Process Automation - SalesForce Workflow Rule

• Use Process Builder rather than Workflow, if possible.
• A workflow rule is the main container for a set of workflow instructions. These instructions can always be summed up in an if/then statement.
• Workflow rule example: If an account is created or updated and it’s located in Texas, you want Salesforce to automatically perform certain actions. Here’s how that if-statement breaks down into workflow rule criteria.
• An account (object)
• is created or updated (evaluation criteria) and
• is located in Texas (rule criteria)

• Every workflow rule is directly associated with one and only one object.

• Action:
• Immediate actions
• Time-dependent actions (before or after)
• If you selected “created or edited” for your evaluation criteria, you can’t add time-dependent actions. You can monitor and cancel pending time-dependent actions from Time-Based Workflow in Setup.
• Time trigger:
• trigger action before or after
• Now = Rule Trigger Date (e.g. 7 days from now = 7 days after rule trigger date.
• Workflow Action can be saved & reused:
• Click Add Workflow Action | Select Existing Action.

What is Workflow?
Workflow automates the following types of actions based on your organization's processes:

• 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.

For example, workflow can:

• Assign follow-up tasks to a support rep one week after a case is updated.
• Send sales management an email alert when a sales rep qualifies a large deal.
• Change the Owner field on a contract three days before it expires.
• Trigger an outbound API message to an external HR system to initiate the reimbursement process for an approved expense report.

Each workflow rule consists of:

• Criteria that cause the workflow rule to run.
• Immediate actions that execute when a record matches the criteria. For example, Salesforce can automatically send an email that notifies the account team when a new high-value opportunity is created.
• Time-dependent actions that queue when a record matches the criteria, and execute according to time triggers. For example, Salesforce can automatically send an email reminder to the account team if a high-value opportunity is still open ten days before the close date.

Process Automation

• SF provides 4 automation tools:
• Workflow
• Process Builder
• Visual Workflow – collect info
• Approvals
• The only thing you can do with workflow that you can’t do with processes is send outbound messages without code.
• Cloud Flow Designer – for more complex workflow logics.
• Can reorder criteria, but not action. Need to delete & recreate action to reorder.
• Scheduled action – only if process starts with creating a record.
• Automated process consist of:
• Criteria
• Actions – Immediate or scheduled

Process Builder

• 
• Click Advanced and select Yes (6).When you select this option, the process ignores record changes that aren’t relevant to your defined criteria. For example, if a user edits the record by adding a description, the process won’t execute the associated actions. Note: This setting isn’t available if:
  
• Your process starts only when a record is created.
  
• Your process starts when a record is created or edited and the criteria node doesn’t evaluate any criteria.
  
• The criteria node evaluates a formula, but the formula doesn’t include a reference to the record that started the process.
  
• Your process uses the Is changed operator in a filter condition.