How do you build a workflow from scratch, and when should you start from a template?

Start from a template when your process resembles a common one and you mainly need to change names, roles and timing. Build from scratch when the process is genuinely your own. This hands-on workshop does both, including automating recurring tasks such as monthly inspections.

Video: Workflow Workshop on YouTube

Why this matters

The hard part of a workflow is rarely the builder. It is deciding what the steps actually are, who owns each one, and what ought to happen without anyone asking. Teams that map the process on paper first usually finish in an afternoon; teams that start by clicking usually build it three times.

How to do it

  1. Write down the real process first, including who does each step and when.
  2. Look through the templates, and start from one if it is close to what you need.
  3. Build the steps, assigning each to a role rather than to a named person.
  4. Automate the recurring trigger, for example a monthly inspection that creates itself.
  5. Run it with a small team, then change whatever the pilot shows is wrong.

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