Delivering Exceptional Customer Service with Automations Powered by DevRev’s Native Workflow Engine

Summary

The speaker discusses the challenges of creating extensible workflow engines and the importance of having a native workflow engine for efficient customer support. They highlight the benefits of using a native engine like Dev over third-party tools like Workato or Zapier, emphasizing ease of use, data transformation capabilities, and the ability to handle complex workflows without additional middleware.

Takeaways

• 😀 Workflow engines are crucial for automating tasks, but creating a robust and extensible platform is challenging due to the need for generic capabilities and logical primitives.
• 🏗️ Building a workflow engine that is both user-friendly and adaptable to various use cases can take significant time and effort, often more than a year.
• 🤔 The importance of workflow engines is often underestimated by support tools, which may see them as an add-on rather than a core feature.
• 📈 The journey of implementing a workflow involves considering multiple factors, such as ticket routing, spam filtering, and sentiment analysis, which can be complex and time-consuming.
• 🔌 Integrations across various channels like Slack and email are essential for a stable workflow, and achieving this stability can require significant development time.
• 🚫 The use of middleware tools for workflow automation can lead to increased costs, multiple points of failure, and the need for additional learning and implementation efforts.
• 💡 A native workflow engine, as opposed to third-party tools, can provide a more seamless and integrated experience, reducing the need for middleware and associated costs.
• 🌐 Data transformation is a significant challenge when using third-party tools, as they often lack the understanding of the underlying data, unlike native engines that handle ETL processes natively.
• 🛠️ Maintenance of complex workflows can be troublesome, and having a workflow engine that is easy to maintain and extend is crucial for long-term success.
• 🔍 Instant visibility into affected workflows and proactive notifications of issues are essential for reliability, which is often lacking in third-party automation tools.

Q & A

What is the main challenge in creating a workflow engine that is both extensible and generic?

The main challenge lies in designing a platform that is not only extensible but also generic enough to accommodate various use cases. This involves considering the workflow engine's logic capabilities and the primitives needed for creating conditions and visual representations on a canvas, which can be time-consuming and took over a year to develop.

Why is it difficult for support tools that focus on a system of record to see the importance of workflow capabilities?

Support tools that focus primarily on being a system of record might view workflow capabilities as just an add-on feature. They may not fully appreciate the irony that to improve customer service efficiency, these workflow capabilities are crucial.

What is the significance of having a stable integration across various channels for a workflow engine?

Stable integrations across channels like Slack, email, and others are vital for raising tickets. Without them, the workflow engine might require additional development time and help to ensure stability, which can be a significant overhead.

How does the lack of native AI capabilities in a tool affect spam filtering?

Without native AI capabilities, tools may rely on brittle keyword matching for spam filtering, which can lead to inefficiencies and inaccuracies. This method is prone to failure when dealing with synonyms or missing sentences, causing an increase in the number of conditions needed and complicating the workflow.

What is the main issue with relying on keyword-based matching for ticket routing?

Keyword-based matching for ticket routing can become cumbersome and error-prone as the number of conditions grows. It can lead to a fragile system that requires constant maintenance and updates, which is time-consuming and can break easily.

Why is maintenance of a large workflow a significant challenge?

Maintenance becomes challenging due to the complexity and size of the workflow. Troubleshooting and updating such workflows can be very time-consuming, leading to wasted effort and potential disruptions in service.

What are the potential downsides of using third-party middleware tools for workflow automation?

Third-party middleware tools can introduce additional costs, points of failure, and learning curves. They may also require extra security and audit log approvals, adding to the complexity and time needed to implement and maintain them.

What are the key pillars of a native automation engine according to the script?

The key pillars of a native automation engine include one-click data transformation, which eliminates the need for extensive ETL processes and ensures data from different sources is readily available for workflow creation.

How does a native workflow engine like Dev improve the process of data transformation for automation?

Dev handles the heavy lifting of data transformation by performing ETL processes in the background, making data from various sources available within the app in a unified schema, reducing points of failure and preparation time for workflow creation.

What is the importance of having instant visibility and proactive notifications in a workflow engine?

Instant visibility into affected workflows and proactive notifications of issues are critical for maintaining reliable automation. They ensure that any disruptions are quickly identified and addressed, preventing breaches of service level agreements (SLAs) and keeping customers satisfied.

Why is it beneficial for a workflow engine to be extensible and not reliant on middleware tools?

An extensible workflow engine allows for greater flexibility and customization without the need for additional middleware tools. This reduces costs, simplifies the system, and minimizes the risk of failures, making it easier to adapt to the organization's specific needs.

What is the advantage of having a unified system of record for support and product development in Dev?

A unified system of record provides support engineers and managers with access to all engineering and product-related information in one place. This equips them with more context, enabling them to resolve tickets more efficiently and effectively.

Can you provide an example of a support workflow that can be implemented using Dev?

An example of a support workflow in Dev is a smart ticket router that checks if a ticket is spam and routes valid tickets to the correct subject matter experts based on the product hierarchy. This workflow can be automated and improved with AI capabilities for spam detection and ticket categorization.

How does the ability to add multiple triggers in a single workflow in Dev benefit complex workflow creation?

The ability to add multiple triggers in a single workflow in Dev allows for the creation of more complex and comprehensive automations without the limitations often found in other tools. This flexibility makes it easier to build sophisticated workflows that can handle a variety of conditions and actions.

What is the main argument for trying out a new workflow engine like Dev despite the initial effort required?

The main argument for trying out a new workflow engine like Dev is the potential for significant time and effort savings in the long run. With its ease of setup and the ability to quickly implement workflows, Dev can offer a more efficient and effective solution compared to existing legacy tools or middleware.