Technically Salesforce Flow is known as a business ‘workflow wizard’ or simply a sequential set of screens that can be used to complete or assist smartly on a business process or workflow. But here at Algoworks we define it in one word- awesome. In its early versions, Salesforce was not flexible enough to allow developers to create complete business applications. It was mainly used as an ordinary sales tracking and analysis software. Its cloud capabilities and its ability to integrate with any type of database or legacy system were the main USPs, however user was required have to login and maneuver through a very complex Salesforce UI for such simplest of tasks. Though one can argue that Salesforce was anyways not meant to handle simple tasks, it did not yet cope up in the UI department. To make their business process more user-friendly and the data entry process faster, developers used to create separate web based apps to display and update Salesforce data. However with the launch of Visualforce and Salesforce site.com, developers can now create complete Salesforce based web apps. Salesforce Flow is one of the best feature for Visualforce users. Salesforce visual workflow is specifically great to create survey pages. But before we dwell further into its processes, here I am assuming that you have a decent idea about what is Salesforce and Salesforce Visualforce. So without waiting further, here’s a step by step process to create a survey using Salesforce flow. Step 1: Create an Object Step2: Create a new flow Step 3 : Creating Starting screen Step 4: Creating a Decision Element Step5: create the survey screen Step 6: Store the value in the object Step 7: Create survey ending screen Adding the flow to a Visualforce page As we said earlier, Flow are the best feature for a Visualforce user. It’s because you can add a flow to any Visualforce page via a three line code. Flows are awesome for creating apps fast As you may have now understood, creating survey is one way of using flows. You can create many different types of app from flow elements and that as well at a very rapid pace. However they sorely lack in visual department. You cannot easily customize the Flow elements of a screen to make them super appealing visually. Also if the exact element that you require is not in the flow element list, then you are in a pickle. This is the reason why many developers still prefer good old JavaScript pages for creating forms and other things.

2. How To Create Surveys Using Salesforce Flow
In early years of Salesforce, developers
used to make their business process more
user-friendly and the data entry process
faster by creating separate web
based apps to display and update
Salesforce data.

3. How To Create Surveys Using Salesforce Flow
With the launch of
Visualforce, Site.com,
and Salesforce Flow,
developers can now
create complete mobile
friendly web apps from
Salesforce tools itself.

4. How To Create Surveys Using Salesforce Flow
Salesforce Flow is one of the
best feature for Salesforce
Developers to deploy simple
workflow web applications
fast. And by fast we mean
lightning fast.

5. How To Create Surveys Using Salesforce Flow
Technically Salesforce Flow is a
business ‘workflow wizard’ that
creates a sequential set of
screens that can be used to
complete or assist smartly on a
business process or workflow.

6. How To Create Surveys Using Salesforce Flow
Salesforce Flow is one
of the best feature for
Visualforce and
site.com users and it is
specifically great to
create survey pages.

7. How To Create Surveys Using Salesforce Flow
So without waiting further,
here’s a step by step process
to create a survey using
Salesforce Flow.

8. Step 1: Create an Object

9. Step 1: Create an Object
The first step is to create an object in the
Salesforce system which will save the values of
the survey.
Usually it requires creating some custom fields in
the object depending upon your requirements

10. Step 1: Create an Object
In your object you would also need to record customer
related information like name, email address, contact
information etc. As an example you may need custom
fields like:
◦ comment1
◦ comment2
◦ rating
◦ feedback1
◦ feedback2

11. Step 2: Create a New Flow

12. Step 2: Create a new flow
The next step is to create a new flow.
Go to Setup -> App Setup -> Create ->
Workflows & Approvals -> Flows -> New Flow.
This will open a new Flow canvas that we can use
to create and structure our Flow.

13. Step 2: Create a new flow

14. Step 2: Create a new flow
Every survey follows a flow chart. Ours is also a
very generic survey workflow which starts with a
customer greeting screen.
This screen will display the greeting message
and will ask the user’s permission to proceed
further on towards the survey.

15. Step 2: Create a new flow
If the answer is Yes, we will move on to survey
screen from where we will move to thank-you
screen. However if the answer was negative, we will
skip the survey section and display the thank-you
screen.

16. Step 2: Create a new flow

17. Step 2: Create a new flow
It is the most basic workflow and common
practical surveys involve 3 to 4
survey screens before moving to the
ending screen…
… but the ultimate choice is with
the developer of the survey
workflow.

18. Step 3: Creating Starting
Screen

19. Step 3: Creating Starting screen
➔ Drag and drop a new Screen element from the
left a palette panel to the workflow canvas and
name it.
➔ You can name it anyway you want.
➔ Add display text field to the screen and
configure it to display your starting message.

20. Step 3: Creating Starting screen

21. Step 3: Creating Starting screen
The next field is to record the user’s consent for
participating in the survey.
You can use a text field for the same in which a
user can type the desired value…
… but for simple single choice
questions radio buttons are the best.

22. Step 3: Creating Starting screen

23. Step 3: Creating Starting screen
Create a new Choice, label it and give it
unique name like postive_participation.
Similarly create another choice for negative
participation. Unique names and labels are
important so they must be used cleverly.

24. Step 3: Creating Starting screen

25. Step 4: Creating a Decision
Element

26. Step 4: Creating a Decision Element
To record the decision of the user, we are going to use
Decision element from the palette.
The decision element can be used to check the
validation of multiple inputs and then automatically
decide the direction of the Salesforce visual flow.

27. Step 4: Creating a Decision Element

28. Step 5: Create The Survey
Screen

29. Step 5: Create The Survey Screen
By now you have an understanding how you can
create screens and add input fields in the screen.
So using that create your survey screen.
While creating input fields keep in mind the custom
fields that you have created in your survey_latest
object.

30. Step 6: Store The Value In
The Object

31. Step 6: Store The Value In The Object
➔ From the Palette table choose the Record
Create element.
➔ While configuring the element, in the Create
Field, choose the object in which you want to
save the values.
➔ Then match the field with input values.
➔ Click OK.

32. Step 6: Store The Value In The Object

33. Step 6: Store The Value In The Object

34. Step 6: Store The Value In The Object
And then in Flow canvas screen drag a node from
the survey screen element to the record create
element.
Now the only thing left is to create the thank-you
page

35. Step 7: Create Survey Ending
Screen

36. Step 7: Create Survey Ending Screen
The last step is to create thank-you screen and link
it with the Decision Element that we have used to
check user consent and the record create element
(i.e. the step after the survey is done.)

37. Step 7: Create Survey Ending Screen

38. Flows Are Awesome For
Creating Apps Fast

39. Flows Are Awesome For Creating Apps Fast
As you may have now understood, creating survey
is one way of using flows. You can create many
different types of app from flow elements and that
as well at a very rapid pace. However they sorely
lack in visual department.

40. Flows Are Awesome For Creating Apps Fast
This is the reason why many developers still prefer
good old JavaScript pages for creating forms and
other things.

41. Author
Write to me @ pratyush@algoworks.com
Pratyush Kumar
Director
Pratyush is Co-Founder and Director at
Algoworks. He is responsible for
managing, growing open source
technologies and Salesforce CRM team .
He provides consulting and advisory to
clients looking for services relating to
CRM(Customer Relationship
Management) and ECM (Enterprise
Content Management).

42. THANK YOU
Official Blog Link: http://www.algoworks.com/blog/how-to-create-surveys-using-salesforce-flow
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