I like to create a bulk operations feature for list items and board items. This is currently not possible out of the box in Fibery.
Context: This is actually based on a need to perform bulk operations to non-table (non-grid) views, because the tables and grid views in Fibery are very admin and creator focused while most of the users in my network will simply want to organize and use content through a minimum of clicks.
So, the idea is to create an automation button that allows for entities that are selected through a special select box field in every entity, to perform bulk operations like creating relationships, modifying fields, bulk deletion etc.
The issue here is that we have many databases and automations in Fibery only allows rules for one database.
Given that Fibery can be configured in so many way, itâs unclear how meaningful/valuable it would be to define automations that would work on multiple databases.
The âOn createâ and the scheduled triggers would be generic, but a trigger like âField is updatedâ or âEntity linked toâ wouldnât be transferable, since the fields/relations would vary from db to db.
Similarly, the majority of automation actions are likely to be rather specific, and not able to be mapped to multiple databases.
Do you have concrete examples of automation triggers/actions that would meaningfully apply to multiple dbs?
We may underestimate the power of automations when it allows to use all entity types/databases in rules. Over the years I made heavy use of the powerful âRulesâ module in Drupal. Iâm just indicating here future relevance, and its up to the Fibery team to decide priorities of course.
The ability to apply automations across multiple entity types can be quite beneficial in various scenarios. Here are some use cases:
1. Unified Task Management:
Entities: Project Tasks, Marketing Tasks, Development Tasks
Automation: When a task is marked as âCompletedâ in any of the entity types, send a notification to the team lead.
Benefit: Regardless of which entity type the task belongs to, team leads are always informed when a task is completed.
2. Content Creation Workflow:
Entities: Blog Posts, Video Scripts, Podcast Outlines
Automation: When a content item is approved in any entity type, move it to the âScheduled for Releaseâ status.
Benefit: Streamlines the content release process across different content formats.
3. Customer Interactions:
Entities: Support Tickets, Sales Inquiries, Feedback Forms
Automation: When a new entry is added to any of the entity types, automatically tag it with âNeeds Reviewâ and notify the customer relations team.
Benefit: Ensures timely responses to all customer interactions, regardless of their nature.
4. Resource Allocation:
Entities: Human Resources, Physical Assets, Digital Resources
Automation: When a resource is booked or allocated in any entity type, update its status to âIn Use.â
Benefit: Prevents double-booking or over-allocation of resources across different resource types.
5. Event Management:
Entities: Workshops, Webinars, Conferences
Automation: When an event date is set in any entity type, send a reminder to the marketing team to promote the event.
Benefit: Ensures consistent promotion efforts for all events, regardless of their format.
6. Product Lifecycle:
Entities: Product Ideas, Prototypes, Released Products
Automation: When a product moves to the next stage in its lifecycle in any entity type, archive its previous stageâs data.
Benefit: Keeps the product development process organized and declutters old data.
7. Employee Onboarding:
Entities: Training Modules, Onboarding Checklists, Mentor Assignments
Automation: When an employee completes an onboarding step in any entity type, update their overall onboarding progress.
Benefit: Provides a comprehensive view of an employeeâs onboarding journey across different aspects.
8. Financial Tracking:
Entities: Invoices, Expense Reports, Payroll
Automation: When a financial transaction is approved in any entity type, update the main financial dashboard.
Benefit: Offers real-time financial insights across different financial operations.
9. Inventory Management:
Entities: Raw Materials, Finished Goods, Returned Items
Automation: When stock levels fall below a certain threshold in any entity type, trigger a restock alert.
Benefit: Ensures consistent stock levels across different inventory categories.
Automation: When feedback is provided on any entity type, notify the original creator for review.
Benefit: Streamlines the feedback process across different collaborative efforts.
And here are some more examples specifically integrating AI into automations across multiple entity types:
11. Content Optimization:
Entities: Blog Posts, Social Media Posts, Email Campaigns
Automation: When content is drafted in any entity type, use AI to analyze its sentiment, readability, and SEO potential. Provide suggestions for improvement before publishing.
Benefit: Ensures all content, regardless of its format, is optimized for the target audience and search engines.
12. Customer Support Enhancement:
Entities: Support Tickets, Chat Logs, Feedback Forms
Automation: When a customer interaction is recorded in any entity type, use AI to analyze the sentiment and urgency. Prioritize and route critical issues to top-tier support agents.
Benefit: Improves customer satisfaction by addressing urgent and negative sentiments promptly.
Automation: Use AI to analyze data from all entity types and predict sales trends, potential high-value leads, and areas needing improvement.
Benefit: Provides actionable insights to the sales team, helping them focus on promising leads and areas of opportunity.
14. Product Recommendations:
Entities: Online Store Purchases, Product Reviews, User Profiles
Automation: When a user interacts with any entity type, use AI to analyze their behavior and preferences. Provide personalized product recommendations on their next visit.
Benefit: Enhances user experience by offering tailored product suggestions, leading to increased sales.
15. Employee Performance Analysis:
Entities: Task Completion, Project Contributions, Feedback from Peers
Automation: Use AI to analyze data from all entity types to gauge employee performance, identify strengths, and suggest areas for training or development.
Benefit: Supports HR in making informed decisions about promotions, training, and potential areas of concern.
Automation: Use AI to predict stock requirements based on sales trends, seasonality, and other factors. Automatically reorder stock when levels are predicted to fall below optimal.
Benefit: Reduces the risk of stockouts and overstock situations, optimizing inventory levels.
17. Event Attendance Prediction:
Entities: Event Registrations, Past Attendance Records, Event Feedback
Automation: Use AI to predict the likely attendance for upcoming events based on historical data and current registrations.
Benefit: Helps event organizers in logistical planning, ensuring resources are neither wasted nor insufficient.
18. Collaborative Filtering for Research:
Entities: Research Papers, User Reading Habits, Peer Reviews
Automation: When a user interacts with any entity type, use AI to recommend related research papers or articles based on collaborative filtering techniques.
Benefit: Assists researchers in discovering relevant content, enhancing their research depth and breadth.
19. Fraud Detection:
Entities: Financial Transactions, User Profiles, Login Logs
Automation: Use AI to analyze patterns across all entity types and flag suspicious activities or transactions for review.
Benefit: Enhances security by proactively identifying potential fraudulent activities.
20. Trend Analysis for Marketing:
Entities: Social Media Mentions, Product Sales, Online Ad Interactions
Automation: Use AI to identify emerging trends or shifts in consumer behavior based on data from all entity types.
Benefit: Provides marketers with insights into evolving market dynamics, allowing for timely strategy adjustments.
These use cases demonstrate the potential advantages of applying automations across multiple entity types in Fibery. Such a feature can enhance consistency, improve efficiency, and provide a more integrated user experience. And with AI in the mix organizations can harness the power of predictive analytics, pattern recognition, and advanced data analysis.
A post to emphasize this topic. I keep on replicating automations across many databases with the same automation needs. Maybe there is a way to automate the creation of autiomations for other databases? Anyway, it wil benefit efficienty if autiomations (incl AI automations) can be configured such that it applies to multiple databases.
Same, we do that all the time. But I think what youâre asking is real big and that it not fits in Fiberyâs roadmap. Which I can understand.
And I can also understand that it may not be wise at all. Since each and every database has its own configuration, permissions, set-up etc.
It may not be what you want, but you can perform almost any automation also via script/API. Will save you some time, maybe. But probably itâs not worth the time.
Do you often change automations?
Because we are now building the workspace full-time, it is indeed annoying that it takes a lot of time to have the same automation in each and every database. On the other hand, I expect that soon most automations will not be modified just like that. So how big is the problem then?
In terms of maintainability, it would also be desirable. But I personally get much happier with all the new features coming. And potential new users too, I think.
I can understand the desire for automations that affect multiple DBs but in practice itâs probably too complex to implement for the modest gain in capability. However I think at least some of the core desires here could be met more simply while providing other utility with implementation of feature requests like: Duplicate automations (if it allowed duplicating to other DBs)
and especially: Centralized script management for Workspace if it could be made to encompass Automations in a sort of library. There is more discussion of all this in that thread.