05 / Simplifai · Flow Builder / 2020 to 2023

Automation people
can reason about.

Connecting bots, business rules and human judgment in a visual workflow.

Flow Builder canvas

My role: UI/UX Designer
My contribution: Workflows, interaction models, UI specifications and shared components.
Project context: Professional experience · Reconstructed examples

The design challenge

Bringing human review into the workflow.

At Simplifai, I worked on Studio experiences spanning Emailbot, Documentbot, Chatbot and Flow Builder. My role included workflows, interaction models, UI specifications and the shared design language.

A connected automation needs to explain more than the order of its steps. People also need to understand the conditions, the handoffs and the point where a business decision requires review.

The logic, made visible

Follow the exception.
Understand the rule.

The product begins with a scannable library, then moves into the canvas where building and review happen in the same context.

Published Flow Builder projects in card view — The published flow library gives teams a clear place to find, scan and reopen automations.

Build and review

Keep the whole flow visible while attention moves to the exception.

The canvas remains the source of context. Errors appear beside it, so people can identify the affected step without reconstructing the automation in their head.

Flow Builder canvas with connected nodes — Build: connect apps, bots, connectors and decision branches on one canvas.

Flow Builder error panel beside an automation — Review: inspect errors beside the exact nodes that require attention.

A closer look

Complex logic, edited as one readable sentence.

The condition builder keeps nested groups, operators and values visible at the same time. The surrounding canvas is dimmed, preserving context without competing with the task.

Condition configuration dialog inside Flow Builder — A focused view of the original condition builder and its nested rule structure.

01
Name the intention
A step name helps someone follow the business process, not just the technical sequence.
02
Keep context close
Configuration opens over the canvas so the wider automation is never lost.
03
Make branches inspectable
Visible conditions make it possible to understand why a request reaches a particular action.

Connections and control

Turn integrations into understandable product moments.

People can review what an app supports, configure an action and decide who can access a published flow. Each task keeps the necessary context visible without exposing the entire workspace.

Gmail integration details in Flow Builder — Integration details bring documentation, accounts, triggers and actions into one view.

The tradeoff

Reduce visual noise without hiding the logic.

Configuration can appear when a step is selected. Branch labels, sequence and review boundaries need to remain visible because they explain how the automation behaves.

Beyond the canvas

A workflow product is a connected system.

Building the flow also depends on discovering apps, managing connections and understanding how published automations perform.

Published flow analytics dashboard — Published flow analytics

Flow Builder apps catalogue — App discovery

Gmail integration details and account connections — Connection details

Every product image in this case study is exported from my original Figma file. The interface inside each image is unchanged.

Business impact

Connect the design decision to a measurable business result.

Help teams build and review automation with less rework, while making exceptions easier to diagnose before a flow reaches production.

Less time spent configuring and testing workflows

Fewer avoidable publishing errors and support escalations

Faster adoption of automation across new use cases

Measuring after release

Signals I would track with product, data and engineering.

These are success measures for post launch evaluation, not claimed results.

Time to publish: Median time from first node to a successfully published flow
First pass success: Share of flows published without a validation error
Support demand: Workflow related support cases per 100 active builders
Adoption: Active builders and published flows by team each month

ROI lens

Estimate the value of hours saved in setup and support, then compare it with the design and engineering investment.

Final reflection

Make the logic clear enough to question.

The work was not about simplifying every rule. It was about giving teams a visible path through automation, exceptions and human review.

Bringing human review into the workflow.

A connected automation needs to explain more than the order of its steps. People also need to understand the conditions, the handoffs and the point where a business decision requires review.

Bringing human review into the workflow.

Follow the exception.Understand the rule.

Keep the whole flow visible while attention moves to the exception.

Complex logic, edited as one readable sentence.

Name the intention

Keep context close

Make branches inspectable

Turn integrations into understandable product moments.

Reduce visual noise without hiding the logic.

A workflow product is a connected system.

Connect the design decision to a measurable business result.

Signals I would track with product, data and engineering.

Make the logic clear enough to question.

More work

Giving product teams a shared component foundation

Making vendor risk easier to review and act on

Connecting lottery journeys across web, app and retail

Bringing human review into the workflow.

Follow the exception.Understand the rule.

Keep the whole flow visible while attention moves to the exception.

Complex logic, edited as one readable sentence.

Name the intention

Keep context close

Make branches inspectable

Turn integrations into understandable product moments.

Reduce visual noise without hiding the logic.

A workflow product is a connected system.

Connect the design decision to a measurable business result.

Signals I would track with product, data and engineering.

Make the logic clear enough to question.

More work

Giving product teams a shared component foundation

Making vendor risk easier to review and act on

Connecting lottery journeys across web, app and retail

Follow the exception.
Understand the rule.

Follow the exception.
Understand the rule.