Confessions of an Automation Heart Break: How One Process Builder Lover Made the Switch to Flow

Dear Diary,

I always knew it was a possibility, but I never thought it would happen to me. Salesforce announced the deprecation of Process Builder and come the Winter ‘23 Release I won’t be able to create any new processes. Am I too far down the rabbit hole to learn Flow?

Panic Sets In

Last year I was in the audience at Dreamforce when Salesforce announced they were deprecating Workflow Rules and Process Builder in the Winter ‘23 Release (ETA early-October 2022). While System Admins will still be able to edit existing workflow and processes, they won’t be able to create new automation via these methods. I won’t lie — I heard this and panicked a bit. I am truly a Process Builder lover. In fact, I’m confident enough to tell you that I could use Process Builder to tackle just about any automation challenge put in front of me. I can even think fondly back on the first process I ever built and how powerful I felt on that day. The attraction only grew stronger over the past seven years.

That fateful day at Dreamforce, the main cause for my panic was that my exposure to Flow was pretty minimal at that point. Process Builder was my go-to, so I had only ventured into Flow for some before-save triggers– on an as-needed basis. On that day, I made the decision (albeit under a little pressure) to dedicate myself to learning Flow. Here are some tricks that worked for me that might help you feel better about the upcoming transition!

Teach Yourself Flow

There are so many incredible resources out there on Flow — it honestly can feel a little overwhelming. I found that it was helpful for me to break my Flow learning journey into smaller chunks and focus on specific tasks rather than just ingesting ALL the Flow content I came across. 

I started on Trailhead just learning Flow Basics. Since I learn best by doing, Trailhead is a natural starting point for me. I find it really helpful to read content and then go into a Developer org and try things myself. Once I felt good about the Basics, I moved on to Flow Builder. Slowly, I worked my way through lots of different Flow modules, continually expanding my Flow foundation.

Once I felt comfortable enough to converse about Flow and ask questions, I expanded my education pursuit to my local Trailblazer Community. A local Salesforce Administrators group was hosting a working session on Flow so I attended. Our local Women in Tech group regularly hosts Office Hours and whenever anyone asked a Flow question, I paid extra close attention. Salesforce Saturday is another great place to go and work on your Flow skills with other Salesforce professionals. Check out the Trailblazer Community Groups to find a meeting near you. If you don’t have a group near you, go virtual. There is so much great content on the internet and I find a lot of helpful tips and tricks for Flow just by following Salesforce on social media.

Take the Leap

The big step that brought all the learning home for me was to start re-creating my other automations in Flow. One by one I took my beloved processes and transformed them in Flow. This was a helpful exercise for me because I already knew the end goal and the nuances of how my automation needed to work. Re-building my processes in Flow was the game-changer in my education and is something I continue to work on — encouraging and helping others do the same.

Now, every time I’m presented with a new automation requirement I go directly to Flow. Do not pass Process Builder, do not collect $200… Flow is the answer. Even if it is a Flow I’ve never built before, it is better for me to learn how to do it now… chances are someone else out there has done it and I can find great resources and how-to guides to figure it out. By setting this regulation for myself I ensure my education and skill will continue to grow.

The Future is Flow

If a Process Builder lover like me can embrace Flow, you can too! There are so many resources to help you on your journey, and the time to start is now. Challenge yourself to create all-new automations using Flow now so that when Process Builder is no longer an option, you’ll be ready to let go. I know I am.

Do you have advice for anyone else making the move from Process Builder to Flow? I want to hear about it — let me know on Twitter @salesforceK8, LinkedIn, or by reaching out to me on the Trailblazer Community.