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5 ways to build better Power Automate workflows following power automate best practices. Take your workflows from amateur hour to full pro production use!
5 ways to build better Power Automate workflows following power automate best practices. Take your workflows from amateur hour to full pro production use!
The objective of this article is to provide you with valuable insights and tips to enhance your Power Automate workflows.
By following these guidelines, you can avoid common pitfalls, accelerate your learning curve, grasp new concepts, and produce high-quality workflows akin to professional-grade solutions.
Power Automate, accessible via Office.com within Microsoft 365, is a cloud-based platform designed to automate various business processes.
It offers a wide array of functionalities, including reviews, approvals, reminders, notifications, and reports.
The platform follows the “If this then that” (IFTTT) logic, allowing users to automate actions without the need for extensive coding.
To optimise your workflows, carefully plan what events will trigger them and when. Unnecessary triggers can lead to excessive runs and a higher chance of errors.
By reducing the number of triggers, you make debugging easier and reduce points of failure.
It’s important to note that Power Automate has a 30-day limit for flow runs, so it’s essential to manage this aspect, particularly for high-frequency workflows.
Reducing unneeded triggers will also prevent backend limitations that may cap flow runs per month.
Before diving into building a workflow from scratch, explore the available Power Automate templates here.
These templates often contain 70% of a workflow’s functionality and can significantly speed up your development process.
Reviewing templates might introduce you to more efficient methods of achieving your desired outcomes.
Additionally, you could discover new connectors and learn how existing ones function through reverse engineering.
However, exercise caution and adapt templates to suit your specific requirements.
Accept that not everything will work perfectly on the first attempt. Debugging is an integral part of creating workflows. Implement logic to handle errors and failures gracefully. Utilise variables to track progress and identify potential issues. Consider scenarios you might not have initially thought of and build in failure scopes to respond appropriately. For instance, if an action fails, trigger an email or team's message to alert someone for timely intervention. Aim to mitigate errors as much as possible, as workflows with 80% functional actions are more reliable than those with frequent failures.
Maintain a structured approach to document your workflows effectively. Beginners often end up with messy workflows that are hard to comprehend for themselves and others.
Utilise scopes to cluster related actions, giving your workflow a clean and organised appearance.
Use descriptive titles for actions, so it’s clear without opening them. Add notes to explain the logic or calculations for easier understanding.
For more advanced details or collaboration, use comments in your workflow.
When building organisation-wide flows, it's common for beginners to use their personal accounts for notifications and other actions. However, this can be confusing and problematic when employees leave the organisation. Instead, use service accounts with clear names like "Automate@" or "Workflow@" to send emails or messages from the workflows. This ensures continuity and prevents disruptions when personnel changes occur. By incorporating these five tips into your Power Automate workflows, you'll create more efficient, reliable, and professional-quality automation solutions that enhance your productivity and save valuable time and effort. Happy automating!
I hope you found this article useful, if you are interested in getting some assistance with SharePoint Online or PowerApps, please feel free to contact me with any questions using our contact us form.
You might also be interested to read What is the Best Database for your Microsoft PowerApps in 2022 (valto.co.uk)
Dougie Wood
Solutions Architect
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