📌 Note: Automate.io was acquired by Notion in 2021. This project was a fun little thing I was experimenting with early in my career.

Automate.io - Scaling up Filter Action

Automate.io is a platform that integrates different cloud apps and automates tasks that removes tedious manual work to create complex workflows for automating sales, marketing, and business processes.

I created bot using connected apps like Asana, Slack and Gmail. Screenshot below shows scenario, connecting to Asana with Slack it took multiple steps to add filters for more for than one parameters in Automate.io.

Current Filter Action

E.g. In Filter Action, adding more AND condition, bot in Automate.io requires adding more filter actions. By adding more actions, UI will be cluttered and there will long horizontal list. Also, it might be possible that there might be different set of conditions to be evaluated within the same bot which is not possible with current Filter Action.

Aim for Advanced Filter is to reduce actions to create bot, declutter the UI with smaller horizontal list and providing different sets of condition might reduce number of new bots created. Below is the mockup for the scalable advanced filter action.

User Journey: Advanced Filter Action

• When User selects Advance filter from connect apps list. It should have default one condition which is based on previously selected connected app. which might give an idea to new user of how to add filter without going through upfront documentation reading.

  Evaluation: Data —> (condition1) —> Result

  

• Now, if user want to add more AND condition and clicks on AND button, Action adds new condition right below. This step reduce a new filter action.

  Evaluation: Data —> (condition1 AND condition2) —> Result

  

• User can add OR filter or delete the particular condition as well by clicking on context menu which placed beside condition,

  

• By clicking on Add OR Condition, it adds new OR condition right below on which add button was clicked. This will support same OR filter which is currently available.

  Evaluation: Data —> (condition1 AND (condition2 OR condition3) ) —> Result

  

• Adding more filters,

  Evaluation: Data —> (condition1 AND (condition2 OR condition3 OR condition4) ) —> Result

  

To create same scenario with current implementation will take 2 filter actions, which will reduced to 1.

Advanced Filter Actions - Sets

We are giving two options AND & OR on top of all condition, we have seen the use case for AND button, Let’s checkout OR button. OR button provides ability to add Filter set within a Bot in Automate.io. To create same scenario with current implementation it would require a new Bot.

• Let’s continue from last and click on OR button. This will add whole new filter sets

  Evaluation: Data —> ( condition1 AND ( condition2 OR condition3 OR condition4 ) ) OR ( condition5 ) —> Result

  

• The context menu will change which will include both OR and AND condition option for the Second filter set.

  

• click on adding Add AND condition from context menu will new AND condition to second filter group set.

  Evaluation: Data —> ( condition1 AND ( condition2 OR condition3 OR condition4 ) ) OR ( condition5 AND condition 6) —> Result

  

Cons of new Advanced Filter action

• Customer might have many condition, if it’s being added to one filter action, it will be hard to debug.
• Automate.io plans has limitation on number of bots, It will affect the number of Customer choosing higher plan due to constraint on number of bots. Might be good only for higher paid plans.