Workflows & Automation – Complete Help Guide

Introduction to Workflows

Workflows in SurveyAnalytica allow you to automate repetitive tasks and create sophisticated business processes without writing code. Build powerful automation with triggers, conditions, actions, and AI agents to streamline your operations.

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Accessing Workflows

1. From Dashboard: Click “Flows” tab in the navigation
2. Create New: Click “+ Create Workflow”
3. Direct URL: /flows
4. Design Mode: /flows/design for new workflow

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Workflow Components

1. Triggers

Triggers start your workflow automatically when specific events occur.

Available Triggers:

Category	Triggers
Survey	Survey Response
Contact	Contact List Update
Communication	Email Received, Webhook
Schedule	Scheduled Time
Spreadsheets	Excel Update, Google Sheets
Messaging	Slack Message, MS Teams
E-commerce	Shopify Order
CRM	HubSpot, Salesforce
Project Management	Jira Issue, Asana Task
Social	Facebook Lead, Instagram, Twitter/X
Other	Zapier, Mailchimp, Pub/Sub

2. Conditions

Conditions add logic to your workflows, creating different paths based on data.

Condition Types:

• If/Else: Branch based on single condition
• Switch: Multiple branches based on value
• Filter: Continue only if criteria met
• Wait Until: Pause until condition true

3. Actions

Actions are tasks your workflow performs.

Available Actions:

Category	Actions
Communication	Send Email, Send SMS, WhatsApp
Webhooks	Call Webhook/API
Spreadsheets	Update Google Sheets, Update Excel
Messaging	Slack Message, Teams Message
Tasks	Create Task
AI	AI Agent, Generate Image
CRM	HubSpot CRM, Salesforce
Project	Create Jira Issue, Asana Task
Marketing	Mailchimp, Marketo
E-commerce	Shopify
Support	Zendesk Ticket
Flow Control	Wait/Delay

4. AI Agents

Incorporate AI to handle complex tasks intelligently.

AI Agent Capabilities:

• Analyze text responses
• Generate personalized content
• Classify and categorize data
• Summarize long-form text
• Translate between languages
• Extract entities (names, dates, amounts)

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Visual Workflow Builder

Build workflows with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Builder Components

Component	Description
Canvas	Main drag-and-drop area
Component Panel	Available triggers, conditions, actions
Properties Panel	Settings for selected component
Toolbar	Save, test, publish options

Building a Workflow

Step 1: Add a Trigger

• Drag trigger from component panel
• Configure trigger settings
• Every workflow needs at least one trigger

Step 2: Add Actions

• Connect actions to your trigger
• Chain multiple actions together
• Configure each action’s settings

Step 3: Add Conditions (Optional)

• Insert conditions to create branches
• Configure logic rules
• Define paths for different outcomes

Step 4: Test Your Workflow

• Click “Test” to simulate execution
• Review step-by-step results
• Fix issues before publishing

Step 5: Publish

• Click “Publish” to activate
• Workflow starts responding to triggers

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Workflow Features

Visual Builder Features

• Drag & Drop Canvas: Intuitive visual design
• Visual Logic Builder: See your automation flow
• Real-time Preview: Test as you build
• Version History: Track changes over time
• Team Collaboration: Work together on workflows
• Pre-built Templates: Start from proven patterns
• Error Handling: Built-in error management
• Debug Mode: Step-through testing

Wait Actions

Control timing in your workflows:

• Wait Duration: Pause for hours, days, weeks
• Wait Until Time: Resume at specific time
• Wait Until Day: Resume on certain days
• Wait for Event: Resume when event occurs

Action Center

Manage workflow tasks and approvals:

• View pending tasks
• Process approvals
• Track workflow progress
• Handle exceptions

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Workflow Templates

Pre-built Templates

Start quickly with templates:

Customer Feedback:

• NPS Follow-up Workflow
• Detractor Alert System
• Promoter Thank You Sequence

Marketing Automation:

• Welcome Email Series
• Re-engagement Campaign
• Event Registration Flow

Operations:

• Support Ticket Routing
• Approval Request Flow
• Data Sync Automation

Using Templates

1. Go to Flows → Templates
2. Browse or search templates
3. Click “Use Template”
4. Customize for your needs
5. Publish when ready

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Integrations

Native Integrations

Connect with popular platforms:

Communication:

• Slack
• Microsoft Teams
• Email (SMTP, SendGrid)
• SMS (Twilio)
• WhatsApp

CRM & Marketing:

• Salesforce
• HubSpot
• Mailchimp
• Marketo

Spreadsheets:

• Google Sheets
• Microsoft Excel

Project Management:

• Jira
• Asana

E-commerce:

• Shopify

Support:

• Zendesk

Custom Integrations

Use webhooks to connect any system:

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://api.example.com/webhook",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer {{env.api_token}}"
  },
  "body": {
    "email": "{{trigger.contact.email}}",
    "event": "survey_completed"
  }
}

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Workflow Variables

Use variables to pass data between steps:

Variable Type	Example
Trigger Data	{{trigger.response.email}}
Step Output	{{steps.step1.output}}
Environment	{{env.api_key}}
System	{{now}}, {{uuid}}

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Testing & Debugging

Test Mode

• Execute with sample data
• See step-by-step execution
• Identify issues before publish
• Verify logic paths

Execution Logs

Access detailed logs:

• Timestamp for each step
• Input/output data
• Error messages
• Execution duration

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Best Practices

Workflow Design

1. Start Simple: Begin with basic workflows
2. Name Clearly: Use descriptive names
3. Document Logic: Add notes for complex parts
4. Use Templates: Build from proven patterns
5. Test Thoroughly: Verify all paths work

Performance

1. Minimize API Calls: Batch when possible
2. Appropriate Waits: Don’t over-delay
3. Handle Errors: Plan for failures
4. Monitor Times: Optimize slow workflows

Security

1. Use Environment Variables: Don’t hardcode secrets
2. Validate Inputs: Check data before using
3. Limit Permissions: Minimal access needed
4. Audit Regularly: Review workflow access

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Scheduled Workflows

In addition to event triggers (form submitted, contact created, webhook received), flows can run on a cron schedule — pulling data on a recurring cadence from Google Sheets, Excel/OneDrive, Shopify, Tally, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Slack, Outlook, X (Twitter), Microsoft Teams, or a webhook endpoint, and pushing the results through the rest of your flow.

The Scheduled Trigger

• Trigger type: Scheduled
• Schedule format: standard 5-field cron (minute hour day month weekday). The UI generates the cron for you through friendly dropdowns — pick the recurrence, the time, and the timezone, and the cron is built behind the scenes.
• Source: one of the embedded data sources listed below.
• Output to downstream nodes: each fetched row is passed as record data to the rest of the flow, so your conditions, actions, and AI agents see one row at a time — exactly like a real-time form submission.

Supported Sources

Direct data readers:

• Google Sheets — poll a tab, pick up new rows
• Excel / OneDrive — same, for Microsoft workbooks
• Shopify — orders, customers, products
• Tally — ERP data
• Webhook — pull the most recent payload from a webhook endpoint

Social & messaging sources (polled on your schedule):

• LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram
• Slack, Microsoft Teams
• Outlook
• X (Twitter)

Prerequisite: Connect the Integration First

Every embedded source reads from credentials the platform already holds for your workspace. Before you can schedule a pull from (say) LinkedIn, connect LinkedIn once on the Integrations page — OAuth handshake, pick the account/page/sheet, done. The scheduled trigger then resolves the right token at runtime, no credentials go near the flow configuration itself.

Recipe: Daily Lead Sync from a Google Sheet

1. Connect Google on the Integrations page if you haven’t already.
2. Create a new flow. Choose Scheduled as the trigger type.
3. Pick a cadence — for example Every day at 07:00 UTC.
4. Pick Google Sheets as the data source and select the sheet + tab that holds your inbound leads.
5. Add a Condition node to filter only rows not seen before (the trigger tracks a cursor state for you).
6. Follow up with Action nodes: create a contact, send an outreach campaign, append to a CRM, etc. Each row runs through the whole chain.
7. Activate the flow. The platform handles the cron itself — no other infrastructure to operate.

Pausing, Editing, or Removing a Schedule

Deactivating the flow pauses the cron — the schedule resumes when you reactivate. Editing the recurrence on an active flow re-creates the cron behind the scenes. Deleting the flow removes the schedule entirely.

Tips

• Prefer the smallest cadence that meets your need — pulling every minute from a social source can hit third-party rate limits; hourly or daily is usually plenty.
• For sources that grow unbounded (order feeds, social inboxes), always add a Condition filter early in the flow to cap the downstream fan-out.
• Test by running the flow manually once before activating the schedule — the Test Mode described above works with scheduled flows too.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
Workflow not triggering	Verify trigger configuration
Email not sending	Check email settings, recipient
Condition always failing	Review condition logic
Timeout errors	Check external API, add retry
Missing data	Verify variable paths

Getting Help

• Documentation: Help center articles
• Support: support@surveyanalytica.com
• Community: User forums

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FAQs

Q: How many workflows can I create? A: Depends on your plan. Free plans include limited active workflows, paid plans offer more or unlimited.

Q: Can I duplicate a workflow? A: Yes, click the “…” menu and select “Duplicate”.

Q: How do I pause a workflow temporarily? A: Toggle the workflow off in the workflow list without deleting it.

Q: Can workflows run in parallel? A: Yes, each trigger creates an independent execution.

Q: What happens if a workflow fails? A: Failures are logged and can be retried. Configure notifications to alert your team.

Q: Can I test without affecting real data? A: Yes, use Test Mode with sample data.

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Related Resources

• Workflow Templates
• API Documentation: Workflows
• Video: Workflow Basics
• Integration Guides

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