| name | salesforce-flow-design |
| description | Salesforce Flow architecture decisions, flow type selection, bulk safety validation, and fault handling standards. Use this skill when designing or reviewing Record-Triggered, Screen, Autolaunched, Scheduled, or Platform Event flows to ensure correct type selection, no DML/Get Records in loops, proper fault connectors on all data-changing elements, and appropriate automation density checks before deployment. |
Salesforce Flow Design and Validation
Apply these checks to every Flow you design, build, or review.
Step 1 — Confirm Flow Is the Right Tool
Before designing a Flow, verify that a lighter-weight declarative option cannot solve the problem:
| Requirement | Best tool |
|---|
| Calculate a field value with no side effects | Formula field |
| Prevent a bad record save with a user message | Validation rule |
| Sum or count child records on a parent | Roll-up Summary field |
| Complex multi-object logic, callouts, or high volume | Apex (Queueable / Batch) — not Flow |
| Everything else | Flow ✓ |
If you are building a Flow that could be replaced by a formula field or validation rule, ask the user to confirm the requirement is genuinely more complex.
Step 2 — Select the Correct Flow Type
| Use case | Flow type | Key constraint |
|---|
| Update a field on the same record before it is saved | Before-save Record-Triggered | Cannot send emails, make callouts, or change related records |
| Create/update related records, emails, callouts | After-save Record-Triggered | Runs after commit — avoid recursion traps |
| Guide a user through a multi-step UI process | Screen Flow | Cannot be triggered by a record event automatically |
| Reusable background logic called from another Flow | Autolaunched (Subflow) | Input/output variables define the contract |
Logic invoked from Apex @InvocableMethod | Autolaunched (Invocable) | Must declare input/output variables |
| Time-based batch processing | Scheduled Flow | Runs in batch context — respect governor limits |
| Respond to events (Platform Events / CDC) | Platform Event–Triggered | Runs asynchronously — eventual consistency |
Decision rule: choose before-save when you only need to change the triggering record's own fields. Move to after-save the moment you need to touch related records, send emails, or make callouts.
Step 3 — Bulk Safety Checklist
These patterns are governor limit failures at scale. Check for all of them before the Flow is activated.
DML in Loops — Automatic Fail
Loop element
└── Create Records / Update Records / Delete Records ← ❌ DML inside loop
Fix: collect records inside the loop into a collection variable, then run the DML element outside the loop.
Get Records in Loops — Automatic Fail
Loop element
└── Get Records ← ❌ SOQL inside loop
Fix: perform the Get Records query before the loop, then loop over the collection variable.
Correct Bulk Pattern
Get Records — collect all records in one query
└── Loop over the collection variable
└── Decision / Assignment (no DML, no Get Records)
└── After the loop: Create/Update/Delete Records — one DML operation
Transform vs Loop
When the goal is reshaping a collection (e.g. mapping field values from one object to another), use the Transform element instead of a Loop + Assignment pattern. Transform is bulk-safe by design and produces cleaner Flow graphs.
Step 4 — Fault Path Requirements
Every element that can fail at runtime must have a fault connector. Flows without fault paths surface raw system errors to users.
Elements That Require Fault Connectors
- Create Records
- Update Records
- Delete Records
- Get Records (when accessing a required record that might not exist)
- Send Email
- HTTP Callout / External Service action
- Apex action (invocable)
- Subflow (if the subflow can throw a fault)
Fault Handler Pattern
Fault connector → Log Error (Create Records on a logging object or fire a Platform Event)
→ Screen element with user-friendly message (Screen Flows)
→ Stop / End element (Record-Triggered Flows)
Never connect a fault path back to the same element that faulted — this creates an infinite loop.
Step 5 — Automation Density Check
Before deploying, verify there are no overlapping automations on the same object and trigger event:
- Other active Record-Triggered Flows on the same
Object + When to Run combination
- Legacy Process Builder rules still active on the same object
- Workflow Rules that fire on the same field changes
- Apex triggers that also run on the same
before insert / after update context
Overlapping automations can cause unexpected ordering, recursion, and governor limit failures. Document the automation inventory for the object before activating.
Step 6 — Screen Flow UX Guidelines
- Every path through a Screen Flow must reach an End element — no orphan branches.
- Provide a Back navigation option on multi-step flows unless back-navigation would corrupt data.
- Use
lightning-input and SLDS-compliant components for all user inputs — do not use HTML form elements.
- Validate required inputs on the screen before the user can advance — use Flow validation rules on the screen.
- Handle the Pause element if the flow may need to await user action across sessions.
Step 7 — Deployment Safety
Deploy as Draft → Test with 1 record → Test with 200+ records → Activate
- Always deploy as Draft first and test thoroughly before activation.
- For Record-Triggered Flows: test with the exact entry conditions (e.g.
ISCHANGED(Status) — ensure the test data actually triggers the condition).
- For Scheduled Flows: test with a small batch in a sandbox before enabling in production.
- Check the Automation Density score for the object — more than 3 active automations on a single object increases order-of-execution risk.
Quick Reference — Flow Anti-Patterns Summary
| Anti-pattern | Risk | Fix |
|---|
| DML element inside a Loop | Governor limit exception | Move DML outside the loop |
| Get Records inside a Loop | SOQL governor limit exception | Query before the loop |
| No fault connector on DML/email/callout element | Unhandled exception surfaced to user | Add fault path to every such element |
| Updating the triggering record in an after-save flow with no recursion guard | Infinite trigger loops | Add an entry condition or recursion guard variable |
Looping directly on $Record collection | Incorrect behaviour at scale | Assign to a collection variable first, then loop |
| Process Builder still active alongside a new Flow | Double-execution, unexpected ordering | Deactivate Process Builder before activating the Flow |
| Screen Flow with no End element on all branches | Runtime error or stuck user | Ensure every branch resolves to an End element |
