In the world of managing multiple projects, there's a lot to handle – from tracking due dates and managing task approvals to addressing CSATs and handling form responses. But what if you could manage these workflows through automation?

That's where Rocketlane comes in. We're introducing automations that seamlessly integrate into your projects. They keep an eye on due date changes, task approvals, and status updates, stepping in to prevent project delays due to manual intervention.

You're in control – these automations can be customized to match your unique workflow. And if you're not sure where to start, don't worry. Rocketlane offers a carefully curated library of automations that you can effortlessly plug into your projects. 

In this article

• Do it the Automations way!
• Using Automation Triggers
• Using Automation Conditions
• Using Automation actions

Do it the Automations way!

With automations as your trusty sidekick, you can streamline your workflows effortlessly. So, what can these powerful automations do for you? 

Let's quickly learn automations through an example!

An automation rule consists of a trigger, a condition, and an action.

The "Trigger" is the component that sets the automation rule in motion. 

The "Condition" is the set of requirements that the automation must meet to run. 

The "Action" is the resulting outcome of the automation rule running successfully. 

Don't have time to read through? Watch the video below.

Let's consider a scenario where the project owner needs to act on any overdue task that exceeds three days.

Here,

When any overdue task - is the trigger

Exceeds 3 days - is the condition

Notifying project owner - is the action

Add a trigger:

Automations are always on the lookout for an event to happen to get triggered. In our example, the trigger will execute when the system identifies an overdue task. You can start by setting up this trigger.

Set up the condition:

The automation then checks for certain conditions it needs to meet before firing. 

• In our example, the task should’ve been overdue for 3 days for it to match the condition. Set it up. 
• You can add more conditions to the automation rule. If any of these conditions are not met, the automation will fail to execute.
• The conditions can be set to match "All" or "Any" of the filters.

For example, you can choose "Matches All" add conditions like "where" "at risk" is "true" and "priority" is "high."

Execute the action:

The action that results from the automation being triggered and meeting the conditions is the success of the automation. In our example, if the project owner is notified of the overdue task within three days, it is the result of a successfully executed automation.

You can also update the project owner as an assignee for this task by adding another action.

Note, that you can have multiple action blocks for your workflow, for example if the same task exceeds 5 days and 7 days, other project stakeholders like BU head and CEO can also be notified using automations.

Now that we understand the capabilities and workings of automations, let's explore the various ways Rocketlane empowers you to implement them!

Rocketlane offers various ways for you to use automations. You can create a standardized automation blueprint that can be applied to specific projects by seamlessly configuring automations at a template level. Click here

Alternatively, if you want to optimize workflows across all your projects, phases, and tasks, you can use Global automations to configure account-wide automation rules. Click here

Here is how Rocketlane uses triggers, conditions and actions in Automations.

Using Automation Triggers

Triggers look out for events like status changes, task approvals, CSAT ratings to kick-start an automation rule. These events can take place on a project, phase or tasks. Rocketlane enables you to set up triggers specific to projects, phases, tasks and also forms. 

For example, whenever a status change happens on projects and you have set up a status changed project trigger, it will kick-start the automation rule. The same applies for phases and tasks. Rocketlane also enables triggers to be set up on forms, so that you can automate the next set of actions that follow the form response submission.

Note: These triggers can be set up on project templates that will be inherited by projects during creation or can be set up globally for the entire account.

Here is a quick breakdown of how triggers work in Rocketlane!

A trigger can be set off for a phase but carry out actions on projects, phases or forms. Here is a quick example:

Trigger: When status of the phase “Go-live” changes to “completed,” then mark the status of the project as “completed”

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Here is the list of triggers for projects, phases, tasks and forms

Project triggers

More on how to setup automations that run on project triggers here

Phase triggers:

More on how to setup automations that run on phase triggers here

Task triggers:

More on how to setup automations that run on task triggers here

Form Triggers:

Has all the task triggers plus the below:

More on how to setup automations that run on form triggers here

Using Automation Conditions

Automations can be customized and made more flexible by using conditions to control their flow. Conditions are specific criteria that must be met for an automated rule to take effect. They act as checkpoints, determining when actions should be executed and under what circumstances.If the conditions are satisfied, the automations will run successfully; otherwise, they will remain inactive. 

Note: Adding conditions to your automation rule is entirely optional

You can add as many conditions as required and ensure “all” or “any” of the conditions are met for the automation rule to trigger.

Example for Match “All” conditions:

Trigger: When assignee is updated, Condition: Where “At risk’ is true “And” Where Priority is “high;” Action: Then notify Project Manager

Here, the automation will notify the project manager only if the task is at risk and has a high priority.

Example for Match “Any” conditions:

Trigger: When assignee is updated; 

Condition: Where “At risk’ is true “Or” Where Priority is “high;” 

Action: Then notify Project Manager

Here, the automation will notify the project manager either if the task is at risk or has a high priority.

Here is the list of conditions, filters and advanced options

Using Automation actions

When it comes to automations, "actions" are the specific steps that are carried out in the automation rule. These actions are the end results of an automated workflow and can cover various activities, such as sending emails, updating assignees, notifying someone and so much more.

These actions can be performed on projects, phases, tasks and forms. Also an automation rule can perform more than one action.

For example: 

Trigger: When Assignee update

Action block 1:

Condition: If the assignee updated on a task is empty

Action 1: Update assignee as customer success

Action 2: Notify project owner

Rearrange and delete actions

• You can re-arrange actions inside an action block using the sort icon
• Click on the cross mark to delete any action

Action block 2: You can have more than one action block set up for an automation rule and use one rule to perform a set of actions if the predefined conditions are met. For example, if assignee is not empty, send a new message on task to initiate the task.

Note: 
1. It's important to note that the execution of action blocks is typically linear, meaning that each action block is processed one after the other.
2. If any action block encounters errors or exceptions, it might affect the subsequent blocks.