DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept.
of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
LAB # 08
Introduction to Process Automation
Objective:
Familiarize students with the fundamentals of process automation, including triggers, actions,
conditions, and workflows.
Introduce students to no-code/low-code platforms like Make.com and their applications in
automating workflows.
Demonstrate the use of automation to streamline processes Data collection and organization.
Tools
1. Windows 11 (Operating System)
2. General Automation Tool: Make.com
Theory:
Process automation refers to the use of technology to perform repetitive tasks or processes in
a business or system with minimal human intervention. The goal is to increase efficiency,
accuracy, and reliability while reducing costs and time. Process automation streamlines a
system by removing human inputs, which decreases errors, increases speed of delivery, boosts
quality, minimizes costs, and simplifies the business process. It incorporates software tools,
people, and processes to create a completely automated workflow. Tools and Platforms for
process Automation: Make.com, Zapier, Monday.com, Azure Logic Apps etc.
There are multiple benefits of Process Automation in various fields including:
1. Industry: Streamlines production lines using robotics and IoT.
2. Academia: Automates grading, attendance tracking, and research data collection.
3. Healthcare: Manages patient data, appointment scheduling, and diagnostic support.
4. Finance: Processes transactions, monitors compliance, and generates reports.
Process Automation Life Cycle
1. Identify: Recognize repetitive tasks suitable for automation.
2. Plan: Define objectives, select tools, and design workflows.
3. Build: Create and configure automation workflows.
4. Test: Validate the automation process using real or test data.
5. Deploy: Implement the automation in the live environment.
6. Monitor and Optimize: Regularly track performance and refine workflows for
improvements.
Make.com Overview: Make.com (formerly known as Integromat) is a powerful no-code/low-
code automation platform that allows users to connect apps and automate workflows, known
as "scenarios." It provides a visual drag-and-drop interface to streamline processes by linking
different applications and triggering actions based on specific events. Drag-and-drop interface
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
for creating automation workflows. Easily see and configure the connections between apps.
Pre-built templates for common use cases to save time. For further reading go through this
link: https://www.make.com/en/help/home
Components of Make.com
Scenario: A workflow or automation sequence created by connecting apps and defining
actions.
Modules: Building blocks of a scenario, representing actions (e.g., "Send an email," "Create a
record").
Trigger: The starting point of a scenario, activated by an event (e.g., "New row in Google
Sheets").
Action: The task performed by Make.com in response to a trigger (e.g., "Send a notification on
Slack").
Filter: Conditions to control whether a specific module runs (e.g., "If status is 'Pending,' send
an email").
Router: Allows branching to different paths within a scenario based on conditions.
Iterator: Breaks down an array of items into individual elements for processing.
Data Stores: Temporary or persistent storage for data that can be reused across scenarios.
In-Lab Task 1
Add new incoming emails to a Google Sheet as a new row
Step 1: Creating a Scenario: Choose your apps: Go to Scenarios > Create a new scenario.
Click the plus icon. A list of apps appears. In the search field, search for the app you want to
use. In this case, search for Outlook.
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
Step 2: Build your scenario
Add Outlook module
Select the folder whose emails you want to watch.
1. Add the Outlook > Watch emails module.
2. Create a connection to your email.
3. Select the folder whose emails you want to watch.
4. Select the criteria of the emails you want to watch from the dropdown menu.
5. Click OK to save.
6. A pop-up appears. Choose from when to want to start watching emails.
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
Add Google Sheets > Add a row module
1. Click Add another module. An empty module appears.
2. Search for and click the module you want. In this case, select Google Sheets > Add a row
module.
3. Create a connection to your Google account.
4. Under Choose a method, select whether you want to select your spreadsheet from the list or
manually.
5. Under Choose a Drive, select your drive.
6. In Spreadsheet ID, select your spreadsheet.
7. If your spreadsheet is in the folder, first select the folder. Then, click the plus sign to select
the specific spreadsheet in the folder.
8. Select the sheet name.
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
9. Select whether your table contains headers. Our table contains headers. In values, map the
data you want to get in your spreadsheet. If your table has headers you will see the header
names before the letter in brackets.
10. Click OK to save.
Step 3: Test your scenario: Before you activate and schedule your scenario, you should test
your scenario to check if everything is working properly. Testing your scenario is vital for seeing
how data flows through your scenario. It also helps to show if there are any errors in your scenario.
1. Click the Run once button to test your scenario.
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
2. Bubbles appear on top of the modules, which gives you information about the processed
data, or what is referred to as bundles. Click the number to display the information about
the processed bundles, including the number of operations. By clicking the individual
operations, you can see which module settings were used and which bundles were returned
by which module.
Step 4: Schedule and activate your scenario: Your scenario is almost ready to run, but it's still
inactive.
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
1. To schedule your scenarios, click on the Schedule setting.
2. Set how often you want your scenario to run.
3. Click OK to save.
4. The Spreadsheet is automatically updated.
In-Lab Task 2
Integrating Google Forms with Google sheets and email to Responder
Step 1: Set Up the Google Form
1. Go to Google Forms and create your form for internships to EE and ME students.
2. Add the required questions. (Name, Registration No:, Email, Year, Department)
3. Submit a test response to ensure the form is functioning correctly
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
Step 2: Start a New Scenario
1. In the Make.com dashboard, click Create a new scenario.
2. You’ll see a blank canvas to build your workflow.
Step 3: Add Google Forms as a Trigger
1. Click the "+" button to add a module.
2. Search for and select Google Forms.
3. Choose the Watch Responses trigger.
4. Authenticate your Google account by signing in and granting permissions.
5. Select the form ID you created earlier.
Step 4: Add Google Sheets as an Action
1. Click the "+" button to add another module.
2. Search for and select Google Sheets.
3. Choose the Add a Row action.
4. Authenticate your Google account if you haven’t already.
5. Select the Google Sheet where you want to store the responses. If the sheet doesn’t exist
yet, create it manually in Google Sheets.
Step 5: Map the Data from Google Forms to Google Sheets
1. In the Add a Row module, map the Google Form fields to the corresponding columns in
your Google Sheet:
o Click on each column field and select the appropriate data from the Google Form
response.
o For example, map "Name" from the form to the "Name" column in the sheet.
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
Step 6: Test the Integration
1. Save the scenario in Make.com.
2. Run the scenario manually by clicking the Run Once button.
3. Submit a new test response via the Google Form.
4. Check your Google Sheet to ensure the response data appears correctly.
Step 7: Activate the Scenario
1. After successful testing, click the Activate button in Make.com to enable real-time
automation.
2. Your scenario will now run automatically whenever a new Google Form response is
submitted.
Step 8: Send an email notification for each new form submission using Email.
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
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DHA SUFFA UNIVERSITY Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Introduction to Emerging Computing Technologies EE-1001| LAB
Post Lab Tasks
1. Differentiate between workflow automation, robotic process automation (RPA), and business
process automation (BPA).
2. Compare the automation capabilities of Make.com with another tool like Zapier or Microsoft Power
Automate. Which one would you choose for your needs and why?
3. Scenario: If a company receives job applications through Google Forms, how can they use automation
to filter applicants with more than 5 years of experience and notify HR? Develop scenario in make.com
and analyze the data by sending email to applicant. Document each steps you follow.
4. Scenario: Automated Weekly Report from Google Sheets. Use Case: Send a summary of Google
Sheets data to team members every Friday.
Steps:
1. Schedule a Make.com scenario to run every Friday.
2. Extract the relevant data from the Google Sheet (e.g., total sales for the week).
3. Send an email to the team with the summarized data (e.g., "This week's total sales: $5,000").
Instruction:
Attach Screenshots of each scenarios, trigger and action from make.com.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of the lab, students will be able to:
LO1: Familiarize students with the fundamentals of process automation, including triggers, actions,
conditions, and workflows.
LO2: Familiarize students to no-code/low-code platforms like Make.com and their applications in
automating workflows.
LO3: Familiarize the use of automation to streamline processes data collection and organization.
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