Introducing Aspira XObject
In a previous article I presented several cross-object workflow solutions, with the caveat that though it was possible to create the rules in SalesForce.com, they wouldn't get triggered across the objects automatically. To solve this problem, we have created Aspira XObject, a free tool that allows System Administrators to create "Relations" between objects so that when criteria is met on one object, workflow rules get run on another as if both were just edited.
The idea of creating the tool arose when I was working on a non-profit SFDC system optimization project and the client had an elaborate set of conditions between different custom objects where internship applications moved through stages dependent on actions being tracked on several other objects, such as the service opportunity being approved, the intern being approved, forms having been received, and so on. There was a web of lookups and workflow connecting the objects, but it wasn't working effectively because you had to know the application should be in a certain stage to go edit it in order to trigger the workflow that would update the field to the correct stage. This obviously made no sense; why use workflow at all if a user needs to know it is time to change the stage?
We created a coded solution at the time that cost them thousands of dollars, and then a few weeks later they came back and said, "This is great. Now can you make it also include this fourth object?"
It was clear a coded solution that worked one object at a time was not going to really solve their problem. They needed to be able to continue developing their cross-object application progress tracking system independently without having to go back to the developer each time.
Around the same time I started participating in a conversation on Twitter where people were lamenting the lack of immediate firing of cross-object workflow. I was then confident that a solution was going to have value to enough companies for it to be worthwhile developing it as an installable app. Thus Aspira XObject on the AppExchange was born.
You can download the free version on the AppExchange if you are in Enterprise, Unlimited or the non-profit edition of SalesForce.com (must have workflow rules to use it). With the free tool you can automate any workflow that is on standard objects. If you need to automate the firing of rules on custom objects, that extended application is available for a fee that is just a fraction of what a custom coded solution would cost. Hope your company finds it useful.
The idea of creating the tool arose when I was working on a non-profit SFDC system optimization project and the client had an elaborate set of conditions between different custom objects where internship applications moved through stages dependent on actions being tracked on several other objects, such as the service opportunity being approved, the intern being approved, forms having been received, and so on. There was a web of lookups and workflow connecting the objects, but it wasn't working effectively because you had to know the application should be in a certain stage to go edit it in order to trigger the workflow that would update the field to the correct stage. This obviously made no sense; why use workflow at all if a user needs to know it is time to change the stage?
We created a coded solution at the time that cost them thousands of dollars, and then a few weeks later they came back and said, "This is great. Now can you make it also include this fourth object?"
It was clear a coded solution that worked one object at a time was not going to really solve their problem. They needed to be able to continue developing their cross-object application progress tracking system independently without having to go back to the developer each time.
Around the same time I started participating in a conversation on Twitter where people were lamenting the lack of immediate firing of cross-object workflow. I was then confident that a solution was going to have value to enough companies for it to be worthwhile developing it as an installable app. Thus Aspira XObject on the AppExchange was born.
You can download the free version on the AppExchange if you are in Enterprise, Unlimited or the non-profit edition of SalesForce.com (must have workflow rules to use it). With the free tool you can automate any workflow that is on standard objects. If you need to automate the firing of rules on custom objects, that extended application is available for a fee that is just a fraction of what a custom coded solution would cost. Hope your company finds it useful.
Labels: CRM, Recommended_Apps
posted by Dutton at
5:11 PM
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