design pattern that allows you to separate the logic of your RPA solution from the data that it uses. This means that you can store the data in an external source, such as a spreadsheet, a database, or a configuration file, and then read it into your RPA solution at runtime. This way, you can easily change the data without modifying the code, and you can also reuse the same logic for different data sets. For example, you can use the data-driven pattern to automate a process that involves filling out a web form with different customer information. You can store the customer information in a spreadsheet, and then use a loop to iterate over each row and fill out the form accordingly.

2 Retry Pattern

The retry pattern is a design pattern that allows you to handle errors or failures in your RPA solution by retrying the failed action or process until it succeeds or reaches a maximum number of attempts. This can help you avoid stopping the execution of your RPA solution due to unexpected issues, such as network errors, application crashes, or timeouts. For example, you can use the retry pattern to automate a process that involves downloading a file from a website. You can use a try-catch block to catch any exceptions that occur during the download, and then use a counter to retry the download until it succeeds or the counter reaches a limit.

3 State Machine Pattern

The state machine pattern is a design pattern that allows you to model your RPA solution as a set of states and transitions. A state represents a condition or a stage of your process, and a transition represents an action or an event that changes the state. This can help you simplify the logic and the flow of your RPA solution, and also make it easier to debug and maintain. For example, you can use the state machine pattern to automate a process that involves sending an email to a customer based on their status. You can define different states for the customer, such as new, active, inactive, or closed, and different transitions for the email, such as send welcome email, send reminder email, send feedback email, or send goodbye email.

4 Page Object Pattern

The page object pattern is a design pattern that allows you to encapsulate the elements and the actions of a web page or an application window in a separate object. This means that you can abstract the details of the user interface from the logic of your RPA solution, and also reuse the same object for different processes. This can help you improve the readability, the modularity, and the reliability of your RPA solution, and also make it easier to adapt to any changes in the user interface. For example, you can use the page object pattern to automate a process that involves logging into a web application. You can create a page object that contains the elements and the actions of the login page, such as the username field, the password field, the login button, and the login method.