Salesforce has announced that they are phasing out two popular tools—Process Builder and Workflow Rules—and focusing on another tool known as Flow.
The reasoning for paring down their available tools is an attempt to streamline services. There is a lot of overlap between the Process Builder, Workflow Rules, and Flow. So, in order to simplify their offerings, Salesforce has started a gradual phasing out of Process Builder and Workflow Rules.
This won’t happen all at once, so there’s no need to panic if you are a current user of these two tools. Salesforce CRM users rely on automation tools to reduce the number of manual touchpoints for team members, and these tools have been helpful in accomplishing this.
The hope is that Salesforce Flow will further streamline these processes by bringing them all into a singular location instead of spreading out the settings across three separate tools.
However, as with many functions within Salesforce, there are some unintended consequences of this shift that actually increase complexity and introduce data security risks.
We thought we’d look into the realistic implications of moving to Salesforce Flow by examining these essential aspects:
Salesforce Process Builder vs. Flow vs. Workflow Rules
Workflow Rules
This tool automates functions that were previously performed manually. Rules can be implemented to trigger an intended action once the identified criteria are met for processes such as updating fields and creating tasks.
Process Builder
This also automates many tedious tasks in your Salesforce CRM such as sending emails, assigning tasks, and updating records. Process Builder automates these business processes while also providing graphical representations as it’s built.
Flow
Salesforce Flows can be configured to collect specified data and perform actions. These processes are split into two groups: Screen flows are used for business processes that collect data. Auto-launched flows are used for internal processes that result from a user clicking a button or changing records in data sets.
If you’re excited to get the process of jumping into Salesforce Flows started, here’s a Salesforce Trailhead module where you can learn the basics of the flow builder.
What Does This Shift Mean?
Salesforce users currently utilizing Process Builder and/or Workflow Rules will need to migrate these processes into Flows. There are various tools that can help with this, including one directly from Salesforce themselves.
This won’t need to happen all at once. There will be a lengthy lead time until Process Builder and Workflow Rules will be discontinued.
Workflow Rules should get your attention first, as they will be shut down before the Process Builder. A tool that migrates these rules to Flow will be introduced this summer and the ability to create new rules will be turned off later this year.
The Process Builder migration tool will be introduced early next year and the ability to create new Process Builder functions will be turned off in the spring of 2023.
But even though the transition won’t be happen immediately, it’s important to get everything in order beforehand so you aren’t scrambling to get everything together and creating problems for yourself.
How Will This Impact My Development Environment?
We know that metadata exists behind every process and record within our Salesforce environments. New data relationships and functions continually increases the complexity of your Salesforce metadata which makes it more difficult to properly maintain.
Corrupted or mishandled metadata can lead to failed functionality, exposure of sensitive data or records, and the creation of potential data security vulnerabilities.
Flows can be deployed into your version control systems. This saves a lot of time for configurations but can create issues if the metadata is not properly validated. Developers need to validate Flow metadata before working within their version control environments to avoid further complicating issues resulting from tangled metadata.
How Does AutoRABIT Uncomplicate This Mess?
Increasing metadata complexity is an inevitable result of utilizing Salesforce Flows. As we discussed, this can lead to a myriad of issues. The good news is that AutoRABIT provides a series of automated DevSecOps tools, that can help avoid these negative outcomes so you can see the greatest potential benefits from utilizing Flows.
ARM
Deployment automation is essential for validating proper coding structures and functionality. Complex metadata can lead to improperly linked fields or incorrect auto-fills. Automated Release Management (ARM) tools such as CI/CD and metadata mastery ensure the proper handling of this essential metadata.
CodeScan
Static code analysis is an essential aspect of a complete DevSecOps strategy. CodeScan can be used to analyze the metadata associated with a Flow as it’s introduced to your version control environments to ensure the metadata quality has not been compromised. Not only does this avoid misfires in your DevSecOps project, but it also offers support for a data security use case.
Vault
A comprehensive data backup and recovery tool is non-negotiable when working with Salesforce Flows. There are simply too many potential sources of data loss to risk leaving yourself unprotected. The metadata contingencies that exist in the background of Salesforce Flows need to be consistent and this is only possible with a current backup snapshot and the means of restoring it after an outage.
The switch from Salesforce Process Builder and Workflow Rules to Flows reduces confusion over which tools to use. However, it can also make it much more difficult to properly manage the ever-growing complexity of your Salesforce metadata. Automated DevSecOps tools are essential to ensuring proper functionality and avoiding costly mistakes.
