Mocking Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Activities For Workflow Testing

Abstract

A robot design interface comprises tools for testing a robotic process automation (RPA) workflow. Some embodiments automatically generate a mock workflow comprising a duplicate of an original workflow, wherein a set of RPA activities are replaced with substitute activities for testing purposes. Some embodiments expose an intuitive interface co-displaying the substitute activities in parallel to their respective original activities and enabling a user to configure various mock parameters. Testing is then carried out on the mock workflow.

1 . A robotic process automation (RPA) method comprising employing at least one hardware processor of a computer system to:
 select an RPA workflow for testing, the RPA workflow comprising a sequence of robotic activities wherein a first activity provides an input to a second activity;   in response to a user input selecting the first or the second activity from the RPA workflow, create a mock workflow for the RPA workflow, wherein the first activity is replaced in the mock workflow with a substitute activity configured to supply a mock input to the second activity;   expose a user interface enabling a user to configure parameters of the substitute activity while co-displaying a symbol representing the substitute activity with a symbol representing the first activity; and   output a computer-readable encoding of a test robot configured to execute the mock workflow, wherein executing the test robot comprises testing the RPA workflow for errors.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising employing the at least one hardware processor to:
 display an activity menu to a user, the activity menu indicating a plurality of robotic activities for selection; and   receive another user input selecting the substitute activity from the activity menu.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising employing the at least one hardware processor to display a graphical representation of the mock workflow to the user, the graphical representation comprising a plurality of symbols, each symbol of the plurality of symbols representing a distinct activity of the mock workflow. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein co-displaying comprises drawing a container to enclose both the symbol representing the substitute activity and the symbol representing the first activity. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein co-displaying comprises displaying the symbol representing the first activity in proximity to the symbol representing the substitute activity. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein co-displaying comprises displaying the symbol representing the first activity aligned with the symbol representing the substitute activity. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein co-displaying comprises rendering the symbol representing the first activity as having substantially the similar size as the symbol representing the substitute activity. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substitute activity comprises a nested group of robotic activities. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising employing the at least one hardware processor to execute the test robot. 
     
     
         10 . A computer system comprising at least one hardware processor configured to:
 select a robotic process automation (RPA) workflow for testing, the RPA workflow comprising a sequence of robotic activities wherein a first activity provides an input to a second activity;   in response to a user input selecting the first or the second activity from the RPA workflow, create a mock workflow for the RPA workflow, wherein the first activity is replaced in the mock workflow with a substitute activity configured to supply a mock input to the second activity;   expose a user interface enabling a user to configure parameters of the substitute activity while co-displaying a symbol representing the substitute activity with a symbol representing the first activity; and   output a computer-readable encoding of a test robot configured to execute the mock workflow, wherein executing the test robot comprises testing the RPA workflow for errors.   
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to:
 display an activity menu to a user, the activity menu indicating a plurality of robotic activities for selection; and   receive another user input selecting the substitute activity from the activity menu.   
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to display a graphical representation of the mock workflow to the user, the graphical representation comprising a plurality of symbols, each symbol of the plurality of symbols representing a distinct activity of the mock workflow. 
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein co-displaying comprises drawing a container to enclose both the symbol representing the substitute activity and the symbol representing the first activity. 
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein co-displaying comprises displaying the symbol representing the first activity in proximity to the symbol representing the substitute activity. 
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein co-displaying comprises displaying the symbol representing the first activity aligned with the symbol representing the substitute activity. 
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein co-displaying comprises rendering the symbol representing the first activity as having substantially the similar size as the symbol representing the substitute activity. 
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 10 , wherein the substitute activity comprises a nested group of robotic activities. 
     
     
         18 . The computer system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to execute the test robot. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by at least one hardware processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to:
 select a robotic process automation (RPA) workflow for testing, the RPA workflow comprising a sequence of robotic activities wherein a first activity provides an input to a second activity;   in response to a user input selecting the first or the second activity from the RPA workflow, create a mock workflow for the RPA workflow, wherein the first activity is replaced in the mock workflow with a substitute activity configured to supply a mock input to the second activity;   expose a user interface enabling a user to configure parameters of the substitute activity while co-displaying a symbol representing the substitute activity with a symbol representing the first activity; and   output a computer-readable encoding of a test robot configured to execute the mock workflow, wherein executing the test robot comprises testing the RPA workflow for errors.