Previously, on the “Chatbot Best Practices for Designing a Conversational Experience with Workativ Assistant” blog, we would’ve delved into the things to do before designing a dialog flow for a chatbot and how to set up the actual dialog using Workativ Assistant’s Dialog Designer and test it. This blog will look into what we should do before setting up an automated workflow using Workativ Assistant’s intuitive 3-Step Automation Designer.
Let’s get started.
Previously, on the “Chatbot Best Practices for Designing a Conversational Experience with Workativ Assistant” blog, we would’ve delved into the things to do before designing a dialog flow for a chatbot and how to set up the actual dialog using Workativ Assistant’s Dialog Designer and test it.
This blog will look into what we should do before setting up an automated workflow using Workativ Assistant’s intuitive 3-Step Automation Designer.
Let’s get started.
No Code — Free Conversational AI Chatbot Get Started
Get ready to take notes…
1. Understand the process, then automate it
The first and foremost thing to do is to observe and study the actual process you are going to automate. Does the process satisfy the 3Rs? (Recurring, Repeatable, and Rule-based) Does automating the process improve the overall ROI? Does it improve overall employee morale and productivity? These are some of the questions you should start with.
After finalizing that the process is worthy of automation, the next step to do is to work through the process backward, identifying the end result, the approvals needed for the end result, the business application you’ll need to connect with Workativ Assistant to get the end result, is it a scheduled automation or dialog-triggered automation, etc.,
2. Visualize the Workflow
It’s best to visualize the workflow on some tangible medium. It can be sketching the workflow on a notebook or using stickies on a piece of the whiteboard. Why do you ask? This will help you and your team understand the workflow better and maybe work on improving it even more, making it efficient and faster.
3. Backups are good
Sometimes failures, delays, and bottlenecks tend to happen with automated workflows due to some kind of human error. After all, to err is to be human. Having a backup plan in hand does wonders in such an unfortunate scenario. The backup plan can be a team of people who are on their toes, ready and vigilant, in case something goes awry so that they can step in and take over.
4. Decide on what parts of the workflow are important
This is to be wary of parts that have a more significant impact on automation as a whole. When the people involved in automating a workflow are aware of the essential parts, they can prevent bottlenecks by informing people whose approval is needed for those parts to speed up their approval process.
5. Think in terms of modularity
Design the workflow so that certain parts of the workflow can be updated when there are new features or removing an outdated part of the workflow becomes easier.
Also, designing the workflow so that certain aspects of it take place simultaneously is very important for overall automation efficiency. For example, you can set it up so that unlocking a user’s account and closing the IT support ticket created for it takes place simultaneously.
Doing all this shouldn’t mean you should make the workflow more complicated. Make sure that the design is simple and clearly understood by others in your team.
6. Make certain parts of the workflow reusable
Versatility is another thing you should pay attention to. This ensures that the workflow can be used for multiple instances without starting from scratch.
But avoid designing a complex workflow in the name of versatility.
7. Ensure that everyone is kept in the loop of things
Before going on a blaming spree about delayed approvals for a particular automated workflow, it’s better to find out whether the person got the notification via email. Ensure that you include sending out a heads-up email to the person required to approve something in your automation.
Chatathon by Chatbot Conference
8. Conduct monthly Workflow Audits
Re-evaluate your process automation by organizing a table-read/brainstorming session with your team to ensure improvements to the automated workflow for more efficiency and faster execution times.
Now you’re ready
After all the prep work, we will start setting up the automation with Workativ Assistant’s Automation Designer. Don’t worry; it’s actually very easy than it sounds.
Setting up automation on Workativ Assistant’s Automation Designer involves three straightforward steps:
Step-1: Choose between Trigger or No Trigger
No, I’m not talking about guns, FYI.
Trigger: Use this option to Schedule Trigger automation. For example, you can set it up as for every 30-minute interval, Workativ Assistant should check if there’s a new email in your Gmail (You’ll have to connect your Gmail to Workativ Assistant by giving the required permissions) and then execute the required steps.
Step-2: Setting up the workflow
In this step, you’ll find features like Add an Action, Add a Parallel Path, Add a Condition, and Add a Function. But for now, let’s take a look at Add an Action.
On the Add an Action pop-up, you’ll just have to select an application, connect to that application by giving required permissions, fill in the input fields, and hit Save. You’re done. The automation has been set up. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. I swear!
Step-3: Sending Logs
This step is optional, but I suggest you don’t skip this. Fill in the email input fields and get detailed log reports when your automation is suspected of going haywire.
The final step would be to test the automation you just set up using the Run option.
No Trigger: The No Trigger option lets you set up a dialog trigger automation. For example, you set up a dialog for unlocking a user’s account in Active Directory.
You can create an automation for this dialog and map the automation to it. So whenever a user initiates a conversation with the chatbot after getting the required details, the dialog can trigger the automation, passing the gathered data to it for successful execution.
For No Trigger, everything’s the same as we saw earlier except for specifying the inputs we’ll be getting from the dialog in Step-1.
One more thing…
The Marketplace for Automation! That’s right, with over 100+ ready-to-use Automation at your disposal, you don’t even have to lift a finger to set up automation! I’m not exaggerating it, tbh. You’ll have to see it to believe it.
And that wraps up our study into the best practices to follow before setting up automation and how to set up automation like a breeze in 3 straightforward steps using Workativ Assistant.
After setting up a dialog and its relevant automation, the next thing for you to do would be to deploy the chatbot on your business’ internal communication tool like Slack or Microsoft Teams, and you’re set.
Not yet tried Workativ Assistant?
Then you’re missing out on a lot; I can tell you that. Get in touch with us at sales@workativ.com, and we’d be more than happy to give you a demo of our product.
This blog was initially published here.
Get Certified in ChatGPT + Conversational UX + Dialogflow
Best IT Workflow Automation Practices to follow for Chatbots was originally published in Chatbots Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Previously, on the “Chatbot Best Practices for Designing a Conversational Experience with Workativ Assistant” blog, we would’ve delved into the things to do before designing a dialog flow for a chatbot and how to set up the actual dialog using Workativ Assistant’s Dialog Designer and test it. This blog will look into what we should do before setting up an automated workflow using Workativ Assistant’s intuitive 3-Step Automation Designer.Let’s get started.Previously, on the “Chatbot Best Practices for Designing a Conversational Experience with Workativ Assistant” blog, we would’ve delved into the things to do before designing a dialog flow for a chatbot and how to set up the actual dialog using Workativ Assistant’s Dialog Designer and test it.This blog will look into what we should do before setting up an automated workflow using Workativ Assistant’s intuitive 3-Step Automation Designer.Let’s get started.No Code — Free Conversational AI Chatbot Get StartedGet ready to take notes…1. Understand the process, then automate itThe first and foremost thing to do is to observe and study the actual process you are going to automate. Does the process satisfy the 3Rs? (Recurring, Repeatable, and Rule-based) Does automating the process improve the overall ROI? Does it improve overall employee morale and productivity? These are some of the questions you should start with.After finalizing that the process is worthy of automation, the next step to do is to work through the process backward, identifying the end result, the approvals needed for the end result, the business application you’ll need to connect with Workativ Assistant to get the end result, is it a scheduled automation or dialog-triggered automation, etc.,2. Visualize the WorkflowIt’s best to visualize the workflow on some tangible medium. It can be sketching the workflow on a notebook or using stickies on a piece of the whiteboard. Why do you ask? This will help you and your team understand the workflow better and maybe work on improving it even more, making it efficient and faster.3. Backups are goodSometimes failures, delays, and bottlenecks tend to happen with automated workflows due to some kind of human error. After all, to err is to be human. Having a backup plan in hand does wonders in such an unfortunate scenario. The backup plan can be a team of people who are on their toes, ready and vigilant, in case something goes awry so that they can step in and take over.4. Decide on what parts of the workflow are importantThis is to be wary of parts that have a more significant impact on automation as a whole. When the people involved in automating a workflow are aware of the essential parts, they can prevent bottlenecks by informing people whose approval is needed for those parts to speed up their approval process.5. Think in terms of modularityDesign the workflow so that certain parts of the workflow can be updated when there are new features or removing an outdated part of the workflow becomes easier.Also, designing the workflow so that certain aspects of it take place simultaneously is very important for overall automation efficiency. For example, you can set it up so that unlocking a user’s account and closing the IT support ticket created for it takes place simultaneously.Doing all this shouldn’t mean you should make the workflow more complicated. Make sure that the design is simple and clearly understood by others in your team.6. Make certain parts of the workflow reusableVersatility is another thing you should pay attention to. This ensures that the workflow can be used for multiple instances without starting from scratch.But avoid designing a complex workflow in the name of versatility.7. Ensure that everyone is kept in the loop of thingsBefore going on a blaming spree about delayed approvals for a particular automated workflow, it’s better to find out whether the person got the notification via email. Ensure that you include sending out a heads-up email to the person required to approve something in your automation.Chatathon by Chatbot Conference8. Conduct monthly Workflow AuditsRe-evaluate your process automation by organizing a table-read/brainstorming session with your team to ensure improvements to the automated workflow for more efficiency and faster execution times.Now you’re readyAfter all the prep work, we will start setting up the automation with Workativ Assistant’s Automation Designer. Don’t worry; it’s actually very easy than it sounds.Setting up automation on Workativ Assistant’s Automation Designer involves three straightforward steps:Step-1: Choose between Trigger or No TriggerNo, I’m not talking about guns, FYI.Trigger: Use this option to Schedule Trigger automation. For example, you can set it up as for every 30-minute interval, Workativ Assistant should check if there’s a new email in your Gmail (You’ll have to connect your Gmail to Workativ Assistant by giving the required permissions) and then execute the required steps.Step-2: Setting up the workflowIn this step, you’ll find features like Add an Action, Add a Parallel Path, Add a Condition, and Add a Function. But for now, let’s take a look at Add an Action.On the Add an Action pop-up, you’ll just have to select an application, connect to that application by giving required permissions, fill in the input fields, and hit Save. You’re done. The automation has been set up. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. I swear!Step-3: Sending LogsThis step is optional, but I suggest you don’t skip this. Fill in the email input fields and get detailed log reports when your automation is suspected of going haywire.The final step would be to test the automation you just set up using the Run option.No Trigger: The No Trigger option lets you set up a dialog trigger automation. For example, you set up a dialog for unlocking a user’s account in Active Directory.You can create an automation for this dialog and map the automation to it. So whenever a user initiates a conversation with the chatbot after getting the required details, the dialog can trigger the automation, passing the gathered data to it for successful execution.For No Trigger, everything’s the same as we saw earlier except for specifying the inputs we’ll be getting from the dialog in Step-1.One more thing…The Marketplace for Automation! That’s right, with over 100+ ready-to-use Automation at your disposal, you don’t even have to lift a finger to set up automation! I’m not exaggerating it, tbh. You’ll have to see it to believe it.And that wraps up our study into the best practices to follow before setting up automation and how to set up automation like a breeze in 3 straightforward steps using Workativ Assistant.After setting up a dialog and its relevant automation, the next thing for you to do would be to deploy the chatbot on your business’ internal communication tool like Slack or Microsoft Teams, and you’re set.Not yet tried Workativ Assistant?Then you’re missing out on a lot; I can tell you that. Get in touch with us at sales@workativ.com, and we’d be more than happy to give you a demo of our product.This blog was initially published here.Get Certified in ChatGPT + Conversational UX + DialogflowBest IT Workflow Automation Practices to follow for Chatbots was originally published in Chatbots Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. Read More itsm, it, chatbots, chat, chatbot-development