Table of Content
Since Salesforce announced the retirement of Workflow Rules and Process Builder in 2022, organizations have been tasked with migrating their automations to Flow.
This blog reviews the following topics:
- Salesforce Flow – Functionality and Benefits
- The latest developments in Flow
- Handling the migration process for organizations of different sizes
- The role of Panaya ForeSight in managing a successful Flow migration project
What is Salesforce Flow?
Salesforce Flow is a visual workflow tool that allows users to create complex automations without writing any code. Flows can be used to automate a wide variety of tasks, such as:
- Sending emails
- Creating records
- Updating records
- Launching approvals
Flows are made up of a series of steps, each of which can be a simple action or a complex decision tree. It encompasses a wide range of features and capabilities that surpass the limitations of Workflow Rules and Process Builder:
- Flexibility: Flows can be used to automate a wider variety of tasks than Workflow Rules and Process Builder.
- Efficiency: Flows can be more efficient than Workflow Rules and Process Builder, as they can be optimized for performance.
- Functionality: Flow offers a wide range of features that are not available in other legacy tools. It is the only declarative tool that can handle multiple records at once, and it also supports looping. This makes it a versatile and efficient tool for automating tasks and building complex workflows.
- Integration with other Salesforce features: Flows can be integrated with other Salesforce features, such as Einstein Vision and Einstein Bots.
Although your existing Workflow Rules and Process Builders will remain functional, the ability to create new automations using these tools will be phased out by the end of 2023, making migration an unavoidable step.
Salesforce Flow Latest Developments
In the latest Salesforce release (Summer ’23), Salesforce Flow underwent a series of enhancements and feature additions, marking a significant step in its journey to fully replace Workflow Rules and Process Builder. Process Builder will no longer allow new processes to be created, pushing users to migrate to Salesforce Flow for all their declarative automation needs.
The remarkable improvements that were introduced during this period includes UI changes to make Flow more user-friendly, a compact layout that allows users to see more on the Flow Canvas, Consolidations of Flow and Flow Orchestration Permissions, and simplified management of these permissions for admins.
The release also includes a more Powerful ‘Send Email Action‘enabling users to log the emails sent on the specified record’s timelines, as well as the much-anticipated release of Enhanced HTTP Callout which allows users to initiate calls to external web services.
The ‘Choice Lookup’ component is generally available, enabling users to effortlessly navigate through a selection of options. This becomes particularly beneficial when dealing with expansive sets of choices, as it lets users swiftly search for their desired option, eliminating the need to scroll through a massive list.
With all the new features and improvements introduced in Salesforce Flow, it is simply impossible to ignore the advantages of migrating to Salesforce Flow. In other words, if you want to fully leverage the power of Salesforce’s automation tools, moving to Flow isn’t just a good idea – it’s a necessity.
Handling the migration process for organizations of different sizes
The migration process to Salesforce Flow can differ for organizations of different sizes. Smaller organizations can often take advantage of Salesforce’s migration tools, which provide a relatively straightforward transition from their existing automations to Flow. These tools help streamline the migration process and minimize disruption.
On the other hand, larger organizations with numerous complex automations may need to approach the migration differently. As they migrate to Flow, it is an opportunity for them to revisit their automations and optimize them. This could involve consolidating multiple automations into a single Flow where possible, simplifying and streamlining processes. By doing so, larger organizations can improve efficiency and maintain a cleaner architecture.
It is also crucial for larger organizations to thoroughly test the new automations after the migration. With more complex processes and potentially interconnected workflows, testing becomes crucial to ensure smooth functionality and identify any areas that need adjustments.
In summary, while smaller organizations can leverage Salesforce migration tools, larger organizations should see the migration as an opportunity to optimize and enhance their automations, ensuring a more streamlined and efficient Salesforce org. Thorough testing is essential for both small and large organizations to ensure the successful implementation of the new automations in Salesforce Flow.
This may sound like a big project, but there are tools, like Panaya ForeSight that can make the migration process much smoother and more effective.
How Panaya ForeSight can help
Panaya ForeSight is a Change Intelligence platform that can help you to manage your Salesforce Flow migration project end-to-end. ForeSight provides a 360-degree view of the impact of change, allowing you to identify and mitigate risks before they occur. As you start your migration journey, Panaya ForeSight becomes a crucial tool at several key stages.
Analyzing Your Automations
Just like every other journey, the path to a successful migration begins with thorough planning. Gain a deep comprehension of your business objectives and a complete understanding of your existing automation landscape.
With Panaya ForeSight, you gain:
- Instant visibility into your entire automation landscape
- A comprehensive understanding of each automation’s outcomes
- Effortless optimization of your future architecture.
- Up-to-date and easily accessible documentation of your automations.
Identifying and Eliminating Inactive Processes
During the migration process, it’s essential to evaluate your existing processes and see whether they are still needed.
Panaya ForeSight lets you identify inactive processes with a click of a button and enables you to understand the impact of each automation before deletion or recreation. This ensures that when you clean up your org and remove technical debt, critical functionality remains intact, and no disruptions are caused to the business.
Remember, even after completing the migration, periodic cleansing of inactive automations is highly recommended. Panaya ForeSight empowers you to generate a report on inactive components, streamlining the process and minimizing risk as you rid your org of technical debt.
Grouping Automations by Objects
Once inactive components have been removed, map and categorize the remaining automations by objects, whether they standard or custom. This categorization provides a clear overview of all processes, including types, conditions, unique references to record types or profile names, and fields updated by each process.
Through this analysis, you can assess the load of object automations and identify those that can be removed or optimized with Flow. Make sure you document all necessary information for creating new Flows, such as object, criteria, and updated fields. Exporting a list of critical automations filtered by object, type, or updated/referenced fields is also an available option.
User Stories and Testing
With the new Flows created, it’s time to launch the business process execution and conduct functional tests.
At this stage documentation becomes even more critical. Proper documentation will not only help you understand the rationale behind each process but also supports audits, training, and onboarding of new team members. Panaya ForeSight’s Test Management Module automatically attaches evidence to user stories or features, allowing accurate documentation of every step within the new business process.
Flow opens up a world of possibilities for users in any Salesforce instance to implement custom logic and build powerful business systems. It empowers admins with capabilities similar to developers. Although migrating to Flow may appear like a daunting task at first, with the right tools it is actually a great opportunity to not only embrace Salesforce’s top-notch technology, but also to optimize and improve your org. By following the four key steps (map, clean, implement, and test), your migration to Flow can be a smoother journey. And with the assistance of Panaya ForeSight, this transition becomes even more seamless.
Don’t miss the chance to book a product demo and discover how Panaya ForeSight can make your migration to Flow an easier and friendlier experience.
FAQs
Salesforce Flow is an automation tool provided by Salesforce that allows administrators and developers to automate complex, multi-step business processes. It uses a visual interface, known as Flow Builder, where users can drag and drop different elements to design and build processes.
Salesforce offers four types of Flows: Screen Flows, Auto-Launched Flows, Scheduled Flows, and Record-Triggered Flows. Screen Flows are interactive and can guide users through a series of screens to complete a process. Auto-Launched Flows are designed to run in the background without user interaction. Scheduled Flows are set to run at specific times, and Record-Triggered Flows are initiated when a record is created or updated.
The benefit of using Flow in Salesforce is that it enables automation of complex business processes, enhances user experience with custom screens, and reduces the need for code, thereby saving time and resources.
Salesforce has planned a phased transition for retiring Workflow Rules and Process Builders. The first phase started with the Winter ’23 release, during which the capability to create new Workflow Rules was turned off. In the upcoming Summer ’23 release, the ability to create new processes in Process Builder will be disabled. Finally, in the last phase, both Workflow Rules and Process Builders will be completely discontinued, and automation on the platform will be carried out using Flow.
This gradual approach aims to provide administrators with sufficient time to transition to Flow while minimizing the required effort for the migration process.