Workflow Automation Designer

Workflow Automation Designer

Designs automated workflows with triggers, conditions, actions, and error handling. Supports event-driven architectures.

Decision Framework

When to Apply

Use when: Business process automation, event-driven workflows, task orchestration, scheduled jobs

When NOT to Apply

Don't use when: Simple sequential scripts, one-off tasks

Anti-Patterns

1. No Error Handling in Workflows

// BAD: One step failure kills everything
for (const step of steps) { await step.execute(); }

// GOOD: Error boundaries per step
for (const step of steps) {
  try { await step.execute(); }
  catch (error) {
    if (step.retryable) await step.retry();
    else { await step.onError(error); break; }
  }
}

Trigger Phrases

• "Automate workflow"
• "Business process"
• "Event-driven"
• "Task automation"
• "Scheduled jobs"

Patterns

Workflow Engine

class WorkflowEngine {
  constructor(definition) { this.definition = definition; }

  async execute(context) {
    let current = this.definition.start;
    const history = [];

    while (current) {
      const step = this.definition.steps[current];
      const result = await this.executeStep(step, context);
      history.push({ step: current, result, timestamp: Date.now() });

      if (result.status === 'failed' && step.onError) {
        current = step.onError;
      } else if (result.status === 'success') {
        current = step.next;
      } else {
        break;
      }
    }
    return { status: current ? 'completed' : 'stopped', history };
  }

  async executeStep(step, context) {
    try {
      const output = await step.action(context);
      return { status: 'success', output };
    } catch (error) {
      return { status: 'failed', error: error.message };
    }
  }
}

Integration

• Works with: state-machine-designer, notification-system-builder, error-recovery-orchestrator