1️⃣ Single Responsibility Principle

Today I want to talk about a simple principle that can really help you build better Flows: the Single Responsibility Principle (or SRP).

You’ve probably heard this idea in coding contexts before, but it applies perfectly to Salesforce automation too.

Here’s how I’d explain it to a junior Salesforce admin:

Your Flows and automations should do one — and only one — thing.

Now, you can define that “one thing” somewhat broadly.

It doesn’t have to be as narrow as just sending an email or just getting records.

But the goal is to stick all of the functionality related to a specific automation use case into one Flow.

When you follow this principle, your Flows stay small, easy to test, easy to change, and easy to develop independently of other Flows.

They’re also easier to turn off if needed.

Most importantly — they reduce the cognitive load of understanding what’s going on, because everything in the Flow is clearly built for one particular purpose.

Signs You’re Violating SRP

I’ve definitely seen Flows that violate this principle — and I’ve built plenty myself in the past!

One of the biggest giveaways?

If you have to zoom way out on the Flow Builder canvas because your Flow is so massive… that’s usually a red flag. (Not always, but generally a good heuristic.)

When you violate SRP, a lot of problems start to show up:

• Editing becomes harder — especially if multiple people are working on it
• You have to coordinate changes carefully across teams
• The cognitive load of understanding the Flow increases dramatically
• Technical debt grows — because big, behemoth Flows are slower to change
• The surface area for bugs increases — unrelated parts of the Flow can break
• Development speed slows down
• The Flow often ends up being poorly thought out — it’s actually harder to build a clean small Flow than to throw everything on the canvas in one big one

What It Feels Like to Build Flows with SRP

When you build Flows that follow SRP, they feel very different:

• They tend to be small
• The names are very specific and clearly describe what they do
• They’re easy to understand later — even months later
• They’re easy for other admins to find and work with
• You can build, test, and deploy them much faster

Practical Tips

If you want to start applying this principle, here’s my number one tip:

It’s a guideline, not a hard rule.

You don’t have to follow it religiously.

Sometimes there are good reasons to opt out. But in general, if you can keep your Flows small and purpose-built, everything will be easier.

I think about it this way: everything I build should be easy to change.

Because the one constant in Salesforce automation is that the business will change its mind — often!

You want your Flows to be nimble so you can adapt them quickly to whatever new needs come up.

That’s it for today’s tip.

Best,

Nick