Testing Process Automation communication triggers

Process Automation can be used to automatically send emails on a schedule chosen by you. The schedule is defined in the Triggers tab of the Process Automation task.

The following options are available in the trigger:

  • On a schedule - Send the email on a regular scheduled basis; for example, every Sunday evening at 3:00 a.m., or the first day of each month at noon. This email is sent based on the defined frequency.
  • On a database change - Send the email on a specific change to the database; for example, every time a contact updates the company on their account page, they receive an email asking, "Your primary company has changed. If this was done by accident, be sure to contact your company administrator." The email is triggered based on a new, deleted, or updated database property.

Configuring the Process Automation task for testing

To test a Process Automation task, you must first configure the task for testing. See Testing Process Automation communication templates for details.

Testing the schedule of the trigger

Once the task is configured for testing and the task itself is enabled, there are a few ways you can test the trigger:

  • Add a new trigger that is configured to send today and schedule it for five minutes from now. Make sure the trigger is enabled. Wait the five minutes and confirm the test communication was sent.
  • Add the trigger you intend to use and wait for that time to come. For example, if you want to send a communication every Monday at 9:00 a.m. but today is Friday, you can wait till Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. to confirm the email is correctly sent.

Once you are done testing the schedule and confirm it is sending as expected, you should update the task to no longer be configured for testing.

Testing the database change of a trigger

Note: Before using this trigger type, review the related documentation.

Once the task is configured for testing and the task itself is enabled, you can test the database change trigger by performing the action outlined in the trigger.

Some examples include the following scenarios:

  • (Row updated) The communication sends when a user's primary organization is updated. Update your primary organization and confirm the communication is sent. Change your primary organization back and confirm once again that the communication is sent.
  • (Row inserted) The communication sends when a user purchases a commerce product. Purchase a commerce product and confirm the communication is sent.