What is the order of operations for workflows? If multiple run at the same time which is run first?
What is the order of operations for automation? If multiple workflows are scheduled to run at the same time which is run first?
Best Answer
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Smartsheet operates like any digital application in that operations and instructions are executed one at a time. By definition, there is always an order of operation. It may not have been explicitly designed into the application, but instructions are still executed one at a time based on the underlying code, not at random.
In the case of SmartSheet, my testing indicates that automation workflows scheduled to run at the same time run in the order in which the automation workflow was saved with the most recently saved workflow running last.
This is an important piece of information for anyone trying to develop complex workflows which are dependent upon one another and must be sequenced across multiple sheets. This is especially true since automation can only be run on the hour and not at times between hours. If automation could be set to run by the minute, instead of on the hour, this information would not be as important to have.
It would be great if changes could be made to SmartSheet so that automation could be scheduled to execute at any minute instead of being limited to running on the hour.
Answers
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It appears that automation workflows scheduled to run at the same time run in the order in which the automation workflow was saved with the most recently saved workflow running last. That is what my limited testing has shown.
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Smartsheet operates like any digital application in that operations and instructions are executed one at a time. By definition, there is always an order of operation. It may not have been explicitly designed into the application, but instructions are still executed one at a time based on the underlying code, not at random.
In the case of SmartSheet, my testing indicates that automation workflows scheduled to run at the same time run in the order in which the automation workflow was saved with the most recently saved workflow running last.
This is an important piece of information for anyone trying to develop complex workflows which are dependent upon one another and must be sequenced across multiple sheets. This is especially true since automation can only be run on the hour and not at times between hours. If automation could be set to run by the minute, instead of on the hour, this information would not be as important to have.
It would be great if changes could be made to SmartSheet so that automation could be scheduled to execute at any minute instead of being limited to running on the hour.
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Thank you, @Greg Byler.
Does this mean that if I have a series of about 20 workflows for an approval process, if I make an edit to one of the workflows, that I should open and save all the subsequent workflows if I have a sequence it needs to follow? Bummer that you can't manually order them based on how you want it to execute.
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Excellent point. I am not sure why one cannot simply order them in sequence by 1, 2, 3, etc..... Another "Excellent Idea" Lost Opportunity.
