Replace workflow with flow - Without impact existing records

[SM16]

We are planning to upgrade our workflows and convert them into Flow Designer. I know it's difficult to do without impacting existing records where the workflow is attached.

E.g. A change request is logged and workflow 1 immediately runs to attach the approvals, after approvals are completed, workflow-2 is triggered to generate the child tasks for a change request.

Is there a way we can replace the child tasks workflow without impacting the existing records? or Should we inform users that changes will only apply to New records?

[Shashwat Rao]

Hello @SM16 ,

As per my understanding, the replaced workflow will not apply to existing records. Open records will follow the old workflow steps until record closure or cancellation 

[Sandeep Rajput]

@SM16 Any changes related to the flow/workflow always apply on the new records and doesn't have any impact on the pre-existing records as those records will always have workflow context attached to them and this context will always be a replica of the workflow/flow version which was active and published at the time of record creation.

In your case, for those records where workflow-2 is already triggered they will remain un-impacted with the introduction of a new flow. However, for those records where the workflow-2 hasn't triggered yet, they will use the newly created flow if it is active and published and workflow-2 is already inactivated.

Hope this helps.

[SM16]

I don't understand this. If I am writing a flow to create tasks when change moves to implement state and also there is a workflow to do the same then how can you say that only the workflow attached instance will be executed and not the flow? Technically, flows trigger condition is when state changes to Implement then flow will also be executing causing duplicate of the logic.

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@Sandeep Rajput wrote:

Any changes related to the flow/workflow always apply on the new records and doesn't have any impact on the pre-existing records as those records will always have workflow context attached to them and this context will always be a replica of the workflow/flow version which was active and published at the time of record creation.