JP2020013400A - Apparatus and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an apparatus and a computer program which reduce burden of a user following change of a resource in an operation of a robotic process automation (RPA).SOLUTION: An apparatus according to the present invention has acquiring means for acquiring a resource, and operating means for automatically carrying out a predetermined operation corresponding to the resource. Alternatively, the present invention is directed to an apparatus connected through a network to the apparatus according to the present invention and has determining means for determining whether or not the resource corresponding to the predetermined operation is changed from an older version thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and a computer program for robotic process automation.

  In recent years, attention has been focused on RPA (Robotic Process Automation), which is software that records and reproduces operations performed by humans, that is, software for robotizing (automating) operations, for example, as described in Non-Patent Documents. 1, 2, 3). In general, in RPA, an operator preliminarily defines a target resource and an operation content, and software automatically executes an operation according to the specified content.

https://www.nri.com/jp/journal/2017/11/20171101/, searched on June 14, 2018 http://www.nttdata.com/jp/ja/lineup/winactor/index.html, searched on June 14, 2018 https://www.uipath.com/automate/robotic-process-automation, searched June 14, 2018

  In RPA, software (machine) executes an operation, so it is necessary to accurately specify an operation target object. Therefore, for example, even if the layout of the web page is simply changed, the operation cannot be executed and an error may occur.

  Even if the software provider updates the software, the desktop application will not be updated unless the user intentionally installs the software. Therefore, basically, the user can understand that the update may cause a change in a UI (User Interface) or the like. However, there are a certain number of users who do not care about the content of the update.

  On the other hand, as for the web application, when the ASP (Application Service Provider) updates the application, the user's browser has no choice but to execute the updated application and cannot use the application before the update. Further, since the update of the web application can be performed without the update on the user side, when the UI and the behavior change are small, the user uses it without noticing.

  Therefore, when the web application is the operation target in the RPA and the UI object is mainly changed, the operation of the target may not operate properly. The user notices the update because the operation of the RPA is not properly executed, and is forced to set the operation according to the update. A similar inconvenience may occur when the application of the desktop that is the operation target of the RPA is updated but the content is not confirmed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing a user's burden due to a resource change in an RPA operation.

  One aspect of the present invention relates to an apparatus. This apparatus is an apparatus including: an acquisition unit for acquiring a resource; and an operation unit for automatically performing a predetermined operation corresponding to the acquired resource on the acquired resource. A device connected via the apparatus, and comprising a determination unit configured to determine whether a resource corresponding to the predetermined operation has been changed from a previous one.

  Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a computer program. This computer program provides the user with a function to determine whether the web page being operated in robotic process automation has been changed from the previous one, and whether or not there has been a change and / or both. The function of notifying is realized by the computer.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described components, and any replacement of the components and expressions of the present invention between an apparatus, a method, a system, a computer program, a recording medium storing a computer program, and the like are also included in the present invention. This is effective as an embodiment.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in operation of RPA, the burden of the user accompanying the change of a resource can be reduced.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an RPA system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the RPA server of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functions and configurations of the RPA server in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram illustrating an example of an operation content holding unit in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram illustrating an example of an operation result holding unit in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram illustrating an example of a change log holding unit in FIG. 3. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a change determination process when an error occurs in the RPA server of FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is a representative screen diagram of a changed web page in which an error has occurred due to a change of an object. FIG. 10 is a representative screen diagram of a web page before change before a change is made. It is a typical screen figure of a change detail screen. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a periodic change determination process in the RPA server of FIG. 1. It is a typical screen figure of an RPA execution management screen.

  Hereinafter, the same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in each drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description will be omitted as appropriate. In each drawing, some of the members that are not important for the description are omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an RPA system 2 according to the embodiment. The RPA system 2 includes an RPA server 4, a user terminal 8, and an operation execution server 10. The RPA server 4, the user terminal 8, and the operation execution server 10 are communicably connected via a network 6 such as the Internet. The RPA server 4 includes an operation content holding unit 42 that holds the content of an operation set in advance by the user, and causes the operation execution server 10 or the user terminal 8 to automatically execute the operation specified in the operation content holding unit 42. Alternatively, the RPA server 4 may automatically execute the operation itself. Which server executes the operation depends on the setting held in the operation content holding unit 42. The user terminal 8 is a terminal used by the user, and may be, for example, a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a mobile terminal, or the like.

  The RPA server 4 executes or executes an operation specified in the operation content holding unit 42, and when an error occurs, acquires and analyzes a resource such as a web page targeted for the operation in which the error has occurred. By doing so, it is determined whether or not the resource has been changed. The determination as to whether or not there is a change is made by comparing a previous resource such as a resource when the user has set an operation with a currently acquired resource. Alternatively, the determination as to whether or not there is a change may be made by recognizing a location or an object where an error has occurred as a changed location or object. The RPA server 4 notifies the user via the network 6 and the display 100 of whether or not the resource has been changed and / or where the resource has been changed. The resource registered in the operation content holding unit 42 may be periodically inspected for a change without waiting for the occurrence of an error.

  In the present embodiment, the user inputs information to the user terminal 8, the user terminal 8 transmits the information to the RPA server 4 via the network 6, the RPA server 4 processes the information, and outputs the processing result to the network. A so-called ASP in which the processing is returned to the user terminal 8 and the processing result is displayed on the user terminal 8 is assumed. However, the technical idea of the present embodiment is that at least a part of the RPA function, the error handling function, and the change determination function is implemented on a stand-alone terminal such as the user terminal 8 or the operation execution server 10, and the user performs the operation. The present invention is also applicable to systems other than the ASP, for example, when information is input to a terminal to obtain a processing result.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the RPA server 4 of FIG. The user terminal 8 and the operation execution server 10 may have the same hardware configuration as the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. The RPA server 4 includes a memory 130, a processor 132, a communication interface 134, a display 136, and an input interface 138. These components are each connected to a bus 140 and communicate with each other via the bus 140.

  The memory 130 is a storage area for storing data and programs. The data and the program may be permanently stored in the memory 130 or may be temporarily stored. In particular, the memory 130 has an area allocated as the operation content holding unit 42. The processor 132 implements various functions in the RPA server 4 by executing a program stored in the memory 130. The communication interface 134 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from the outside of the RPA server 4. For example, the communication interface 134 includes an interface for accessing the network 6. The display 136 is a device for displaying various information, and is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display. The input interface 138 is a device for receiving an input from a user. The input interface 138 includes, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch panel provided on the display 138.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the function and configuration of the RPA server 4 in FIG. Each block shown here can be realized by hardware such as a computer CPU and other elements and mechanical devices, and can be realized by software, such as a computer program. The functional blocks are drawn. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art referred to in this specification that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

  The RPA server 4 includes an operation content storage unit 102, an operation result storage unit 104, a change log storage unit 106, an RPA unit 108, an error detection unit 116, a change determination unit 118, a display control unit 122, A content change unit 124 and a sorting / filtering unit 126 are provided.

  FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram illustrating an example of the operation content holding unit 102 in FIG. The operation content holding unit 102 holds the content of the operation executed by the RPA. The operation content holding unit 102 specifies an operation ID for specifying an operation, an execution terminal (for example, the operation execution server 10, the RPA server 4, or the user terminal 8) that executes the operation, and a resource to be operated. Information (URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for a web page, path for a terminal application), operation contents, and repetition settings are stored in association with each other. In FIG. 4, in addition to the operation ID, the execution terminal, the operation target, the operation content, and the repetition setting, a title or a data attribute of a user, a creator, or a changer can be added. When adding a user, a creator, or a changer, the data attribute of the execution terminal may be deleted. The user uses the target RPA operation, the creator creates the target RPA operation, and the modifier changes the target RPA operation.

  The operation content is information for specifying what operation is to be performed on the resource to be operated. For example, if the operation target is a web page, the operation content includes a code for specifying what operation is performed on which object of the web page. Therefore, the operation content includes information for specifying the operation target object, for example, the ID, the position, and the attribute.

  The repetition setting is information for specifying when to execute the corresponding operation. The repetition setting enables designation of a state in which the operation is executed regularly or periodically, such as a fixed timing of day, week, month, year, etc., and a state in which the operation is not executed, that is, a deactivated state. (For example, “waiting for failure response”) is also possible.

  The user registers the operation content in the operation content holding unit 102 in advance. The processing for registration and the UI may be realized by using the technology described in Non-Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3, for example.

  FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the operation result holding unit 104 of FIG. The operation result holding unit 104 holds the result of the operation executed by the RPA. The operation result holding unit 104 includes an operation ID, an execution terminal, an operation target, a previous execution time that is the execution time of the most recently executed operation, a previous execution result that is the result of the most recently executed operation, Corresponds to the output of the result of the most recently executed operation, the presence / absence of information indicating whether or not the operation target has changed, and the change detection date, which is the date on which the change was detected, if any, Attach and hold. The result of the operation is “normal” if the operation was executed normally and no error occurred, and “error” if an error occurred and the operation could not be executed.

  FIG. 6 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the change log holding unit 106 of FIG. The change log storage unit 106 includes an operation ID, an operation target, an operation target code and screen capture data when the user registers the operation in the operation content storage unit 102, a date when the first change is detected, The code and screen capture data of the operation target after the first change, the date when the second change is detected, and the code and screen capture data of the operation target after the second change are held in association with each other. If a change is detected three or more times, a change detection date, a changed code, and a changed capture are added to the entry accordingly. In the example of FIG. 6, a plurality of changes are accumulated one after another. However, a configuration may be adopted in which the change selected by the user is hidden from the plurality of changes. By hiding non-problematic changes out of a plurality of changes in this way, the user can respond to the changes by focusing only on the problematic changes. Alternatively, when a change is made to the RPA operation with respect to a certain change, the change history may be stored, and in some cases, some changes may be canceled using the change history. Further, when the change history is stored, it is possible to store the change history in association with which change is the change of the RPA operation.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the RPA unit 108 causes the operation execution server 10 or the user terminal 8 to automatically execute the operation specified in the operation content holding unit 42, or performs processing for causing the RPA server 4 itself to execute the operation. . The RPA unit 108 includes a web page acquisition unit 110, an operation execution unit 112, and a result storage unit 114. Since the RPA process itself is described in detail in Non-Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3, for example, only a brief description will be given in this specification.

  The web page acquisition unit 110 refers to the operation content holding unit 102, identifies an operation whose repetition setting matches the current time, and acquires an execution terminal and a target URL of the identified operation. The web page acquisition unit 110 provides the execution terminal with the acquired target URL, thereby causing the execution terminal to acquire the web page specified by the target URL. If the execution terminal is the RPA server 4 itself, the web page acquisition unit 110 acquires the web page specified by the target URL.

  The operation execution unit 112 acquires the operation content of the operation specified by the web page acquisition unit 110 from the operation content holding unit 102. The operation execution unit 112 provides the acquired operation content to the execution terminal, and causes the execution terminal to automatically execute the operation specified by the operation content on the acquired web page. If the execution terminal is the RPA server 4 itself, the operation execution unit 112 automatically executes the operation specified by the obtained operation content on the obtained web page. “Automatically” may be a mode that does not require an instruction or input from the user. When the execution terminal or the operation execution unit 112 cannot execute the specified operation due to a change in the acquired web page or the like, the operation execution unit 112 generates an error signal.

  When the operation specified by the web page acquisition unit 110 is executed normally, the result storage unit 114 stores the result in the operation result storage unit 104. For example, the result storage unit 114 updates the previous execution time, the previous execution result, and the result output corresponding to the specified operation in the operation result holding unit 104 with the result of the current execution.

Hereinafter, the functions of the error detection unit 116, the change determination unit 118, the display control unit 122, and the operation content change unit 124 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of the change determination process when an error occurs in the RPA server 4. The RPA unit 108 automatically executes or executes the operation specified in the operation content holding unit 102 (S702), and registers the execution result and the execution time in the operation result holding unit 104 (S704). The error detection unit 116 determines whether an error has occurred during the execution of the operation (S706). When the operation execution unit 112 generates an error signal, the error detection unit 116 determines that the automatic execution of the operation specified by the web page acquisition unit 110 has failed.

  When the occurrence of an error is detected (Y in S706), the change determination unit 118 determines whether the web page in which the error has occurred has been changed from the previous web page, and when the occurrence of the error has not been detected ( (N in S706), the change determination unit 118 does not make such a determination, the process returns to step S702, and a new operation is automatically executed.

  When the occurrence of an error is detected (Y in S706), the operation content changing unit 124 changes the repetition setting corresponding to the URL of the web page where the error has occurred to “waiting for failure response” in the operation content holding unit 102. Thus, the operation is deactivated (S722). The change determination unit 118 is stored in the change log storage unit 106 in accordance with the code of the web page in which the error has occurred or the code of the web page in which the error has occurred, or the URL of the web page in which the error has occurred. Have the latest code, and get it. For example, if no change has been detected for the web page in which the error has occurred, the change determination unit 118 acquires a code at the time of registration of the web page in which the error has occurred. If a change has been detected twice in the web page in which the error has occurred, the change determination unit 118 acquires the changed code whose detection date is newer of the two times.

  The change determination unit 118 compares the obtained two codes (S708) to determine whether or not there is a change (S710). If there is a change (Y in S710), the change determination unit 118 specifies a changed part (S714). The target of detection of a change in the web page in the change determination unit 118 may be an operable object. In this case, the change determination unit 118 determines whether the operable object included in the web page in which the error has occurred has been changed from the corresponding object included in the previous web page. Alternatively, the target of the change detection of the web page in the change determination unit 118 may be an object designated as an operation target by the RPA. In this case, the change determination unit 118 determines that the object specified as the target of the predetermined operation corresponding to the web page among the objects included in the web page in which the error has occurred corresponds to the object included in the previous web page. It is determined whether the object has been changed.

  FIG. 8 is a representative screen diagram of the changed web page 200 in which an error has occurred due to the change of the object. FIG. 9 is a representative screen diagram of the web page 202 before change before the change is made. Both the post-change web page 200 and the pre-change web page 202 are designated by the same URL, and are registered in the operation content holding unit 102 as operation targets. In the examples of FIGS. 8 and 9, the text object “Tel:” of the web page 202 before change is changed to the text object “contact:” on the web page 200 after change. Also, the button objects “update” and “new registration” of the web page 202 before change are deleted in the web page 200 after change, and the button object “register” is added in the web page 200 after change instead. The position of the button object “delete” is changed between the web page 202 before change and the web page 200 after change.

  When an operable object is targeted for change detection, the change determination unit 118 determines that four input box objects and three button objects “update”, “new registration”, "Delete" is specified. The change determination unit 118 specifies four input box objects and two button objects “register” and “delete” as operable objects of the changed web page 200.

  The change determination unit 118 compares the operable objects specified before and after the change, and the two button objects “register” and “delete” of the changed web page 200 are added to the web page 202 before the change. It is determined that the included object has been changed. Specifically, the change determination unit 118 determines that the button object “registration” does not exist in the web page 202 before the change, and therefore, is newly added. The change determination unit 118 determines that the position of the button object “delete” has been changed. At the same time, the change determination unit 118 determines that “update” and “new registration” among the three button objects “update”, “new registration”, and “deletion” of the web page 202 before change have been deleted.

  When an object specified as an operation target in the RPA is to be subjected to change detection, the change determination unit 118 refers to the operation content holding unit 102 and operates the operation content corresponding to the URL of the changed web page 200 in which an error has occurred. To get. The change determination unit 118 analyzes the acquired operation content and specifies an object specified as an operation target. For example, if the operation content is to input information into four input box objects and click a button object “delete”, the change determination unit 118 determines that the post-change web page 200 and the pre-change web page 202 Identify the four input box objects and the button object "Delete".

  The change determination unit 118 compares the objects specified before and after the change, and determines that the button object “delete” of the changed web page 200 has been changed from the corresponding object included in the pre-change web page 202. It is determined that there is. Specifically, the change determination unit 118 determines that the position of the button object “delete” has been changed.

  Returning to FIG. 7, when it is determined in step S710 that there is no change, the display control unit 122 notifies the user that an error has occurred but the change has not been detected (S712). For example, the display control unit 122 may cause the display 100 to display only a flowchart portion of a change detail screen 204 described later. Thereafter, the process returns to step S702, and a new operation is automatically executed.

  When the changed object is specified in step S714, the change determination unit 118 registers “changed” in the operation result holding unit 104 in the presence or absence of a change corresponding to the web page in which the change is detected, and stores the change detection date. Is registered (S718). The change determination unit 118 adds, in the change log holding unit 106, the change detection date, the changed code, and the changed capture to the entry corresponding to the web page where the change is detected (S720). The display control unit 122 notifies the user that an error has occurred during the execution of the operation and that the change of the target web page has been detected (S712). The display control unit 122 generates a change detail screen 204 indicating details of the detected change, and transmits the change detail screen 204 to the user terminal 8 via the network 6. The user terminal 8 causes the display 100 to display the received change details screen 204. As another example of FIG. 4, an example in which a user, a creator, or a changer is added has been additionally described. However, although the user of the target RPA perceives the change at the user terminal 8, the target RPA is changed according to the change. If the change cannot be performed, the change may be requested on the system according to the present embodiment after the change is clearly indicated in the target RPA to the creator or the changer.

  FIG. 10 is a representative screen diagram of the change details screen 204. The change details screen 204 includes a post-change display area 206 that displays the image of the web page after the change, a display area 208 before the change that displays the image of the web page before the change, and where the error occurs in the operation corresponding to the web page. And an error point display area 210 for displaying whether the error has occurred. The change details screen 204 displays the object before change and the object after change in a manner that can be compared. In particular, the change details screen 204 can be compared by displaying the image of the web page before change and the image of the web page after change side by side on one screen.

  FIG. 10 corresponds to FIGS. 8 and 9. In particular, the screen capture of the changed web page 200 of FIG. 8 is displayed in the changed display area 206, and the changed web page 202 of FIG. The screen capture of is displayed. The screen capture of the pre-change web page 202 is generated based on the capture held in the change log holding unit 106. In the display area before change 208, the object specified in step S714 is highlighted in a frame 212.

By incorporating a browser in the display area 206 after the change, instead of capturing the screen of the web page 200 after the change, the actual web page 200 after the change obtained by specifying the URL of the web page 200 after the change is displayed. May be.
In the example of FIG. 10, the portion related to the change is highlighted in the display region 208 before the change, but instead, the portion related to the change may be highlighted in the display region 206 after the change. Alternatively, the portion related to the change may be highlighted in both the post-change display area 206 and the pre-change display area 208. In that case, the display mode after highlighting may be different between the display area after change 206 and the display area before change 208.

  The error location display area 210 displays a flowchart showing the operation content of the operation in which the error has occurred. The error point display area 210 further highlights and displays the element 214 to which the object specified in step S714 is related. When an object specified as an operation target in the RPA is a change detection target, it is highly probable that an error has occurred in the element 214 related to the object (= changed object) specified in step S714. In the example of FIG. 10, since the position of the button object “delete” is changed, the button object “delete” is not found in the element 214 that defines the click of the button object “delete”, and an error occurs. By highlighting element 214 in FIG. 10, the user can more quickly and easily identify the cause of the error. Note that a script of an operation in which an error has occurred may be displayed instead of or in addition to the flowchart.

  In the change details screen 204 shown in FIG. 10, when an appropriate object after the change is specified on the image in the screen capture of the changed web page displayed in the changed display area 206, the object is appropriately recognized by the image recognition. It is configured to

  In one example, by comparing the display area after change 206 with the display area before change 208, the user understands that the cause of the error is the movement of the button object “delete”. The user specifies the button object “delete” in the post-change display area 206 by clicking the button object, specifying a range, or the like. The operation content changing unit 124 acquires the position of the button object “delete” specified by the user. The operation content change unit 124 updates the position of the button object “delete” with the acquired new position in the operation content of the operation in which the error has occurred in the operation content storage unit 102, and sets the repeat setting to “failure response wait”. To the original value.

  In another example, by comparing the display area after change 206 with the display area before change 208, the user understands that the cause of the error is the deletion of the button object “new registration”. The user specifies the button object “register” in the post-change display area 206 by clicking the button object, specifying a range, or the like. The operation content changing unit 124 acquires the ID and the attribute of the button object “registration” specified by the user. The operation content changing unit 124 sets the ID and attribute of the button object “new registration” in the operation content of the operation in which the error has occurred in the operation content holding unit 102 to the ID and attribute of the newly acquired button object “registration”. And reset the repetition setting from "Waiting for trouble" to the original value.

  In this way, the user can confirm the changed portion and also cope with a failure related to the change via the change detail screen 204. Further, since the operation content is changed by specifying an object in the web page, a more intuitive operation can be performed as compared with a case where the code is directly changed.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the periodic change determination process in the RPA server 4. The change determination unit 118 selects one of the URLs stored in the operation content storage unit 102 to be determined (S740). The change determination unit 118 accesses the selected URL and acquires the code of the web page to be determined (S742). The change determining unit 118 acquires the latest code stored in the change log storing unit 106 corresponding to the URL of the web page to be determined. The change determination unit 118 compares the obtained two codes (S744) to determine whether or not there is a change (S710). If there is a change (Y in S710), the change determination unit 118 specifies a changed part (S714).

  When it is determined in step S710 that there is no change, the change determination unit 118 registers “no change” in the operation result holding unit 104 as the presence or absence of a change corresponding to the web page to be determined (S748). Thereafter, the process returns to step S740, and a new URL is selected as a determination target.

  When the changed object is specified in step S714, the change determination unit 118 determines whether an error occurs at the next operation on the determination target web page (S752). For example, the change determination unit 118 acquires the operation content corresponding to the URL of the web page to be determined from the operation content storage unit 102. When the acquired operation content includes the changed object, the change determination unit 118 determines that an error occurs at the next operation. When the changed object is not an operable object, the change determination unit 118 determines that no error occurs at the next operation.

  8 and 9, the text object “Tel:” of the pre-change web page 202 is changed to the text object “Contact:” in the post-change web page 200, and there is no change in other objects. The object specified in step S714 is only the text object "Tel:". In this case, the change determination unit 118 determines that no error occurs at the next operation on the changed web page 200.

  On the other hand, if the button objects “update” and “new registration” of the web page 202 before change are deleted in the web page 200 after change, and instead the button object “register” is added in the web page 200 after change, The objects specified in S714 are the button objects “update”, “new registration”, and “registration”. In this case, the change determination unit 118 determines that an error occurs at the next operation on the changed web page 200.

  When it is determined that an error occurs in step S752 (Y in S752), the operation content changing unit 124 sets the repetition setting corresponding to the URL of the determination target web page to “waiting for failure response” in the operation content storage unit 102. By changing, the operation is deactivated (S754). When it is not determined that an error occurs in step S752 (N in S752) or after step S754, the display control unit 122 notifies the user that a change of the determination target web page has been detected (S756). The display control unit 122 may give the notification via a screen similar to the change detail screen 204 shown in FIG. Thereafter, after the update of the operation result storage unit 104 in step S718 and the update of the change log storage unit 106 in step S720, the process returns to step S740, and a new URL is selected as a determination target.

  Upon receiving a request from the administrator of the RPA system 2 via the user terminal 8, the display control unit 122 displays a list of the execution states of the operations held in the operation content holding unit 102 and the operation result holding unit 104. A management screen 220 is generated and transmitted to the user terminal 8 via the network 6. The user terminal 8 displays the received RPA execution management screen 220 on the display 100.

  FIG. 12 is a representative screen diagram of the RPA execution management screen 220. The RPA execution management screen 220 includes an operation ID, an execution terminal, an operation target, and a repetition setting held in the operation content holding unit 102, and a previous execution time, a previous execution result, a change presence / absence, Dates are displayed in association with a table. The RPA execution management screen 220 includes, for each operation ID, a terminal that executes the operation specified by the operation ID, a URL of a web page to be operated by the operation specified by the operation ID, a setting for repeating the operation, The latest execution result of the operation is displayed in association with the result of the determination of the presence or absence of the change in the change determination unit 118 for the web page and the date.

  When detecting a press on any of the cells with or without the change, the display control unit 122 generates a screen similar to the change detail screen 204 shown in FIG. When detecting a press on any of the operation target cells, the display control unit 122 acquires the web page if the corresponding operation target is a web page and causes the display 100 to display the web page. If there is, start the software. When detecting a press on any of the cells of the repetition setting, the display control unit 122 causes the display 100 to display a screen (not shown) for performing the repetition setting of the corresponding operation. When detecting a press on any of the cells of the previous execution time or any of the cells of the previous execution result, the display control unit 122 acquires a log of the corresponding operation from the operation result holding unit 104 and causes the display 100 to display the log.

  When the sort / filtering unit 126 detects that the top row “pressed / unchanged” in the header cell 222 is pressed, the information displayed on the RPA execution management screen 220 is classified into “changed” and “unchanged”. Sort. When the sort / filtering unit 126 detects the press on the heading cell 224 of “last execution result” in the top row, the information displayed on the RPA execution management screen 220 is sorted into “normal” and “error”. I do. When the user presses the heading cell 222 of “presence / absence” and the heading cell 224 of “previous execution result”, the cell is divided into “changed” and “unchanged”, and “changed” is “normal”. , "Error". As a result, from the top, “changed” and “error” operations, “changed” and “normal” operations, “unchanged” and “error” operations, “unchanged” and “normal” operations Are arranged in this order.

  The sort / filtering unit 126 sorts information displayed on the RPA execution management screen 220 for each operation target site (WWW server level, page level). The sort / filtering unit 126 sorts the information displayed on the RPA execution management screen 220 according to the operation target when detecting the press on the “operation target” heading cell 226 in the top row. For example, the sort / filtering unit 126 reconfigures the RPA execution management screen 220 so that operations having the same URL as an operation target are displayed on consecutive lines.

  When an update is performed at a site, a change or error similarly occurs in an operation that targets the update. Therefore, by performing the above sorting, it is possible to collectively deal with the failures. This contributes to improved user convenience.

  Note that the sort / filtering unit 126 may perform filtering instead of or in addition to sorting the information displayed on the RPA execution management screen 220. In this case, entries other than the entry that matches the key specified by the user are hidden. For example, when the user designates a desired URL as an operation target key, the sort / filtering unit 126 hides an entry of an operation other than the operation having the URL as an operation target on the RPA execution management screen 220.

  In the above embodiment, examples of the holding unit are a hard disk and a semiconductor memory. Further, based on the description in this specification, each unit is constituted by a CPU (not shown), a module of an installed application program, a module of a system program, and a semiconductor memory for temporarily storing the contents of data read from a hard disk. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art referred to herein that this can be achieved.

  According to the RPA server 4 according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the web page that is the target of the automatic operation in the RPA has been changed, and the determination result is notified to the user. Therefore, the user can appropriately cope with such a change, such as rewriting the operation content according to the change of the operation target web page.

  Further, in the RPA server 4 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to capture a change before an error caused by the change occurs. Therefore, the user can operate the RPA more smoothly as compared to a case where the cause of the error is searched for and dealt with after the occurrence of the error.

  Further, even when an error caused by the change occurs, the RPA server 4 according to the present embodiment can identify the change causing the error and notify the user via the change detail screen 204. Therefore, a quicker and more efficient failure response is possible.

  The configuration and operation of the RPA server 4 according to the embodiment have been described. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

  In the embodiment, a network resource such as a web page is mainly used as a resource. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a non-network resource such as an application program (software) installed in the user terminal 8 may be used. . The operation content storage unit 102 in FIG. 4, the operation result storage unit 104 in FIG. 5, the change log storage unit 106 in FIG. 6, and the RPA execution management screen 220 in FIG. The exe file is listed.

  For example, if the UI or the like is changed by updating the application program targeted for the RPA, but the user does not notice it, an error occurs when the next automatic operation is executed as it is. The user is forced to respond to the failure without knowing the cause. On the other hand, if the RPA server 4 is used, the RPA server 4 notifies the user of the change, so that the user can be notified of the changed portion that caused the error, or the change can be performed before the error occurs. Can be encouraged.

  2 RPA system, 4 RPA server, 6 network, 8 user terminal, 10 operation execution server.

Claims (10)

Acquisition means for acquiring resources;
An operation unit for automatically performing a predetermined operation corresponding to the resource with respect to the acquired resource, or an apparatus connected to the apparatus via a network,
An apparatus comprising: a determination unit configured to determine whether a resource corresponding to a predetermined operation has been changed from a previous resource. Resources are web pages,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines whether an operable object included in a web page corresponding to a predetermined operation has been changed from a corresponding object included in the previous web page. . Resources are web pages,
The determination unit determines whether an object specified as a target of the predetermined operation among objects included in the web page corresponding to the predetermined operation has been changed from a corresponding object included in the previous web page. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the operation is performed.   The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a notification unit configured to notify a user of an object determined to have been changed by the determination unit.   The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the notifying unit displays the object before the change and the object after the change on a display in a comparable manner.   6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit performs the determination when the automatic execution of the predetermined operation in the operation unit has failed, and does not perform the determination when the automatic execution has not failed. An apparatus according to claim 1.   The apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an emphasis unit that emphasizes a portion related to the execution failure in a script or a flowchart indicating the predetermined operation when the automatic execution of the predetermined operation in the operation unit fails.   Display control means for displaying, on a display, a screen for displaying, in association with each predetermined operation, information capable of specifying a resource to be a target of the predetermined operation, and a result of the judgment by the judgment means for the resource; The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:   The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising: means for sorting or filtering information displayed on the screen by resource or group of resources. A function to determine whether the web page operated by robotic process automation has been changed from the previous one,
A computer program for causing a computer to implement a function of notifying a user of the presence / absence of a change and / or a changed portion or both.

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