Mega Builder Updates - July-September 2020

Jeff_146001
Jeff_146001 Posts: 296 admin
edited June 2020 in Roadmap

In our July and September releases, we will bring to you major improvements to the Workflow Builder experience. These updates will:

  • Make it much easier to learn Catalytic for new builders by simplifying navigation and making key concepts simpler to grasp.
  • Speed up building for experienced builders by reducing the amount of clicks and typing needed.

The mockups below are designs-in-progress, which means that they are subject to change, and we may not release all the features on a page at once. We hope that by showing you these early designs, you can better understand the spirit of each enhancement and let you provide feedback.

Workflow Templates

Planned for July 14

When creating a workflow, you'll have the option to select from a variety of templates, in addition to the current options of creating from scratch or importing a .catalytic file.

The templates will include:

  • Common patterns that are prevalent across departments (such as Send Personalized Reports)
  • Department-specific processes (such as Supplier Onboarding)
  • Utilities (such as Currency Converter)

Faster, Simpler Navigation

Planned for July 14

We're updating the navigation to better conform to how builders build and test workflows. The new Workflow Builder page combines the actions list with Triggers and Fields to give you a single destination to get your workflows assembled.

Additionally, we're improving the experience when testing your builds by enabling you to run your test in an overlay without leaving the Workflow Builder screen, and adding 1-click access from the Workflows / Instances / Tasks back to the Workflow Builder.

Field Improvements

Planned in part for July 14 with the remaining September 15

There are a series of updates geared around making it easier to reference fields as you configure actions in your workflows. These include:

  • A new Fields panel to provide a clear, persistent list of fields that are available
  • Separate the form fields that appear at the start of your workflow from the global fields to store files or other values.
  • Pre-populate Output Fields in actions to reduce the number of steps you need to take and simplify this concept for new users. You'll still be able to update the name.
  • Making it easier to reference fields that are variable by populating the fields list with the fields that appear after testing or running the workflow.
  • Making it easier to reference table and spreadsheet columns

Simpler Dependencies and Conditions

Planned for September 15

By default, each step will be set to start after the previous step is completed or skipped. This means that for most steps, you won't need to worry about setting dependencies at all. Instead, the steps will just run in the order that they appear, and you can simply drag-and-drop steps to change the order that they'll run. You will still be able to set up more complex dependencies when needed.

We updated the interface to configure conditions in the June release, and we're planning a subsequent update that will provide Conditional Blocks. These will enable you to easily group multiple actions into a branch that should run only when one or more conditions are true.

Section Headers

Planned for September 15

Add section headers and descriptions to organize your workflow and make it more easily understandable.

Comments

  • Tom_153935
    Tom_153935 Posts: 76

    Looks like some great UX improvements coming in the next few months. Nice job, team! I think the conditional blocks and section headers will be especially helpful.