SFDC Interview Question and Answer Part – 6
(51). What is Time-Dependent Workflow?
Time-Dependent Workflow gives you the ability to
– execute time-sensitive actions before or after any date on the record
– perform a series of actions at various points in time
– use the Workflow Queue to manage all pending actions Use Time-Dependent workflow to
– send an email reminder to an account team if a high-value opportunity is still open ten days before the close date
– notify the VP of sales if a high value opportunity close date is fast approaching and it has not been closed
– pro-actively notify support rep if an open case with Platinum Support SLA has not been worked for a period of time and take action before the case escalates
(52). Working with Time-Dependent workflow
Time Triggers
– are time values relevant to the record and are used to initiate a time-dependent action
Time-Dependent Actions
– are any of the five workflow actions with an associated time-trigger
– are queued whenever a rule is triggered (see next page)
– can be reused in additional workflow rules as long as the object is the same
– are removed from the workflow queue if the corresponding record no longer meets rule trigger criteria.
– are dynamically updated in the workflow queue if the corresponding record field is updated.
(53). Time-Dependent Workflow – Considerations
Maximum of 10 time triggers per rule
Maximum of 40 actions (10 x 4 types) per time trigger, and 80 actions per workflow rule
Workflow default user must be set up before creating time-based rules
Precision limited to hours or days
Cannot convert leads with time-dependent actions in the Workflow Queue
Time triggers cannot be added to or removed from activated workflow rules
Not possible to create a time-dependent action associated to a rule with a trigger type of Every time the record is created or updated
(54). When The Add Time Trigger button is unavailable?
The evaluation criteria is set to Evaluate the rule when a record is: created, and every time it’s edited.
The rule is activated.
The rule is deactivated but has pending actions in the workflow queue.
(55). Time-Dependent Workflow Limitations:
Time triggers don’t support minutes or seconds.
Time triggers can’t reference the following:
- DATE or DATETIME fields containing automatically derived functions, such as TODAY or NOW.
- Formula fields that include related-object merge fields.
You can’t add or remove time triggers if:
- The workflow rule is active.
- The workflow rule is deactivated but has pending actions in the queue.
- The workflow rule evaluation criteria is set to Evaluate the rule when a record is: created, and every time it’s edited.
- The workflow rule is included in a package.
(56). What is Approval Processing?
An approval process is an automated Business Process that your organization can use to approve records in Salesforce
An approval process specifies the:
– Steps necessary for a record to be approved
– Who must approve it at each step
– The actions to take when a record is approved, rejected, or first submitted for approval
(57). Approval Terminology
• Approval Request: An approval request is an email notifying the recipient that a record was submitted for approval and his or her approval is requested.
• Approval Steps: Approval steps assign approval requests to various users and define the chain of approval for a particular approval process.
– Each approval step specifies the attributes a record must have to advance to that approval step, the user who can approve requests for those records, and whether to allow the delegate of the approver to approve the requests.
– The first approval step in a process also specifies the action to take if a record does not advance to that step.
– Subsequent steps in the process also allow you to specify what happens if an approver rejects the request.
• Assigned Approver: The assigned approver is the user responsible for approving an approval request.
• Initial Submission Actions: are the actions that occur when a user first submits a record for approval.
– For example, an initial submission action can lock the record so that no users can edit it during the approval process.
– Initial submission actions can also include any approval actions such as assigning a task, sending an email, or updating a field.
• Final Approval Actions: are the actions that occur when all approval requests for a record are approved.
– Final approval actions can include any approval actions such as email alerts, field updates, tasks, or outbound messages.
– For example, a final approval action can change the status to “Approved” and send a notification email.
• Final Rejection Actions: are the actions that occur when all approval requests for a record are rejected.
– Final rejection actions can include any approval actions such as email alerts, field updates, tasks, or outbound messages.
– For example, a final rejection action can change the status to “Rejected”, send a notification email, and unlock the record so that users can edit it before resubmitting.
• Record Locking: is the process of preventing users from editing a record regardless of field-level security or sharing settings.
– Records that are pending approval are automatically locked by Salesforce.
– Users must have the “Modify All Data” permission to edit locked records.
– The Initial Submission Actions, Final Approval Actions, and Final Rejection Actions related lists contain a record lock action that you can edit if necessary
• Outbound Messages: send the information you specify to an endpoint you designate.
– You can set up workflow rules and approval processes to send outbound messages to an endpoint as a means of getting information to an external service.
(58). Approval Process Checklist
Use the following checklist to plan your approval process:
– Prepare an Approval Request Email
– Determine the Approval Request Sender
– Determine the Assigned Approver
– Determine the Delegated Approver
– Decide if your approval process needs a filter
– Decide initial submission actions
– Decide if users can approve requests from a wireless device
– Determine if users can edit records that are awaiting approval
– Decide if records should be auto-approved or rejected
– Determine how many levels your process has
– Determine the actions when an approval request is approved or rejected
(59). Jump Start Wizard vs. Standard Wizard
– The Jump Start wizard creates a one-step approval process for you in just a few minutes
– The Standard Wizard is useful for complex approval processes.
Jump Start Wizard
• The jump start wizard is useful for simple approval processes with a single step.
• Use the jump start wizard if you want to create an approval process quickly by allowing Salesforce to automatically choose some default options for you.
Standard Wizard
• The standard wizard is useful for complex approval processes.
• Use it when you want to fine tune the steps in your approval process.
• The standard wizard consists of a setup wizard that allows you to define your process and another setup wizard that allows you to define each step in the process.
(60). Parallel Approval Routing
– Send approval requests to multiple approvers in a single step Wait for approval from all the approvers or wait for approval from any one
– Configure an approval step to request approval from any combination of multiple users and related users
– Configure 25 parallel approvers at each step