Towards an OpenSource Logger for the Analysis of RPA Projects

Abstract

Process automation typically begins with the observation of humans conducting the tasks that will be eventually automated. Similarly, successful RPA projects require a prior analysis of the undergoing processes which are being executed by humans. The process of collecting this type of information is known as user interface (UI) logging since it records the interaction against a UI. Main RPA platforms (e.g., Blueprism and UIPath) incorporate functionalities that allow the recording of these UI interactions. However, the records that these platforms generate lack some functionalities that large-scale RPA projects require. Besides, they are only understandable by the proper RPA platforms. This paper presents an extensible and multi-platform OpenSource UI logger that generate UI logs in a standard format. This system collects information from all the computers it is running on and sends it to a central server for its processing. Treatment of the collected information will allow the creation of an enriched UI log which can be used, among others purposes, for smart process analysis, machine learning training, the creation of RPA robots, or, being more general, for task mining.