In an earlier article we discussed properly modeling your flows to mirror how you actually conduct business (as opposed to your ideal business practices). But, you can take this concept too far—adding numerous steps, branches, and loops—to cover every possible scenario that might exist. As a result, your flows become too complicated and hard to manage.

Sometimes, we can get so focused on automating that we don’t pay attention to the cost of automation or the resulting benefit. Ask yourself whether there is truly any benefit in adding more and more branches to your flows.

For example, our last article discussed the auto-decision step as it relates to address-change flows when people moved in and out of state. But if, in reality, your HR/Benefits/Payroll managers need to review the action regardless of whether the person moves to Delaware or Pennsylvania, why bother making new flow branches? Just sent it to the manager. (And maybe highlight that it does involve a state change.)

The principle, KISS (Keep It Simple, Snuffleupagus) applies to most things, including workflow!

Don’t miss our next article, Tailor Email Notifications with Relevant Information.

Marco Padovani
Senior Development Manager | PDS
mpadovani@pdssoftware.com