Sign in to submit new ideas and vote
Get Started

Log automated workflow actions on the Activity Log

tkp
tkp ✭✭✭

For compliance purposes, it would be helpful if the actions of automated workflows would log on the Activity log. For example, when automated messages are sent it would be helpful for the Activity Log to date and timestamp that action along with the name of the workflow.

Lots of us using SmartSheet need robust audit trails to show evidence of our compliance with certain regulations. To meet this obligation, I had to set up an additional automated workflow so that I also get the sent message and will then have to manually save each message to show regulators that it was actually sent.

118
118 votes

On Radar · Last Updated

We agree that robust logging for the purposes of compliance is a critical feature. We are in the process of considering some improvements to automations and logging and will engage with customers to learn more about this requirement when the time is right. Thank you for the suggestion!

«1

Comments

  • Would love a way to search/see what email automations went to a client without having ourselves as a a contact on the automation as well. For example, inside a sheet i'd like to go to a row for a specific client, and see all the email automations that went out for that client within the activity log. I know you can see them as part of "notifications" but that is ALL notifications to which we have hundreds and hundreds, and they are not searchable. Right now we include ourselves on all the emails as a contact so we can see what is going out but this really bogs our emails down when in reality it would just be nice if I could see these as needed within smartsheet. Right now you can filter on automations (see below photo) but it only shows you if automations have been created or updated (it doesn't even tell you which ones). So in an ideal world this could live there as well.


  • Hello,

    It would be great to add workflow / automation tasks and notifications to the sheet activity log. It would facilitate an audit trail.

    Thank you for considering.

  • I completely agree that this is a very much needed feature. Two major purposes would be served by having an audit trail of actions taken by SmartSheet automation: (1) when developing a new automation, especially one which involves multiple sheets, it would be VERY helpful for troubleshooting, and (2) for those of us accountable for results, having an audit trail is necessary to be able to prove compliance with our processes, and any applicable regulations (or even laws).

  • kchart
    kchart ✭✭

    Completely agree with all of these posts. A communication trail is key to verifying that a new user is building a system that is working as designed, that processes can be evaluated and improved when necessary - an important tool in establishing trust in Smartsheet's value to our university.

  • Kelly Ospina
    Kelly Ospina ✭✭✭✭✭

    I strongly agree. People often say "I never got anything" and I can't prove otherwise because the automated notifications aren't in the activity log.

  • Echoing others statements here, being able to verify automation with time stamping of when the message (in our case email) processed would be greatly beneficial.

  • Without a doubt, this would be incredibly helpful. We send quarterly messages out through automation, and seeing the additional data associated around how those are configured would be greatly appreciated.

  • A.J.
    A.J. ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    It would be great if there was an action log that simply showed who an automation based notification went to, what row it was tied-to, and the date/time/time zone.

    This would save us time and energy "proving" that messages were indeed sent.

  • Michelle Choate 2
    Michelle Choate 2 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited 04/08/24

    This would be so helpful! To have some sort of a mailbox on Smartsheet so you see the notifications that have come out from your account.

    Michelle Choate

    michelle.choate@outlook.com

    Always happy to walk through any project you need help with! Book time with me here: https://calendly.com/michelle-choate

  • Ivelisse Babá
    edited 04/08/24

    This would be extremely helpful!

  • Candice Kwiatkowski
    edited 04/08/24

    This would be so helpful and a big time saver!

  • Yes, this would be an excellent tool that I would use frequently. For example, I get two duplicate email update requests for a form submission and I am having trouble figuring out the criteria causing it to trigger twice.

  • Simon Cowx
    Simon Cowx ✭✭✭✭✭

    Absolutely needed! A constant frustration this facility is not available

  • A.J.
    A.J. ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited 04/08/24

    @Genevieve P. , how do we get our idea back out to the groups so that people can vote? They seem to get buried under new ideas.