Salesforce World Tour London 2015 Session Process Builder is an amazing new declarative tool to empower administrators and power users without requiring code. It comes with an amazing set features to help automate many things in Salesforce, including for the first time use cases that historically required Apex Triggers to be written. Find out how you as an Apex developer can extend this tool in infinite ways, effectively supercharging it with practically anything you could imagine! You will learn best practices on sharing your code via the new Apex Invocable Methods annotations. Your end users will be able to access your functionality to customise and extend your solution in new ways and you'll have more time to focus the next great feature! The session will include some practical and fun examples to take away and get your creative thoughts flowing, such as exposing a library of complex formula functions to communicating with LittleBits devices (IoT) and even actions that help automate your org configurations.

1. Go Faster with
Lightning Process Builder
London May 21st, 2015

2. Andrew Fawcett
Force.com MVP
CTO, FinancialForce.com
@andyinthecloud
Simon Goodyear
Force.com MVP
CTO, Beaufort 12
@simongoodyear
Speakers

3. About FinancialForce
• Native on the Salesforce1 platform
• FFA (Accounting)
• HCM (Human Resources)
• PSA (Projects Management)
• SCM (Manufacturing)
• HQ San Francisco; Development teams in US,
UK and Spain (550 employees)
• www.financialforce.com

4. Agenda
• What is Process Builder and why will it make me faster?
• Adding new Process Builder Actions with Apex
• Demo of Process Builder and Invocable Methods
• Invocable Methods Best Practices
• Questions

5. Process Builder
What is it and how does it help
me go faster?

6. What is Process Builder?
• Introduced as part of the Lightning Framework
“a point and click tool for automating business
processes” sits under Workflow & Approvals
– Similar to Workflow…
• Processes driven by users manipulation of Records
• Workflow Actions Email Alerts, Approval, Field Updates
– But much more…
• Actions can be Immediate or Scheduled
• New Actions, Manage Child Records, Post to Chatter,
Call Flow, Call Apex
– Plus a great new Visual UI!

7. Process Builder Use Case
Go faster by coding less and building more with clicks not code!
• Create related Child Records
– “Create a Contact when an Opportunity is Closed”
• Update related Child Records
– “Close all cases when an Account is set to inactive”
• Automatically start Approval Process
– “Approve a Sales Invoice once status is Ready for Approval”
Check out a great blog from Paddy Butler, TQuila
“Salesforce Process Builder - Automate processes in Salesforce like never before”
http://www.tquila.com/blog/2014/11/12/salesforce-process-builder-automate-processes-salesforce-never

8. Process Builder Use Case - Demo
Use Case: Reset discount to all Opportunity Products in one operation

9. Process Builder Use Case - Demo
Use Case: Reset discount to all Opportunity Products in one operation

10. Process Builder Use Case - Demo
Use Case: Reset discount to all Opportunity Products in one operation

11. Invocable Methods
Introduction & Code Examples

12. What are Invocable Methods?
• When standard Process Builder Actions are just not enough, do I
have to stop using Process Builder?
• A means to extend Process Builder with Apex! *
– Have developers think about exposing ‘actions’
– Consider packaging actions for greater reuse
* It is also possible to extend the Salesforce Visual Flow tool in the same way.
Invocable Methods can also be called Salesforce REST API, e.g. mobile clients

13. Invocable Method Example A
NOTE: None void return types from
Invocable Methods are supported,
but are not of interest to Process
Builder.

14. Invocable Method Example B
NOTE: Note use of label and required variables enhance the
Process Builder UI for the end user

15. Invocable Methods
Demo: Automating Setup

16. Invocable Method Demo: Automating Setup
• Using Process Builder to implement sudo Universal Picklists! *
* Upvote the real Univeral Picklist Idea here!
https://success.salesforce.com/ideaview?id=08730000000BrfBAAS

17. Invocable Method Demo: Automating Setup
• Using an Invocable Method to expose the Salesforce Metadata API
Download Source code here, also requires Apex Metadata API deployed
https://gist.github.com/afawcett/78b8d238311b3df06e2c

18. Invocable Method Demo: Automating Setup
• Defining the Picklist Process via Process Builder
IMPLEMENTATION IDEA: This Invocable Method could be enhanced to take
a list of Custom Fields and avoid having to have multiple Actions in Process Builder?

19. Invocable Methods
Demo: Send SMS Message

20. Invocable Method Demo: Send SMS Message

21. Invocable Method Demo: Send SMS Message

22. Invocable Method Demo: Send SMS Message

23. Invocable Methods
Best Practices

24. Invocable Methods Best Practices *
• Platform enforces valid method signatures on Save…
– Bulkification on method signatures
• Make sure you code is fully bulkified including associated Apex classes
– Read in detail the Developer Guide topic “Invocable Method Considerations”
* These also apply when consuming Invocable Methods from Salesforce Visual
Flow and Salesforce REST API

25. Invocable Methods Best Practices *
• Security
• Use with sharing on the class and
only elevate to without sharing as needed, treat as controller class
• Considering check CRUD and FLS, this is an major entry point
• Design Considerations
– Design for your admins not developers this is not a typical API!
– Apex class, parameter and member names matter, naming convention!
– Make use of label, description and required annotation
attributes to make your methods more accessible to end users of Process Builder
– See my blog ‘Extending Lightning Process Builder and Visual Workflow with Apex’
* These also apply when consuming Invocable Methods from Salesforce Visual
Flow and Salesforce REST API

26. Recap
• Go Faster with Process Builder!
– Reduce Implementation Time
• Many use cases previously only possible with Apex Triggers now possible
with clicks not code via Process Builder
– Developers and Admins Working Closer Together to automate more!
• Think about ways to extend Process Builder via Invocable Actions
– Opportunities to create Libraries of Invocable Methods to share
• Invocable Methods can be packaged

27. Resources
• developer.salesforce.com
• Community Blogs featuring Process Builder and Incovable Methods
– Lightning Process Builder and Invocable Methods
http://bobbuzzard.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/lightning-process-builder-and-invocable.html
– Extending Lightning Process Builder and Visual Workflow with Apex
http://andyinthecloud.com/2015/03/01/extending-lightning-process-builder-and-visual-workflow-with-apex/
– The Revolution !! Invocable Power - Spring 15
http://codeandvogue.com/2015/02/02/el-poder-de-invocable-spring-15/
– Controlling Internet Devices via Lightning Process Builder
http://andyinthecloud.com/2015/01/31/controlling-internet-devices-via-lightning-process-builder/
• General Gotchas
– Process Builder Bulkification issue with field expressions
http://www.tquila.com/blog/2015/03/09/bulkify-lightning-process-builder
– Salesforce Process Builder Known Issues
https://success.salesforce.com/issues_index?tag=Process%20Builder

28. Andrew Fawcett
CTO, FinancialForce.com
@andyinthecloud
Simon Goodyear
CTO, Beaufort 12
@simongoodyear
Speakers

29. Thank you