Overview of Salesforce's Process Builder as of Spring 15 Release

1. Meet. Talk. Change. Succeed.
Process Builder Overview

2. Overview
What is it?
Enhanced admin tool to extend what we can accomplish with clicks not code,
beyond the previous capabilities of Workflow. Cross Object Updating is finally
here!
How much is it?
Free! It became generally available with Spring 15 release.
Where is it?
Setup | Create | Workflow & Approvals | Process Builder

3. Benefits
Create Records – Not just updating a record, you can actually create a
record! AND set the field values within the record. And yes, process builder
automatically adds the required fields while you’re in there so you don’t miss
one!
Create Chatter Posts – You can push a Chatter update into a Group or Feed
Create an Approval – Remember how you needed a trigger to automatically
push a record into an approval process (which is why I told my users they
always had to click the “Submit for Approval” button). Well with Process
Builder we can take credit for approvals kicking off automatically based on
criteria.
Organizing Workflows – Most admins end up with a bunch of workflow
rules all trying to do the same thing, but for slightly different scenarios. Time
for some housekeeping: You can consolidate that into one Process
Launch a Flow – Right from a Process, you can launch an automated flow
process

4. Benefits
Cross Object Updates - Populate a lookup/cross obj field based on certain
criteria with process builder.
You can lookup to lookup to lookups
(Custom Object looks up to Opportunity looks up to Account, yup you can
update the Account based on criteria changes on the custom object)

5. Big Bummers
Can’t populate a value using a formula – Under Actions, when you decide
which fields to update, you can enter static text or pull a value from a related
lookup field. It won’t let you populate a date field with now( ). You can
however use formulas for criteria used to fire the process.
Syntax – Picklist fields are evaluated as text fields in process builder so they
won’t support any picklist formulas like ISNEW. Note – with Spring 15 the
formula ISCHANGED is now a function vs. a formula and will work with
picklists
Editing – Cannot edit a process once it has been activated, at all. You have
to clone the original process and make changes to the new version.
Autosave – While a nice feature so I don’t refresh a page and lose
something important, it won’t allow a user to cancel out of a process when
they have made unwanted changes. Can’t a girl change her mind?
Browser Limitations – it works best in Chrome right now. It just came out of
beta and there have been updates to make sure it works better in IE, Firefox,
etc, but I found Chrome works best.

6. Smaller Bummers
Troubleshooting – There is no way to tell which Admin created a process so
put your name on it! #AdminofOneDon’tCare
Validation – Processes DO NOT trigger Validation rules and can therefore
invalidate data
Deletion – Inactive Processes cannot be deleted for at least 12 hours after
inactivation and do not appear in the Recycle Bin
Error Messages – You cannot specify error messages when creating a
process that doesn’t trigger like you can with flow or validation rules
Formula Help – When utilizing a formula in criteria there is no function help
preview next to the Syntax
Order – You can’t change the order of criteria nodes or actions, after you add
them the only way to reorder is to delete them and start over

7. Process Builder vs. Workflow
Process Builder is exciting and definitely powerful, but you wouldn’t take your
racecar on a bike ride, right? How to decide when to use one over the other:
Scenario Options Recommendation Reason
Populate a lookup field on
record update
Process Builder
or Trigger
Process Builder
Setting a lookup field value has traditional been
something that requires a trigger, with Process Builder
and administrator can do this without the use of code
Set an Account Owner
based on Record Criteria
Process Builder
or Trigger
Process Builder
Process builder can be used to assign ownership on
records based on criteria on the object
Post a Chatter message
based on record criteria
Process Builder
or Trigger
Process Builder
Process Builder can be used to post to chatter based on
record criteria.
Submit a Quote for
Approval when Opportunity
Stage = Proposal
Process Builder
or Trigger
Process Builder
2 Processes would need to be built out. One to update
the Quote based on the Opportunity stage and another to
Submit the Quote for approval when the criteria on the
quote had been met.
Launch a Flow via record
criteria vs. a button or link
Process Builder
or Trigger
Process Builder
Process Builder can be used to set record criteria and
then launch a trigger ready flow based on that. Only
‘trigger-ready’ flows can be selected. See tips for more
details.
Populate a text field with
object ID
Workflow,
Process Builder
or Trigger
Workflow or Process Builder
If it is a cross object and can’t be done with workflow, you
may need to use process builder. If it is part of a complex
trigger leave the field set within the trigger due to conflicts
with the order of operations
Chart Source: http://gearscrm.com/overview-of-salesforce-process-builder

8. Process Builder vs. Workflow
Scenario Options Recommendation Reason
Assign Ownership to a
Custom Object based on
criteria
Process Builder
or Custom
Depends on complexity
Process builder can assign ownership based on object criteria
and set an order of actions. However, processes require a
user to create a new process each time a change is needed.
Administratively it can become a burden to administer these
rules via process builder. In addition, the more rules you have,
the more unwieldy the Process Builder will become. Once you
get too complex, you need to either go custom, or consider a
rules engine type functionality
Update fields based on
complicated formula based
criteria
Workflow or
Process Builder
Depends on complexity
Either tool will work however workflow may be the better
option right now. There is no function help in process builder
so complicated formulas may be difficult to build out. Also
picklist formulas do not work in process builder.
Clone an opportunity and
change field values
Process Builder
or Trigger
Trigger
Process Builder cannot do this alone right now, while it can
create a new record it cannot reference any of the values from
the cloned opportunity without the use of a Flow to capture the
opportunity values. (It should be noted that this can probably
be done with Flow and Process Builder but the quickest
approach right now is to use a trigger)
Chart Source: http://gearscrm.com/overview-of-salesforce-process-builder

9. Tips and Tricks
Test – Test and test again. If you have a sandbox, use it. This tool makes it
much easier to impact users and corrupt data.
Setting field values with a formula anyway - To populate a text field with a
formula create a separate formula field and then reference that in your
process. #ceilingcantholdus
Check – Search to see if there are workflows doing the same thing as the
process. Think of it as our version of duplicate mitigation. “Search before you
create a record”
Document – Use the description field to record who it was created by and
what the process does. In addition, if processes work in conjuncture with
each other, reference the other(s) process names in the description field or
the workflow rules it works with as well.
So many more on our reference site at the end of this presentation

10. Thank you Internet!
Sources:
http://gearscrm.com/overview-of-salesforce-process-builder
https://help.salesforce.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=015300000035
wMDAAY
Dreamforce 2014 Session, “True to the Core” (I highly recommend you go to this every year)

11. Thank you