Is Salesforce getting rid of Workflow Rules and Process Builder?

Introduction

For the last few months, the rumours have been buzzing out, that Salesforce is discontinuing its one of the most effective automation tools; the Workflow Rule and the Process Builder together at the end of 2022 - and is it really true..?

So, the answer is Yes, it’s happening, as Salesforce is replacing its two automation tools with its new automation tool - Flow builder. Salesforce has released this tool which is more efficient and faster than the older ones. Now the Flow builder is loaded with much more advanced features and makes the Admin professionals' life easy.

If you are familiar with the Salesforce Help or Trailhead community, you may have noticed that they advise using Flow builder instead of Workflow or Process Builder.

Wait wait wait! There must be confusion and questions popping into your mind, related to this “retirement”? Why!

There must be questions like - what were the issues with the previous tool?  What will happen to the existing automation processes, do we delete them, or do we need to build them from the scratch, will it continue to run? Even as a Salesforce Administrator I was also worried about it and have all the answers to all your questions as I deep dive into this topic and researched about this and the reasons are mentioned here.

Keeping the vision of low code and no code to make it available to everyone, Salesforce has consistently recognized the value of automation and has over the years, offering a number of features. Each tool is a more improved version of the previous one, making it more flexible by just clicking a button rather than coding.

So before finally diving into your queries let’s just take a look at all the Automation rules in Salesforce.

Automation rules are broadly classified into three main categories in Salesforce:

• Workflow rules
• Process builder
• Flow builder

Don't forget to check out: Understanding Workflow Rules in Salesforce | The Developer Guide

What is the Workflow rule?

A workflow rule sets workflow actions into motion only when certain conditions are achieved. Actions can take place immediately or on specific data, according to a trigger.

There are four different action rules allowed in the workflow.

• Create a task
• Send an email alert
• Send an outbound message
• Update a record

What is a Process Builder?

Process builder is used to automating more complex business processes just by a few point-and-click actions. It provides an easy-to-understand presentation for building a process in Salesforce. It is considered as the updated version of Workflow Rules.

There are eight different action rules allowed in the process builder.

• Create a Record, creates a record by manually entering values or by using the values of related records
• Update any related/existing record
• Quick Actions
• Launch a Flow
• Send an Email
• Post to Chatter
• Submit for Approval
• Apex

Why are we Using Flow? What are the Benefits?

So, what is Flow? Flow is a structure of flowchart by collecting data and using that data to make things happen. Flow helps you automate manual business processes such as updating records fields and records automatically.

Yes, there are several advantages of using Flow builder, which is mentioned below.

• It is more efficient and runs faster than the Previous versions.
• It also has the advantage to get comfortable with governor limits, testing and debugging.
• Flow has the ability to run a record-triggered flow “before save” which was not done before.
• Reusable and repeatable functionality such as Sub-Flows.

Now, What will Happen to the Existing Automation Processes?

Your one-stop solution for low-code automation is what Flow aims to be. And because we want to devote all of our developer resources to creating fantastic new features and scaling up what we already have, we're ceasing active development on Process Builder and Workflow Rules.

Moving from previous automation tools to Flow is the best way for you to maintain and be future-ready for your business. For those of you, who have mastered Process Builder or are faced with a massive stack of process rules that have not been touched in three years, this can seem like a difficult job. We're aware that this will take time. We believe that being transparent is essential and that the best way for us to assure a smooth transition is to be upfront about our intentions and listen to what you need to make this happen.

• To deal with the migration tools that instantly change the Workflow rule into a Flow, Salesforce always comes with more improvements in their future release. As we all know that every year Salesforce provides 3 releases; (Summer, Winter, and Spring), Salesforce stops allowing users to add any newly created Workflow rules after the winter of '23, but you can still update and activate those that are currently in place or that are currently exist.
• In Spring '22, Salesforce released Flow Trigger Explorer, which directs instructions to choose the order in which record-triggered flows and orchestrations for each object should be executed. As a result, you no longer need to create elaborate processes to govern the sequence in which your triggered automation runs. With the introduction of Flow Trigger Explorer in the Summer of '22, all triggered flows connected to the object may be readily managed by simple drag-and-drop operations.

 Why Flow is One Step Ahead of Workflow and Process Builder?

• Process Builder and Time-Based Workflow Rules now use Scheduled Paths in place of Scheduled Actions. Additionally, they include some updated features, such as support for minutes.
• As a long-desired alternative for Process Builder's ability to call flows, flows can now call other sub-flows.
• Workflow Actions in Flow can now call Outbound Messages and Email Alerts.
• Control the order of execution of trigger flows and orchestration. By using an object, flow triggers exploration and the order fields in the object trigger flow as well.

How Fast Can I Get Accustomed to the Flow?

It’s recommended to start learning flow from the trailhead. Although there is a learning curve for Flow, keep in mind that the automation you created in Process Builder is, in fact, a flow. Without even realizing it, you have been creating flows all along!

There is no better way to discover Flow than to put on your work gloves and make one by yourself. Start by implementing a straightforward use case. Increase the complexity as you gain more knowledge and comfort. As you build and practice your knowledge increases.

Check out an amazing Salesforce video tutorial here: Create an Email Alert Workflow Rule | Workflow Rules in Salesforce | Salesforce Automations

Now the Adventure Begins for the Admin!

Start exploring the trails on Trailhead if you're new to Flow, to find out more. Then, begin constructing a very simple flow. Start with one, for illustration, that modifies a contact record field after a new contact is created. After modifying the contact to have a specific field value, try updating a field on the account connected to the contact. To achieve that degree of familiarity, continue to concentrate on simple use cases.

We recommend you to start developing your new record-triggered automation using Flow if you have some Flow expertise but prefer to build your automation with workflow rules and processes. Additionally, think about converting your scheduled actions in a process to a scheduled path in Flow.

So, what are your views on this? Why don’t you share your thoughts with us? It will be a pleasure to hear from you.

Thank You for exploring!