Issues with automation - Update Requests

JonRyalls

I have a job assignment workflow where a person assigns work to another employee with triggers for a QC review and updates from the person on the time they start work and when they end their work. Recently, SmartSheet began having issues. Some QCs did not get forwarded to the QCer, Time entry responses were missing the start time when received back and some automations sent multiple emails. This just started and is impacting only a few of the team. It also is inconsistent. Any thoughts?

The primary GRID:

There are updates being sent:

Assignment and Time Entry Automation (Name and email were replaced for privacy)

Automation for QC team (email changed to "email" for privacy)

Automation Settings

Settings were "Unrestricted" as the team that gets update requests do not have Smartsheet licenses, only a core group has this

Any insight would be appreciated

ChristianFinke

Hi @JonRyalls

That sounds frustrating. A couple of things to check:

Try switching automation permissions to “Anyone” to see if that fixes the issue with non-licensed users. Also, check the Activity Log to see if any triggers failed or were delayed.

Make sure your workflows aren’t hitting rate limits, which could explain missed steps or duplicate emails. If it’s only affecting certain people, double-check their email addresses or see if spam filters might be involved.

Please feel free to reach out if you'd like more details or help.

Best,

JonRyalls

Thanks for the feedback. As to the "Anyone", I believe that is the "Unrestricted" in the above picture. I do not see an "Anyone" option, so please let me know if I am looking in the wrong place. As to the update activity log, there are ones that are "Pending" although not as many that are being reported. I will check this further. Finally as to the emails, these are staff that have been using this tool, and getting emails, for almost 7 months. Only over the past 4 business days has there been any issues. Just strange….

ChristianFinke

You’re right, “Unrestricted” should cover that. For the pending actions in the Activity Log, try resaving the automations to see if it helps clear them up. It could also be worth checking with your IT team to see if any recent email delivery changes or spam filter adjustments might be causing issues.

Let me know if anything else comes up!