Flow Building Framework

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
— Albert Einstein

What is the simplest set of principles for building Salesforce flows?

I was brain storming this week and wanted to come up with an easy system that a beginner could quickly memorize.

Here's where I landed: FRAME your flows (if you're a beginner).

F - first, avoid flows entirely

R -  reverse engineer what you want the flow to do

A - add checkpoints

M - make your flow easy to change

E - evaluate: who does this help?

If you're a beginner, FRAME provides a simple structure to help you get started and build effective flows.

Let's take this letter by letter.

F - first, avoid flows entirely

The easiest flow to build is the one that doesn't exist.

This cue is to prevent bad effects from "man with a hammer" syndrome.

It's meant to encourage routinely exploring configuration options like quick actions as solutions before diving into automation.

Now, automation exists for a reason, and if you think flows are the solution you need, then...

R -  reverse engineer what you want the flow to do

Begin with the end in mind.

Define the ideal outcome of the flow.

This flow creates a new case when an opportunity is closed won.

This flow guides a user to create a new contact with an email and phone number. It should always be available at the bottom of the screen.

The process of defining what the flow should do guides you on what kind of flow to build.

It also gives you a blueprint for what elements you'll need on the canvas.

Creating a case? Use the create element.

Need information a related contact? Use a get element.

Fires when an opportunity is closed won? Add that to the start criteria.

Once you've thought through the flow backwards, then...

A - add checkpoints

You've listed four or five things you want your flow to do.

Now, pick which one should be first.

Next, pick which one should be last.

Then, try to sequence the other steps in between.  

Each of these items is now a "checkpoint".

It can be daunting building an entire flow start to finish when you're still learning.

Breaking the steps down into smaller, more manageable, pieces helps you build momentum.

Get to the first checkpoint, save your work, and then test how the flow works so far.

Did you configure your start criteria and save the flow? Nice! First small win.

Did the flow successfully go from the start criteria to the get element right afterwards? Awesome! Second small win.

Keep stacking small wins, one at each checkpoint, and soon enough the flow is done.

Once your flow is built, double check if it's...

M - make your flow easy to change

Good software architecture is easy to change (because the business always changes its mind).

Therefore, well designed flows are easy to change too.

We follow this philosophy by: 

• Naming elements well
• Adding descriptions to elements
• Keeping flows small 
• Building each flow with a single responsibility

This reduces long-term maintenance, and makes your life easier from the get go. With that done, let's...

E - evaluate: who does this help?

All flows are built to automate or simplify something.

By extension, they should make someone's life easier in some way.

Flows are fun, but we have to remember they're meant to help specific people do specific things.

We must double check our flow simplifies and helps someone - even if it's only one person.

If we've built a flow and it doesn't help anyone at all, let's go back to the drawing board and find a way to make sure our flow fulfills its purpose of being useful to someone.

And that's it! If you're a beginner, remember to FRAME your flows and you'll always be in good shape.

Best,

Nick