Creating workflows

The procedure describes the creation of a simple workflow.

Requirements

• You must be granted user permissions which allow access to the Automation module.
• If a workflow uses nodes that rely on customer activity on the website (for example page.visit, product.buy, and so on), you must implement a tracking code into the website.
• If the workflow uses nodes that rely on sending emails, text messages, pushes or web pushes, the respective accounts for sending these must be configured in the Synerise system.

Basic information

3. Workflow and path are terms you can encounter in the documentation on Automation. Both are used in the context of a single customer.
   • A workflow is the whole automation process that consists of nodes connected in a specific order.
   • A path is the progression from the starting point to other steps. Each time a customer performs an action that triggers a workflow when the workflow is already triggered, the system records it as a path of that particular workflow. If a customer finishes one path within a workflow (which means, they go from the initial to the final node in the workflow), the workflow can be restarted if triggered again.
4. A node is one of the elements a workflow is built with. It can be a condition such as the Profile Filter, an action such as the Send Email, and so on.
5. A workflow is linear and it always moves in one direction.
6. Action nodes are processed on the basis of a fire and forget method. It means that in a situation where the process consists of a trigger, condition, action (for example, Send Email), and a finalizing End node, the workflow is finished when email sending is launched. The completion of the workflow isn’t conditioned upon the completion of sending emails.

Creating a standard workflow

1. Go to Automation > Workflows > New workflow.
2. On the dashboard, click the icon.
3. On the Triggers pop-up, double-click any trigger node.
   Result: The chosen node appears on the automation process dashboard.
4. To edit the settings of the node click the icon.
   Result: A pop-up is shown.
5. On the pop-up, define the settings of the trigger.
6. To inform other users about the purpose of the node, you can write a short description. In the header of the pop-up, click the pencil icon and enter the text.
7. Confirm the settings by clicking Apply.
8. To select the further elements of the workflow, click the plus button on the trigger node. You have three types of nodes to choose from:
   • Flow - Settings that concern the connections between the nodes.
   • Conditions - Nodes in the workflow that allow you to narrow the group of customers the workflow is directed to.
   • Actions - Nodes which define the kind of action to be executed as a response to the fulfilled conditions.
9. When you choose the next node, adjust its settings by clicking the pencil icon.
10. Place at least one End node in the workflow. Otherwise, you won’t be able to save it.
11. Define a limit on the number of workflows that a customer can launch within a specific time range, by clicking Set capping in the upper-right corner.
    1. In the Limit field, enter the number of times the automation process can be triggered.
    2. In the Time field, enter the number.
    3. From the dropdown list, select the time unit.
    4. Confirm the settings by clicking Apply.
12. Saving the automation:
    • If you want to save it as a draft, click Save.
    • If you want to save and activate it, click Save & Run.
      Important: If your automation includes any communication nodes (send email/SMS/mobile push/webpush), a communication is created for each node. The communication is named after the template that was used and the author is Automation. The UUID of the communication is available in the details of the node.
      DO NOT remove communications created for nodes. Removing such a communication breaks the node.