Process Definition and Process Studio Standards
Process structure
A Blue Prism process is a set of pages built from stages: Start, End, Action, Decision, Calculation, Multi-Calculation, Choice, Collection, Loop, Block, Note, Sub-Sheet, Exception, Recover, Resume, and Anchor. Standards govern naming, page layout, use of notes, and error handling.
Naming and layout
Use consistent prefixes and descriptive names for pages, data items, and stages. Lay out flows top-to-bottom and left-to-right, avoid crossing lines, and group related logic in blocks. Every page should have a single clear purpose and a documented interface via its inputs and outputs.
Traps
Questions often test the Block stage: it defines a recoverable unit, and exceptions inside it are caught by a Recover stage attached to that block. Another trap is the Choice stage, which routes on a single expression rather than multiple decision outcomes. Confusing Exception (raise deliberately) with Recover (handle) is common. Also remember that a process must reach an End stage on every path.
Data and scope
Understand local versus global data items and when environment variables are appropriate. Avoid hard-coded values; use environment variables or credentials.
Rule of thumb
Every block that can fail should have a matching recover path that logs the failure and either retries or marks the case as an exception.
Worked example
Wrap a login action in a Block. If login fails, the Recover stage increments a retry counter and loops back; after three failures it raises a business exception and marks the queue item as an exception with a reason.