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Workflow and Process Automation

Create workflow rules, approval processes, and automation using Flow and Process Builder (16% of exam).

Covers workflow rules and approval processes for business process automation. Includes Process Builder and Flow for more complex automation scenarios. Also covers best practices for process automation and choosing the right tool.
5 minutes 5 Questions

Workflow and Process Automation in Salesforce refers to the powerful tools that enable administrators to automate repetitive business processes, reducing manual effort and ensuring consistency across the organization. Salesforce offers several automation tools: **Workflow Rules** are the most bas…

Concepts covered: Workflow Rules Overview, Workflow Rule Criteria, Immediate vs Time-Dependent Actions, Workflow Field Updates, Workflow Email Alerts, Workflow Tasks, Workflow Outbound Messages, Approval Process Overview, Approval Process Steps, Approval Actions, Approval Request Routing, Parallel Approvals, Dynamic Approval Routing, Process Builder Overview, Process Builder Actions, Scheduled Actions in Process Builder, Invoking Flows from Process Builder, Flow Builder Overview, Flow Types, Screen Flows, Auto-launched Flows, Record-Triggered Flows, Schedule-Triggered Flows, Platform Event-Triggered Flows, Flow Elements, Flow Variables, Flow Resources, Flow Loops and Collections, Flow Decision Elements, Flow Record Operations, Debugging Flows, Choosing the Right Automation Tool, Order of Execution, Automation Limits and Considerations

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SF Admin - Workflow and Process Automation Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Workflow and Process Automation

Question 1

Which Salesforce automation component executes before system validation rules in the Order of Execution?

Correct Answer: Before-save record-triggered flows

Before-save record-triggered flows execute before system validation rules in the Salesforce Order of Execution.

The Salesforce Order of Execution follows this sequence:
1. System validation rules (required fields, valid field formats)
2. Before-save record-triggered flows execute
3. Custom validation rules run
4. Duplicate rules are executed
5. The record is saved to the database (but not committed)
6. After-save record-triggered flows, workflow rules, and processes execute
7. Assignment rules, auto-response rules, and escalation rules execute
8. Workflow field updates fire
9. After-save flows and processes fire again if workflow field updates occurred

The other options are incorrect because:

  • After-save record-triggered flows and workflow rules execute AFTER the record is saved to the database, which is well after system validation rules have already run.

  • Workflow field updates and assignment rules also execute after the record has been saved, making them occur much later in the order of execution compared to system validation rules.

  • After insert triggers and Process Builder execute after the record is saved to the database, not before system validation rules. These run in the later stages of the order of execution.

Before-save flows are specifically designed to run early in the order of execution, allowing them to modify field values before validation rules are evaluated and before the record is saved.

Question 2

Vertex Solutions has implemented a sophisticated automation framework on their Opportunity object. Their configuration includes: an Apex before trigger that enforces business logic by setting the Forecast_Category__c field, a before-save record-triggered flow that calculates Expected_Revenue__c based on Amount and Probability, duplicate rules configured to alert on potential matches, system validation rules requiring certain fields, and an Apex after trigger that creates related Quote records. During a code review, a senior developer questions whether the duplicate rule evaluation happens before or after the Apex before trigger executes. The team also needs to understand when system validation rules run in relation to these components. A sales representative attempts to create an Opportunity that would match an existing duplicate rule. According to the complete Salesforce Order of Execution, which sequence accurately represents when duplicate rules are evaluated relative to Apex before triggers and system validation rules?

Correct Answer: Duplicate rules execute after Apex before triggers complete and after system validation rules have run their checks

To answer this question, we need to understand the Salesforce Order of Execution for record saves.

The correct sequence in Salesforce's Order of Execution is:
1. System validation rules (required fields, field formats, max length)
2. Apex before triggers execute
3. System validation rules run again
4. Duplicate rules are evaluated
5. Record is saved to database (but not committed)
6. Apex after triggers execute
7. Assignment rules, auto-response rules, workflow rules
8. And more...

The correct answer states that duplicate rules execute after Apex before triggers complete and after system validation rules have run their checks. This is accurate because:

  • System validation runs first to ensure basic data integrity
  • Apex before triggers then execute to modify field values (like setting Forecast_Category__c)
  • System validation runs again after the before trigger modifications
  • Duplicate rules are then evaluated to check for potential duplicate records

This sequence makes logical sense because duplicate rule matching should occur after all field modifications from before triggers are complete, ensuring the duplicate check uses the final field values.

The other answers are incorrect because:

  • Duplicate rules do NOT execute before Apex before triggers. This would be inefficient as field values may change during before trigger execution.

  • Duplicate rules do NOT execute between before triggers and system validation. The actual order has system validation running both before and after before triggers, with duplicate rules coming after.

  • Salesforce's Order of Execution is sequential, not concurrent. Components do not run simultaneously - they follow a specific, predictable order to ensure data integrity and consistent behavior.

Question 3

Summit Enterprises has automation on their Case object that includes: a before-save record-triggered flow that sets Escalated__c to true when Priority equals 'High', an Apex before trigger that populates the SLA_Deadline__c field based on Priority, and a custom validation rule that prevents cases from being saved if SLA_Deadline__c is more than 30 days in the future. A support agent creates a new Case with Priority = 'High'. The before-save flow runs and sets Escalated__c to true, but the Apex before trigger calculates an SLA_Deadline__c that is 45 days away. The administrator needs to predict what will happen. Based on the Order of Execution, what is the expected outcome?

Correct Answer: The record will fail validation because the Apex before trigger sets SLA_Deadline__c before validation rules are evaluated

To understand this scenario, we need to follow Salesforce's Order of Execution:

  1. System validation rules run (required fields, field formats)
  2. Before-save record-triggered flows execute
  3. Apex before triggers execute
  4. Custom validation rules run
  5. After triggers, after-save flows, and other automation

In this scenario:
- The before-save flow runs first and sets Escalated__c to true
- The Apex before trigger then runs and sets SLA_Deadline__c to 45 days in the future
- Custom validation rules execute AFTER both the before-save flow and Apex before triggers
- The validation rule checks if SLA_Deadline__c is more than 30 days away - it is (45 days)
- The record fails validation and is NOT saved

The correct answer states that the record will fail validation because the Apex before trigger sets SLA_Deadline__c before validation rules are evaluated. This is accurate - validation rules run after before triggers in the order of execution, so they evaluate the field values as modified by the triggers.

The second option is incorrect because validation rules actually execute AFTER Apex before triggers, not before them.

The third option is incorrect because before-save flows do not validate field constraints during their execution. They simply execute their logic, and validation happens later in the order of execution.

The fourth option is incorrect because before-save flows actually execute BEFORE validation rules, not after them. Additionally, in this scenario, the flow is setting Escalated__c, not SLA_Deadline__c.

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