Scenario Design and Workflow Construction
Building Effective Scenarios
When designing scenarios, start with a clear trigger and map the data flow. Use routers to branch into multiple paths, filters to control which bundles proceed, and aggregators to combine bundles into a single bundle (e.g., for summary emails). Iterators break arrays into separate bundles for processing. Error handlers (e.g., Break, Resume, Ignore) manage failures. Scheduling determines when polling triggers run. Scenario settings like sequential processing and number of cycles affect performance.
Key Design Considerations
- Modularity: Break complex logic into smaller scenarios or use subscenarios (via the Workfront Fusion "Call a scenario" module).
- Naming: Use descriptive module names for clarity.
- Mapping: Use the mapping panel to insert data from previous modules.
- Testing: Always test with sample data and use the Run once feature.
Traps in Questions
- Router vs. Filter: A router splits the flow into multiple branches; a filter stops bundles that don't match conditions.
- Aggregator vs. Iterator: Aggregator combines multiple bundles into one; iterator splits one bundle with an array into multiple bundles.
- Order of operations: Modules execute top to bottom, but branches from a router run in parallel by default (unless sequential processing is enabled).
- Error handling scope: Error handlers apply to the module they are attached to; they don't catch errors from other modules.
Worked Example / Rule of Thumb
Rule of thumb: "Trigger → Transform → Act → Handle errors." For instance, a scenario triggered by new Workfront requests uses a router to send urgent requests to a Slack channel and all requests to a Google Sheet. An aggregator then compiles a daily summary email.