Understanding Blue Prism's Architecture

Core Components

• Control Room: Centralized dashboard to manage processes and digital workers.
• Process Studio: Where business logic is modeled visually, similar to flowcharts.
• Object Studio: Where interactions with external systems (UI, APIs, DBs) are configured via reusable objects.
• Application Modeller: Configures how Blue Prism identifies and interacts with screen elements.
• Credential Manager: Secures credentials used in automations, enabling role-based access control.

Deployment and Infrastructure Considerations

Large enterprises often deploy Blue Prism in distributed environments with multiple runtime resources, application servers, and database servers. This necessitates careful orchestration of updates, credential vault synchronization, and license distribution.

Advanced Troubleshooting Scenarios

1. Intermittent Failures in Application Modeller Attachments

Blue Prism bots sometimes fail to attach to target applications, especially after system updates or remote desktop transitions.

Root Causes:

• Window title or executable name mismatch due to application updates.
• Incorrect launch sequence or missing Wait stages.
• Use of local selectors that do not account for dynamic UI attributes.

Solutions:

• Use Regex or wildcards in application titles where variability exists.
• Always follow Launch → Wait → Attach pattern for robust initialization.
• Leverage surface automation techniques when traditional selectors fail.

2. Race Conditions in Work Queue Processing

When multiple bots work on the same queue, improper locking or poor design can lead to duplicated processing or lost updates.

Symptoms: Multiple bots pick the same queue item or miss new items during polling.

Solutions:

• Ensure all queue items are tagged appropriately post-processing.
• Use Get Next Item instead of querying the queue manually.
• Implement retry logic with exponential backoff to reduce collisions.

3. Credential Vault Access Errors

Automations may fail due to inability to retrieve credentials, especially after infrastructure or security policy changes.

Internal : Failed to get credential: Access Denied

Solutions:

• Ensure the runtime resource has permission to access the credential based on its resource group and role.
• Check for expired AD integrations or sync failures in LDAP settings.
• Use Credential Usage Logs to trace which process attempted unauthorized access.

4. UI Automation Breaks Due to Dynamic Element Properties

Web and desktop applications with dynamic IDs, variable layouts, or theme changes often disrupt UI element identification.

Solutions:

• Use positional or hierarchical selectors in combination with dynamic match types.
• Apply global data items to centralize element selectors for easier updates.
• Employ match index or ordinal position when stable attributes are unavailable.

5. Slow Performance in Large-Scale Deployments

As process libraries grow, performance degradation in runtime execution or control room responsiveness may emerge.

Root Causes:

• Large process definitions or object dependencies causing slow loading.
• SQL Server database fragmentation or poor indexing.
• Excessive logging from verbose exception handling.

Solutions:

• Split complex processes into modular sub-processes and callable objects.
• Archive or truncate old session logs using Blue Prism's built-in utilities.
• Work with DBAs to analyze and tune SQL indexes and performance plans.

Diagnostics and Monitoring Techniques

Use Session Logs and Audit Logs

Blue Prism maintains detailed logs for each session and bot activity. Use these for reconstructing execution timelines and identifying failure points.

Enable Process and Object Stage Logging Granularly

Enable logging selectively on critical stages rather than globally to reduce storage bloat and improve clarity.

Use the Performance Counters Tool

Monitor CPU, memory, and queue usage over time. This is especially useful during stress testing or peak periods.

Database Health Checks

Use SQL scripts to identify slow queries, table size growth, and session log bloat.

SELECT TOP 10 * FROM BPASessionLog_NonUnicode ORDER BY StartDate DESC

Integrate with SIEM or Monitoring Tools

Forward critical event logs to enterprise monitoring tools (Splunk, SCOM) for real-time alerts and compliance tracking.

Organizational Pitfalls in Blue Prism Implementations

• Process complexity sprawl: Lack of reuse leads to redundant logic across processes.
• No version control: Changes are overwritten or lost due to lack of disciplined promotion practices.
• Improper exception handling: Bots enter suspended states due to unhandled exceptions or infinite retry loops.
• Security risks: Hardcoded credentials or lack of audit trails on credential access.

Step-by-Step Fixes for Common Scenarios

Fix: Attach to Application Fails Randomly

1. Verify executable name and window title in Application Modeller.
2. Add retries around the Attach stage with small delays.
3. Use environment lock to avoid concurrent access.

Fix: Queue Items Marked as Exceptions Unexpectedly

1. Review exception message and error type.
2. Refactor logic to distinguish between business and system exceptions.
3. Use retry counts and tags for smarter reprocessing.

Fix: Credential Retrieval Fails Intermittently

1. Check Credential Manager roles and AD sync status.
2. Restart runtime resources to refresh vault session.
3. Re-create credential and rebind to affected process/object.

Fix: Process Becomes Unresponsive

1. Check resource status in Control Room.
2. Stop and reset the session; clear any locked resources.
3. Review session logs for infinite loops or blocking waits.

Fix: Delays in Queue Processing

1. Scale up runtime resources.
2. Check if the queue item filtering logic is excluding valid items.
3. Optimize tag usage to allow selective item retrieval.

Best Practices for Enterprise-Grade Blue Prism Usage

• Use modular design: Break down processes into reusable, tested components.
• Adopt lifecycle governance: Promote changes using Dev → Test → Prod pipelines with proper review.
• Secure credential usage: Avoid hardcoding and apply least privilege access.
• Standardize naming conventions: Improve maintainability and traceability across teams.
• Implement CI/CD: Use Blue Prism API and ALM tools for automated deployments and testing.

Conclusion

Blue Prism enables enterprises to achieve efficiency, consistency, and compliance through intelligent automation. However, scaling automation programs without mature governance and diagnostic strategies can result in fragile systems, unpredictable behavior, and operational risks. By applying structured troubleshooting methods, implementing best practices, and leveraging Blue Prism’s built-in logging and performance tools, organizations can build robust, secure, and maintainable automation pipelines. For long-term success, RPA teams must invest in process modularity, centralized monitoring, and continuous improvement frameworks.

FAQs

1. Why do Blue Prism bots sometimes fail to attach to applications?

This usually stems from timing issues, dynamic UI properties, or misconfigured application models. Use a Launch → Wait → Attach sequence with retries and wildcards.

2. How can I prevent queue item duplication?

Always use Blue Prism's Get Next Item function and avoid manually filtering queue items. Tag items post-processing to prevent re-pickup.

3. What causes Blue Prism Credential Manager errors?

Credential access issues may be due to expired AD integration, role misalignment, or vault desynchronization. Check audit logs and access policies.

4. Can Blue Prism integrate with Git or other version control tools?

Yes, but it requires exporting packages or using Blue Prism API/Decipher to track process versions. Native integration is limited but possible with ALM plugins.

5. How do I improve runtime performance in high-volume processes?

Use modular design, reduce logging overhead, optimize queue logic, and ensure your SQL database is tuned and maintained regularly.