A List of Workflows Is Not an Experience
Every workflow looked reasonable on its own.The contact still received twelve emails.
What happened
Someone filled out one form and received twelve emails within seconds.
No single workflow was designed to do that. Each one had a reason to exist. Different teams had built automations for different moments, and every workflow looked understandable when it was opened by itself.
The problem only became visible when the system was viewed from the contact’s side. One action had placed the same person inside several overlapping journeys at once.
What changed
The workflow list was an inventory. It was not a picture of the experience the system created.
Looking at each automation separately answered the question “What does this workflow do?” It could not answer the more important question: “What happens to one person when all of these rules meet?”
What I’m keeping
When several parts of a system can act on the same person, record, or decision, I will review the combined experience—not just the parts. A component can work exactly as designed while the system still fails.