Introduction:
Welcome to the second blog post of the “Learning Salesforce Flows” series. In this post, we will focus on the best practices of Salesforce Flow Naming Conventions. We will also learn how to create effective descriptions for them. Salesforce flows help automate various business processes, and it’s essential to follow the right conventions to keep them organized.
Creating Effective Flow Descriptions: Outlining Your Flow’s Purpose
Create a flow in Salesforce with a clear and concise naming convention, and provide a description of its purpose. This, in turn, will enable other team members to quickly understand the flow and its purpose.
In order to effectively outline the purpose of your flow, it is recommended to include the following information in your flow naming conventions and description:
1. Identifying the Problem Your Flow Solves:
Start by including a clear statement of the problem your flow is solving. This should include details on the specific pain points your flow addresses. You should also mention any objectives or goals it aims to achieve.
2. Describing the Flow’s Functionality:
After outlining the problem your flow solves, the next step is to describe how your flow functions. This involves describing the objects your flow interacts with and specifying where and how you invoke it. For example, if you’re designing a screen flow, you could choose a page layout. Alternatively, if you want to create an auto-launched flow, you could opt for a Process Builder process instead.
3. Hooking Into the Business Process and Impact on Groups:
Explain where your flow hooks into the broader business process and which groups it impacts. This provides context for other team members who may need to work with or modify the flow in the future.
4. Linking to JIRA or Story IDs:
Link your flow to a specific JIRA or Story ID. Make sure to include this information in the flow description. This will help ensure that you can track and manage your flow properly. It will also help other team members easily locate the relevant information they need about the flow.
Flow Naming Convention Suggestions
It’s essential to follow the right naming convention to keep your Salesforce flows organized. Here are some suggested naming conventions for the Flow Naming Conventions suggestions to follow for various types of flows in Salesforce, including Flow Name, Flow API Name, and Descriptions :
| Flow Type | Naming Convention | Example | API Name Convention | Example | Sample Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Flow | Screen Flow: <Object Name> <Short Yet Meaningful Description> | Screen Flow: Contact Creation From Account | <Object Name> _SCR_ <Function of Flow> | Contact_SCR_CreateContact | A Screen flow that is used to create a new contact, that will be called from Account Page using a Quick Action button. |
| Record-Triggered Flow Before Save (A record is created) | Record-Trigger: <Object Name> Before Save | Record-Trigger: Account Before Save | <Object Name> _TRG_ <Function of Flow> | Account_TRG_BeforeInsert | This flow Triggers Before-Save automation when a new account record is inserted. See below details for list of functions. 1. This will update rating to cold, when a new account is inserted. 2. etc….. |
| Record-Triggered Flow Before Save (A record is updated) | Record-Trigger: <Object Name> Before Save | Record-Trigger: Account Before Save | <Object Name> _TRG_ <Function of Flow> | Account_TRG_BeforeUpdate | This flow Triggers Before-Save automation when a account record is updated. See below details for list of functions. 1. This will update account rating to hot when annual revenue is greater than 3500000. 2. etc….. |
| Record-Triggered Flow Before Save (A record is inserted or updated) | Record-Trigger: <Object Name> Before Save | Record-Trigger: Account Before Save | <Object Name> _TRG_ <Function of Flow> | Account_TRG_Before_Insert_Update | This flow Triggers Before-Save automation when a new account record is inserted or existing account record is updated. See below details for list of functions. 1. This will update rating to cold, when a new account is inserted. 2. This will update account rating to hot when annual revenue is greater than 3500000. |
| Record-Triggered Flow After Save (A record is created) | Record-Trigger: <Object Name> After Save | Record-Trigger: Account After Save | <Object Name> _TRG_ <Function of Flow> | Account_TRG_AfterInsert | This flow Triggers After-Save automation when a account record is inserted. See below details for list of functions. 1. This will update all the contacts last name, when account name is changed. 2. etc….. |
| Record-Triggered Flow After Save (A record is updated) | Record-Trigger: <Object Name> After Save | Record-Trigger: Account After Save | <Object Name> _TRG_ <Function of Flow> | Account_TRG_AfterUpdate | This flow Triggers After-Save automation when a account record is updated. See below details for list of functions. 1. This will update all the contacts last name, when account name is changed. 2. etc….. |
| Record-Triggered Flow After Save (A record is inserted or updated) | Record-Trigger: <Object Name> After Save | Record-Trigger: Account After Save | <Object Name> _TRG_ <Function of Flow> | Account_TRG_After_Insert_Update | This flow Triggers After-Save automation when a new account record is inserted or existing account record is updated. See below details for list of functions. 1. This will update rating to cold, when a new account is inserted. 2. This will update account rating to hot when annual revenue is greater than 3500000. |
| Record-Triggered Flow Before Delete | Record-Trigger: <Object Name> Before Delete | Record-Trigger: Contact Before Delete | <Object Name> _TRG_ <Function of Flow> | Contact_TRG_BeforeDelete | This flow Triggers Before-Delete automation when a account record is deleted. See below details for list of functions. 1. This will update total contact count on account, when a contact is deleted. 2. etc….. |
| Schedule-Triggered Flow | <Object Name> Schedule: <Short Description> | Contact Schedule: Send Birthday Emails | <Object Name> _TRG_ <Function of Flow> | Contact_BAT_SendBirthdayEmails | This flow is a scheduled flow, which used to send birtday gretting mails to contacts, whose birthday is today. |
| Autolaunched Flow | Subflow: <Short Description> Subflow: <Object Name> Handler | Subflow: Add Timesheet Entry Subflow: Lead Handler | SUB_<Function of Flow> | SUB_CommonLogicForCaseInsert | This flow is a sub flow, which contains common lgoic for case creation. |
| Field Service Mobile Flow | Field Service:<Short Description> | Field Service: Create Service Appointment | FSL_<Object Name>_ <Function of Flow> | FSL_ServiceAppointment_Creation | This flow is used in FSL to create service appointments. |
| Platform Event-Triggered Flow | Platform Event-Trigger: <Short Description> | Platform Event-Trigger: Update PO on Quote | EVT_<Function of Flow> | EVT_UpdatePOOnQuote | This flow is used for processing an event to update po on quote record. |
Resources Naming Suggestions
In Salesforce, Flow Naming Conventions play an important role in keeping your flows organized and easy to understand. It’s a good practice to name your variables, data elements, logic’s, and screen elements in a way that describes their intended purpose.
1. Variables
Consider the following useful naming convention suggestions to follow when naming your Salesforce Flow variables:
| Type | Data Type | Api Naming Convention | Example | Sample Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Text | varT_<Short Description> | varT_FirstName | This variable is used to store contact first name. |
| Number | varN_<Short Description> | varN_TotalContacts | This variable is used to store total contacts count of an account. | |
| Currency | varC_<Short Description> | varC_TotalOppAmount | This variable is used to store total opportunity amount against an account. | |
| Boolean | varB_<Short Description> | varB_IsActive | This variable is used to store boolean value of whether the account is active or not. | |
| Date | varD_<Short Description> | varD_OppClosedDate | This variable is used to store opportunity closed date. | |
| Date/Time | varDT_<Short Description> | varDT_CurrentDateTime | This variable is used to store current date time, when the flow is running. | |
| Picklist | varP_<Short Description> | varP_AccountType | This variable is used to store type of account. | |
| Multi-Select Picklist | varMSP_<Short Description> | varMSP_MarketingChannels | This variable is used to store type of marketing channels on campaign. | |
| Record Variable | varR_<Object Name> | varR_Account | This variable is used to store single account record data. | |
| Record Collection Variable | varR_<Object Plural Label> | varR_Accounts | This variable is used to store multiple account records data. | |
| Constant | Constant | con_<Short Description> | con_DefaultRating | This variable is used to store default rating value for an account. |
| Formula | Text | forT_<Short Description> | forT_ContactName | This variable is used to store calculated contact name. |
| Formula | Number etc. same as variables but adding for and then Variable Type | forN <Short Description> | for_OpportunityAmount | This variable is used to store calculated opportunity amount. |
| Text Template | Text Template | textT_<Short Description> | textT_EmailBody | This variable is used to store email body. |
| Choice | Choice | choice_<Short Description> | choice_Status | This variable is used to store account status choices. |
| Record Choice Set | Record Choice Set | recChoice_<Short Description> | recChoice_LeadStatus | This variable is used to store lead status choices. |
| Picklist Choice Set | Picklist Choice Set | picChoice_<Short Description> | picChoice_Stage | This variable is used to store opportunity stage choices. |
| Collection Choice Set | Collection Choice Set | colChoice_<Object Plural Label> | colChoice_OpenLeads | This variable is used to open lead choices. |
| Stage | Stage | stage_<Short Description> | stage_CustomStage | This variable is used to store stage. |
Reference Links –
For more helpful articles please visit – https://thesalesforcedev.in
Welcome to The Salesforce Dev 
Leave a reply to A Beginner's Guide to Salesforce Screen Flows Cancel reply