Workflow / Process Automation, 8%

Workflow / Process Automation Introduction

• Topics available under Setup > Process Automation > Workflow Actions, Setup > Process Automation > Workflow Rules

Creating Workflow Rules

• Workflow Rules have fallen out of favor, replaced by Process Builder, the next iteration
  • Workflow rules were the backbone of process automation
  • Four types of actions:
    • Tasks—Assign a new task to a user, role, or record owner.
    • Email Alerts—Send an email to one or more recipients you specify.
    • Field Updates—Update the value of a field on a record.
    • Outbound Messages—Send a secure, configurable API message (in XML format) to a designated listener.
• First question: when to fire?
  • Record created,
  • Record created or edited,
  • Record created or edited to meet criteria

Creating Immediate Workflow Actions

• An example workflow action: reassign the account owner to be a specific user if the Billing State/Province is TN (Tennessee)

Creating Time-Based Workflow Actions

• Can set up new actions that trigger a specified time interval after or before the Rule Trigger Date, Account Created Date, Last Login for the Current User, etc.

Process Automation Settings

• Available via: Setup > Process Automation > Process Automation Settings. Includes various settings like Enable email approval response

Time-Based Workflow Queue

• This special queue is available via: Settings > Environments > Monitoring > Time-Based Workflow, or by searching “time” in the Quick Find

Working With and Closing Tasks

• Tasks appear as popups on users' screens as well as Notifications (bell icon)

Creating Email Templates

• Both “Classic” and “Lightning” email templates are available
• Letterheads include headers, footers, dividing lines, can include logos, etc
• Templates can be set up to include a text-only version. These are important to set up since some users will turn off HTML in their email client, so they will only see the text version.

Creating Email Alerts

• From email alert can be specified as the current user.

Creating Outbound Messages

• Outbound Messages are SOAP transactions that Salesforce automatically sends to external systems when triggered, as opposed to REST.
• MW used the putsreq.com website to test this functionality - site allows you record HTTP responses and fake responses. The test failed, so possible putsreq cannot be configured correctly to work with Salesforce.
• You can send outbound messages through workflow rules, and the intention of the functionality is to be able to send messages from Salesforce into another system through the SOAP API.
  • Can monitor the output via: Setup > Quick Find > “Outbound” > Outbound Messages

Approval Processes

• Access Approval Process setup via: Setup > Quick Find > “approvals” > Approval Processes
• Per MW, Approval Processes are complex and only be attempted after completing Salesforce’s recommended steps:
  • Help Article
  • Approvals Checklist
• Approvals are intended to be used to send records for approvals
• Approvals tend to heavily leverage email templates and email sending
• Two wizards are included and there are guidelines available to help choose the right one for a given use case

Reassigning an Approval Process

• Users can reassign an approval step that was assigned to them to another user

Creating a Process Using the Process Builder

• Available via: Setup > Quick Find > “process” > Process Builder
• You can do more with Process Builder than Workflow Rules
  • Specifically, can do levels of decision branching in Process Builder that isn’t possible with Workflow Rules.
    • IE: If condition 1 is True, do X
    • If condition 1 is False and condition 2 is True, do Y
    • If condition 1 is False and condition 2 is False, do Z
  • Process Builder has more action options: call Apex classes, launch flows, post to chatter, launch other process builders, launch quick actions
  • Process Builder can create records for more or less any object, not just Tasks (like Workflow Rules)

One Process Per Object Design Pattern

• One Process Per Object is a design pattern that is emerging in Salesforce and becoming popular
  • Analogous to the One Trigger per Object best practice that emerged so developers can control the order of events
• Organizations are moving away from Workflow Rules and to Process Builder because a single Process Builder can include the actions from many Workflow Rules - one of the problems with workflow rules is that there can be many per object

Editing a Process

• Need to clone existing processes in order to edit them - this will result in either a new version or a new process entirely
  • When creating a new version, the changes are commonly logged in the description field for the new version. For example, “Time-based action added”

Trust.Salesforce.com

• Go to trust.salesforce.com to check whether Salesforce servers are down
  • Has links to status.salesforce.com where you can search for specific instance URLs (resourceful-koala-v0vrpy-dev-ed.my.salesforce.com, for an example Trailhead org) and all the available services

Creating Flows with the Flow Builder

• Access via: Setup > Quick Find > “flows” > Flows
• Flow Builder has replaced Cloud Flow Designer
• If you need to Delete a record, can use either Flows or triggers
• Flows are helpful if you want to create a wizard-based, multiple screen environment for users to click through
• May need to “Enable Lightning runtime for flows” under Setup > Process Automation Settings

Installing Flows via the AppExchange

• Flows can be downloaded from the AppExchange. MW included this example from Salesforce Labs: Flows Samples Pack, Lightning Flows Sample Pack
• Far easier to “Install for All Users” new packages, then remove access, than to “Install for Admins Only,” and then grant access
• Can only delete records from a Flow

Which Automation Tool to Use

• Which Automation Tool do I Use help article
  • Included table is very helpful and simple
• In order of complexity: Workflow Rules < Process Builder < Flows

Einstein Next Best Actions

• Not on the exam at time of MW recording
• Use action strategies to combine insights and business rules and create a stream of recommended actions and offers for your users.
• Einstein Next Best Action Trailhead Module