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flow-orchestration-admin
Flow Orchestration admin: stage configuration, step assignment, background steps, interactive steps, evaluation flows, work items, pause/resume. NOT for approval routing a standard approval process would handle — use admin/approval-processes.
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Flow Orchestration Admin
Activate when building multi-step, multi-actor processes with Flow Orchestration in Setup: pause-and-wait workflows that cross users, queues, and background systems. Flow Orchestration is the successor to Approval Processes for complex branching; it is a no-code first-class orchestrator with stages, steps, and work items.
Before Starting
- Confirm the process actually needs orchestration. Single-user approvals → Approval Process is fine. Multi-actor with parallel work, waits, and conditional branching → Orchestration.
- Map the actors and handoffs. Every hand-off (user A → user B, system → user, user → system) is a Step. Diagram them before opening Flow Builder.
- Decide on interactive vs background steps. Interactive step = a user opens a work item screen. Background step = a Flow runs headless. Wrong choice produces confused users or stuck work.
Core Concepts
Stage → Step → Work Item
An orchestration consists of Stages (run sequentially). Each Stage has Steps (can run in parallel). Each Step is either Interactive (produces a Work Item a user picks up) or Background (runs a flow). Stages advance when all steps complete — including conditional skips.
Evaluation Flow
A Stage's entry and exit conditions are evaluated by an Evaluation Flow — a small autolaunched flow returning a boolean. Used to decide whether to skip a stage, loop back, or proceed.
Work Items
Interactive steps produce WorkItem records assigned to a user or queue. The assignee opens the Work Items list, picks an item, completes the associated screen flow, and the step advances.
Pause and resume
Orchestration pauses at Interactive Steps waiting for user action and at wait elements inside Background Steps. Resumption is automatic on work item completion or wait-condition satisfaction.
Common Patterns
Pattern: Parallel review with consolidated decision
Stage 1: Background — populate context. Stage 2: Three Interactive Steps in parallel (legal, security, finance review), each producing a Work Item. Stage 3: Evaluation Flow consolidates approvals. Stage 4: Background — enact the decision.
Pattern: Long-wait with external callback
Background Step kicks off an external process via callout and stores a correlation ID. Orchestration waits on a Platform Event the external system publishes on completion. The event resumes the step.
Pattern: Conditional rework loop
Stage 4 Evaluation Flow detects a rejection. The orchestration loops back to an earlier Stage to rework. Use conditional navigation (branches between stages) carefully — infinite loops are possible.
Decision Guidance
| Situation | Recommended Approach | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Single approver, simple | Approval Process | Lower setup cost |
| Multi-actor parallel work | Flow Orchestration | Approval Process cannot branch |
| Wait for external callback | Orchestration + Platform Event | Decouples from source |
| Time-based timeout | Stage with Evaluation Flow + wait | Shipped pattern |
| Round-robin assignment | Work item to queue + assignment rules | Don't hand-code |
Recommended Workflow
- Whiteboard the process: actors, decision points, handoffs, SLAs.
- Decide Approval Process vs Orchestration with
standards/decision-trees/automation-selection.md. - Build required screen flows (for Interactive Steps) and autolaunched flows (for Background / Evaluation).
- Create the Orchestration in Flow Builder; lay out Stages and Steps; wire Evaluation Flows.
- Configure work item assignment (user, queue, role-based) and notifications.
- Test in a sandbox with full actor list; validate parallel-stage timing and evaluation branches.
- Deploy; monitor the Orchestrations tab; set up alerts for work items aging past SLA.
Review Checklist
- [ ] Stage and step diagram matches whiteboarded process
- [ ] Evaluation Flows tested for each branch
- [ ] Work item assignment routes to correct queue/user
- [ ] Timeouts in place for long-wait stages
- [ ] Fault paths defined on Background Steps
- [ ] Monitoring view available to ops team
- [ ] Training doc for users completing Interactive Steps
Salesforce-Specific Gotchas
- Parallel steps finish when ALL complete. A slow reviewer holds up the whole stage; consider timeouts + reassignment.
- Evaluation Flows run every entry and exit. Expensive logic in an Evaluation Flow runs many times across a long orchestration; keep them lean.
- Deleting an in-flight Orchestration metadata breaks running instances. Always retire with a migration plan; do not delete while instances are active.
Output Artifacts
| Artifact | Description |
|---|---|
| Orchestration diagram | Stages, steps, branches, evaluation flows |
| Work item assignment spec | Queue, user, or role per step |
| Screen + autolaunched flow inventory | All flows the orchestration invokes |
| Monitoring + SLA runbook | Ops procedure for aging work items |
Related Skills
admin/approval-processes— simpler alternative for linear approvalsflow/flow-record-triggered-patterns— underlying flow buildingadmin/platform-events-for-admins— external-callback resume pattern