Introducing MuleSoft RPA: LifeCycle and Considerations
Are you a procrastinator like me? Do you wish we could do things at the press of a button?
Overview
Today, let us look into ways of getting things done at the press of a button. Robotic process automation (RPA) is an amalgamation of robotics and automation, a tool used to overcome repetitive tasks with higher stability and rule-based nature of work. But wait, It gets better! Fortunately for us, MuleSoft used Existing RPA technology and built something better.
MuleSoft RPA enables the automation of business processes and tasks by using bots, which helps save time and overcome marginal errors. MuleSoft RPA can automate processes that require human input and can also interact with systems that do not have APIs available for consumption. RPA bots can interact with applications, extract data, read images, and manipulate computer input faster and more accurately than humans. MuleSoft RPA integrates with Anypoint Platform and enables sharing and reusing automation assets through Exchange, and with MuleSoft Composer. Lastly, RPA enables the unlocking of data from legacy UIs.
MuleSoft RPA Components
MuleSoft RPA enables you to quickly create reliable RPA solutions along with the ability to manage them throughout all phases of their lifecycle. MuleSoft RPA is composed of four components:
- RPA Manager
- RPA Builder
- RPA Recorder
- RPA Bot
MuleSoft RPA Lifecycle
Like the MuleSoft API lifecycle, MuleSoft RPA should also go through a series of phases to ensure success upon deployment. We can call these key development steps the“RPA Lifecycle.”
Create Phase: In this phase, the user logs in to MuleSoft RPA Manager and creates a new RPA process proposal. Users with appropriate permissions can manually move the proposed RPA process to evaluate phase.
Evaluate Phase: During the evaluate phase the user can decide if the task on hand is appropriate for RPA. MuleSoft RPA Manager’s built-in evaluation tool allows for quick assessment of the potential of an RPA process created in the create phase. If the evaluation passes the cost-benefit analysis, the process can be moved to the design phase.
Design Phase: The design phase is similar to breaking down a process into a flow chart that corresponds to actions. This Business Process Model can be designed in the RPA BPMN editor in Mulesoft RPA Manager. Mulesoft RPA Recorder can be used to record the screen to create these BPMs.
Build Phase: In this phase, the user must transition to work locally within the MuleSoft RPA Builder. The BPMN can be downloaded into the MuleSoft RPA builder which acts as a skeleton of the RPA process.
Test Phase: After building the process, the user uploads it back to the RPA manager. But before pushing this process to production, testing needs to be done to ensure the process operates under all anticipated conditions. MuleSoft RPA Manager allows the creation of a series of Test Plan configurations to facilitate testing.
Deploy Phase: Once the testing has been passed, the RPA process can now be deployed to MuleSoft RPA Bots. This task can be done by the MuleSoft RPA Manager. To deploy the process, all processes need to be organized into a deployment configuration called an Execution Plan.
Production Phase: MuleSoft RPA Manager has built-in monitoring capabilities. These features allow quick assessment of the performance of the bot.
MuleSoft RPA Considerations
There are certain things that one should consider before diving into MuleSoft RPA. A few considerations are listed below:
Next Steps
Today, we have barely scratched the surface of the full capabilities of MuleSoft RPA. To discover the true potential of MuleSoft RPA, we need to go above and beyond the basics in an applied way. So stay tuned for more insights on MuleSoft RPA. Validate your automation needs and get a win with this resource!
