Automations Checklist

Essential Automation Tasks for Administrators

To deploy automated workflows across your portal, Automations must be properly configured with appropriate evaluation criteria, rule logic, and task assignments. Automations eliminate repetitive manual work by monitoring record changes and executing predefined actions, ensuring consistent process execution and timely stakeholder notifications across partner, customer, and employee communities.

Foundation Setup

☐ Understanding the Automations Module Familiarize yourself with core automation capabilities including entity-based configuration, two-tier evaluation system (Evaluation Criteria and Rule Criteria), eight available task types (Email Alert, Course Assignment, Group Member, Follow, Feed/Message, Activity, Change Security Role, Slack Message), sequential task execution, and task availability requirements based on entity capabilities. Understand how Automations integrate with Training, Journey Builder, Groups, and Mingle modules to create comprehensive workflow solutions.

☐ Reviewing Entity Capabilities Identify which entities in your portal support specific automation task types. Verify TrackFeeds settings for entities requiring Follow or Feed/Message tasks. Confirm TrackActivities settings for entities needing Activity task creation. Understand that Course Assignment tasks work only on User entity, Change Security Role tasks work only on User Journey entity, and Group Member tasks work on User and User Journey entities. Map your business processes to entity capabilities before designing Automations.

☐ Understanding Task Availability Matrix Review the complete task availability matrix to understand which automation tasks can be created for each entity type. Email Alert and Slack Message tasks are available for all entities. Course Assignment requires User entity. Group Member requires User or User Journey entities. Follow and Feed/Message require TrackFeeds capability. Activity tasks require TrackActivities capability except on Task entity itself. Change Security Role requires User Journey entity. Plan automation strategies around these constraints.

☐ Preparing Supporting Resources Create necessary supporting resources before building Automations. Develop Email Templates for automated notifications with appropriate merge fields and formatting. Publish Training courses that will be assigned automatically. Configure Collaboration Groups for automatic membership. Set up Security Roles for role-based notifications and permission changes. Establish Slack Integration if using Slack Message tasks. Having these resources ready streamlines automation configuration.

Planning Automation Workflows

☐ Identifying Automation Opportunities Analyze current manual processes to identify automation candidates. Look for repetitive notification patterns, consistent task assignments following record changes, scheduled communications triggered by status updates, and routine follow-up actions. Prioritize workflows that occur frequently, involve multiple stakeholders, require time-sensitive actions, or are prone to human error when performed manually. Document automation requirements including trigger conditions, recipient lists, and desired outcomes.

☐ Mapping Business Rules to Criteria Translate business requirements into Evaluation Criteria and Rule Criteria configurations. Determine whether Automations should trigger on record creation only, on every update, or only when updates cause records to newly meet criteria. Identify field values, status changes, date conditions, or calculated thresholds that define when automation tasks should execute. Consider whether simple field-based filters are sufficient or if formula-based criteria are required for complex business logic.

☐ Designing Task Sequences Plan the order in which automation tasks should execute when triggered. Identify task dependencies where later tasks rely on earlier task completion. Determine whether security role changes should occur before or after notifications. Decide if activity task creation should precede assignment notifications. Plan sequence numbers that reflect logical workflow progression, ensuring predictable and reliable automation behavior.

☐ Establishing Naming Conventions Develop consistent naming conventions for Automations that identify the entity, trigger condition, and primary action. Examples include "User - Created - Send Welcome Email" or "Opportunity - Stage Changed to Closed Won - Notify Team." Consistent naming helps administrators quickly locate relevant Automations, understand their purpose without opening configuration details, and maintain organized automation libraries as complexity grows.

Creating and Configuring Automations

☐ Accessing the Automations Module Navigate to Setup Home page and click Create → Automations to access the Automations Home page. Review existing Automations using list views and search functionality. Understand the Automations list showing Name, Description, Entity, and Active status. Familiarize yourself with Edit, Delete, and Clone actions available for each Automation. Verify you have Administrator permissions required to create and manage Automations.

☐ Creating New Automations Click New on the Automations Home page to begin automation creation. Select the Entity the Automation will monitor from the dropdown showing all available standard, custom, and integrated entities. Review the list of available automation tasks displayed after entity selection to confirm the entity supports your required task types. Provide a descriptive Name, optional Description, and decide whether to activate immediately or save as inactive for testing. Click Next to proceed to detailed configuration.

☐ Configuring Evaluation Criteria Select when the system should evaluate records to determine if the Automation should run. Choose "Created" for workflows triggering only on new record creation such as welcome emails or initial onboarding. Select "Created, and every time updated" for workflows that should respond to every modification regardless of prior criteria matching. Choose "Created, and any time updated which previously did not meet the criteria" for status-change workflows that should trigger when records transition into matching state but not repeatedly during continued updates while matching.

☐ Configuring Rule Criteria with Filters For straightforward business rules, select "Criteria are met" and build field-based filters. Add filter rows specifying Field, Operator, and Value combinations that define when tasks should execute. Add multiple filters using Add Filter button and control logical relationships with Filter Logic expressions such as (1 AND 2) OR 3. Test filter logic thoroughly to ensure Automations trigger only when intended, avoiding unnecessary task execution or missing legitimate trigger scenarios.

☐ Configuring Rule Criteria with Formulas For complex business rules requiring calculations, nested conditions, or organizational hierarchy checks, select "Formula evaluates to true" and build formula expressions. Use Insert Field to reference entity fields and Functions menu to access logic, date/time, math, text, and utility functions. Construct formulas that return true when automation should run and false otherwise. Validate formula syntax carefully and test with diverse data scenarios. Reference Formulas documentation for complete syntax and function details.

☐ Saving Initial Automation Configuration After configuring Evaluation Criteria and Rule Criteria, click Save to create the Automation. Leave the Active checkbox unchecked initially to save the Automation in inactive state for testing. Review the Automation Detail page showing Name, Entity, Active status, Description, Evaluation Criteria, Rule Criteria, and empty Automation Tasks section. Verify all settings before proceeding to task configuration.

Configuring Automation Tasks

☐ Adding Email Alert Tasks From the Automation Detail page, click New in the Automation Tasks section and select New Email Alert. Configure task Name, Sequence number determining execution order, and optional Description. Select the Email Template containing message content and merge fields. Specify Reply-To Address for recipient responses. Add up to 1,000 recipients using Add Recipient, selecting recipient types (User, Role, Record Owner, Predefined Emails, Formula) and email properties (To, CC, BCC). Save the task and verify it appears in the Automation Tasks list.

☐ Adding Course Assignment Tasks For User entity Automations, click New in Automation Tasks section and select New Course Assignment. Provide task Name, Sequence, and Description. Select the published Training course to assign using the Course lookup. Check Notify Learners if users should receive course assignment email notifications. Save the task. Verify the selected course is published and accessible to target users before activating the Automation.

☐ Adding Group Member Tasks For User or User Journey entity Automations, click New and select New Group Member. Configure task Name, Sequence, and Description. Select the target Collaboration Group using Group lookup. Choose Member Role (Standard or Manager) defining user permissions within the group. Configure Notification Preference (All activities or Only mentions) and Notification Frequency (On each post, Daily summary, Weekly summary, Never). Save the task and confirm the group exists and accepts members.

☐ Adding Follow Tasks For entities with TrackFeeds enabled, click New and select New Follow. Configure task Name, Sequence, and Description. Click Add Follower and select Follower type (User, Role, Record Owner, Formula). Specify the follower using lookup fields or formula expressions. Repeat to add multiple followers up to 50 per record. Save the task. Remember that Follow tasks do not execute during bulk operations affecting more than 200 records.

☐ Adding Feed/Message Tasks For entities with TrackFeeds enabled, click New and select New Feed/Message. Configure task Name, Sequence, and Description. Select the Sender who will appear as message author (must have appropriate permissions). Choose Message Type (Post on the Record, Post in a Group, Direct Message). Configure Message Visibility (Share internally or Share with anyone with access). Select target Group or recipient user as appropriate. Compose the Message content using text and @mentions. Save the task.

☐ Adding Activity Tasks For entities with TrackActivities enabled (except Task entity), click New and select New Activity Task. Configure task Name, Sequence, and Description. Select Assigned To user who will receive the task. Enter or select Subject describing the activity. Configure Due Date using date source, offset type (plus/minus), and offset value in days. Select Status (Not Started, In Progress, Completed, Waiting on someone else, Deferred) and Priority (Low, Medium, High). Add optional Comments with instructions. Save the task.

☐ Adding Change Security Role Tasks For User Journey entity Automations, click New and select Change Security Role. Configure task Name, Sequence, and Description. Select the target Security Role using the lookup field. Verify the Security Role is the same type as users' current roles (Partner-to-Partner, Customer-to-Customer, Employee-to-Employee only). Save the task. Plan sequence carefully if subsequent tasks depend on new permissions granted by role change.

☐ Adding Slack Message Tasks For Automations with Slack Integration configured, click New and select Send Slack Message. Configure task Name, Sequence, and Description. Select Slack Connection specifying workspace and sender identity. Choose Message Type (Channel or Direct Message). Select target Slack Channel or Slack User. Configure Slack Record Card including Record Heading, Record Description with merge fields, Record Card Create Fields and Update Fields, and Record Button Label. Save the task and verify Slack Integration is active.

☐ Configuring Task Sequences Review all tasks in the Automation Tasks list and verify Sequence numbers reflect desired execution order. Lower sequence numbers execute first. Ensure tasks with dependencies run in correct order (example: Change Security Role before permission-dependent notifications, Activity task creation before assignment notifications, data updates before emails referencing updated data). Edit task sequences if necessary by opening each task and modifying its Sequence number.

Testing and Activation

☐ Testing with Inactive Automations Before activating Automations, test thoroughly with inactive Automations and controlled test records. Create or update test records that should trigger automation criteria and verify that saved criteria logic accurately identifies intended records. Check that Evaluation Criteria trigger at expected times. Validate that Rule Criteria filters or formulas correctly evaluate true/false conditions. Review test results and refine criteria configuration as needed.

☐ Testing Task Execution Temporarily activate Automations for testing with carefully controlled test records in non-production environments or isolated production record sets. Verify all tasks execute in correct sequence order. Confirm Email Alert tasks send to correct recipients with proper content and merge field values. Check Course Assignment tasks enroll correct users in specified courses. Verify Group Member tasks add users to appropriate groups with correct roles. Test Follow tasks create followers as expected. Validate Feed/Message tasks post to correct locations with proper content. Confirm Activity tasks assign to correct users with accurate due dates. Verify Change Security Role tasks update user permissions appropriately. Test Slack Message tasks deliver to correct channels or users with accurate Record Card information.

☐ Validating Recipient Lists For Email Alert tasks, send test emails and verify recipients match expectations. Check that role-based recipients include all users with specified Security Roles. Confirm formula-based recipients resolve to valid email addresses. Verify To, CC, and BCC configurations maintain appropriate privacy. Test with multiple recipient types to ensure all addressing methods work correctly. Stay within 1,000-recipient limit per task.

☐ Verifying Integration Points Test Automations that integrate with other modules. For Course Assignment tasks, verify users receive course assignments in Training Module and can access assigned courses. For Group Member tasks, confirm users appear in Groups with correct roles and notification settings. For Follow tasks, verify followers receive feed notifications per their preferences. For Change Security Role tasks integrated with Journey Builder, confirm role changes occur when User Journey records meet criteria. Validate all cross-module functionality before full deployment.

☐ Activating Automations After successful testing, activate Automations by editing each Automation and checking the Active checkbox. Click Save to enable the Automation. Active Automations begin evaluating records immediately according to Evaluation Criteria. Monitor initial activations closely to ensure expected behavior and catch any configuration issues early. Keep detailed notes on activation dates and initial performance for future reference.

☐ Monitoring Initial Performance After activation, monitor Automation performance closely during initial operation period. Watch for unexpected triggering or failure to trigger when expected. Verify tasks execute completely and recipients receive notifications. Check for error patterns or permission issues preventing task execution. Collect user feedback on automation timing, content quality, and workflow effectiveness. Address issues promptly before they affect large numbers of records or users.

Ongoing Management and Optimization

☐ Regular Automation Review Schedule periodic audits of all active Automations to ensure they remain aligned with current business processes. Review automation names, descriptions, and criteria for continued relevance. Identify Automations that no longer serve business needs and deactivate or delete them. Update task configurations when email templates, courses, groups, organizational structures, or business rules change. Well-maintained Automations prevent obsolete workflows from executing and creating confusion.

☐ Performance Analysis Monitor automation execution frequency and identify Automations triggering more or less often than expected. Analyze whether criteria are too broad (triggering unnecessarily) or too narrow (missing legitimate triggers). Review recipient feedback on notification timing, content relevance, and message frequency. Adjust Evaluation Criteria, Rule Criteria, or task configurations based on performance data and user input. Optimize automation efficiency while maintaining workflow effectiveness.

☐ Handling Bulk Operations Plan for bulk data operations that may trigger multiple Automations simultaneously. Remember that Follow tasks do not execute during operations affecting more than 200 records. Consider temporarily deactivating Automations before large-scale imports, mass updates, or data migrations to prevent performance issues or inappropriate notifications. Reactivate Automations after bulk operations complete and verify they resume normal operation.

☐ Documentation and Knowledge Transfer Maintain documentation describing each Automation's purpose, trigger conditions, business justification, and implementation date. Document dependencies between Automations and other system configurations such as email templates, courses, groups, or security roles. Create knowledge transfer materials for other administrators describing automation architecture, common troubleshooting approaches, and best practices. Comprehensive documentation ensures automation consistency and facilitates team transitions.

☐ Staying Within System Limits Monitor automation configurations to ensure they remain within system limitations. Keep Email Alert task recipients below 1,000 per task. Maintain Follow task followers below 50 per record. Avoid Follow task execution during bulk operations over 200 records. Design Automations that respect Change Security Role task same-type restrictions. Plan workarounds for scenarios where system limits constrain desired workflows, such as splitting large recipient lists across multiple tasks.

Best Practices and Recommendations

Start Simple and Expand: Begin with straightforward, high-value Automations addressing clear business needs before building complex multi-task workflows. Gain administrator confidence and user trust through successful simple Automations, then progressively add sophisticated criteria logic, formula-based rules, and integrated task sequences as requirements emerge and organizational automation maturity increases.

Use Descriptive Task Names: Name individual tasks clearly within Automations to explain what each task does. Examples include "Email - Notify Partner Manager" or "Task - Schedule Follow-Up Call." Clear task names help administrators understand workflow logic when reviewing or troubleshooting Automations, especially in complex workflows with multiple tasks executing in sequence.

Test Formula Logic Thoroughly: Formula-based Rule Criteria and recipients require extensive testing with diverse data scenarios. Test formulas with null values, edge cases, different user types, and various organizational hierarchy positions. Invalid formulas prevent automation execution but may not generate clear error messages. Invest time validating formula syntax and behavior before activating formula-based Automations.

Consider Email Deliverability: When configuring Email Alert tasks, use professional reply-to addresses, clear subject lines with merge fields, and well-formatted email templates. Avoid excessive email frequency that may train users to ignore notifications. Use BCC for privacy when recipients should not see each other. Monitor email deliverability and adjust sender addresses or content if messages are filtered as spam.

Balance Automation and Human Oversight: While Automations eliminate manual work, maintain human oversight for critical decisions and approvals. Use Activity tasks to assign review actions rather than fully automating sensitive processes. Combine automated notifications with manual task assignments to ensure appropriate stakeholder involvement. Design Automations that augment rather than replace human judgment.

Plan for Maintenance: Recognize that Automations require ongoing maintenance as business processes evolve. When updating email templates, courses, groups, or security roles, remember to update dependent Automations. When retiring old processes, deactivate associated Automations promptly. Schedule regular automation audits to identify and address configuration drift before it affects operations.

Document Business Logic: Use the Description field extensively to explain why Automations exist, what business problem they solve, and any special considerations for administrators. Document filter logic reasoning, formula calculation purposes, and task sequence dependencies. Future administrators will appreciate detailed context when maintaining or troubleshooting Automations months or years after initial creation.

Troubleshooting Tips

Automation Not Triggering: If Automations do not trigger when expected, verify the Automation is active, the Evaluation Criteria match the record change pattern, and the Rule Criteria accurately identify target records. Test criteria with known matching records. Check that the entity configuration supports required task types. Verify administrators have appropriate permissions to save Automation configurations.

Tasks Not Executing: If Automations trigger but tasks do not execute, verify task senders have required permissions, recipients exist and are accessible, referenced resources (email templates, courses, groups) remain active and valid, and task configurations contain no validation errors. Check sequence numbers for logical ordering. Review system limitations affecting task execution such as follower limits or bulk operation restrictions.

Incorrect Recipients: If Email Alert or Feed/Message tasks send to wrong recipients, verify recipient type selections, role-based recipient configurations, and formula-based recipient logic. Test formulas with sample records to ensure they resolve to expected addresses. Check that To/CC/BCC configurations match privacy requirements. Validate that role membership includes intended users.

Formula Validation Errors: If formulas generate validation errors, check field reference syntax using proper merge field format, verify function names and parameter counts match Formulas documentation, ensure parentheses balance correctly, and confirm referenced fields exist on the entity. Test formulas incrementally, building complexity gradually to isolate problematic expressions.

Permission-Related Issues: If tasks fail due to permission problems, verify Email Alert senders can access email templates, Feed/Message senders can post to target feeds or groups, Activity task assignees have entity record access, Change Security Role tasks reference valid same-type roles, and Group Member tasks reference accessible groups. Review organizational security configuration affecting automation execution.

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