Glossary · Automation

Workflow

A sequence of automated steps triggered by an event or schedule that processes data and takes actions.

A workflow is a defined sequence of tasks or processes that are executed in a specific order to achieve a business objective. In database automation, workflows typically involve: triggering events (new data, schedule, threshold crossed), data extraction and transformation, conditional logic (if/then branching), actions (send email, update record, call API), and error handling. Workflows can be simple (run a query every Monday and email results) or complex (multi-step data processing pipelines with conditional branching, parallel execution, and retry logic). Workflow engines like Apache Airflow, n8n, Temporal, and built-in platform tools manage execution, dependencies, and failure recovery.

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