Dynamic Workflows

IdentityFlow allows for the creation of dynamic workflows whose steps or behavior can be determined at runtime. This is useful for scenarios where the process itself needs to adapt based on input parameters, external configurations, or data retrieved during the workflow’s execution.

Example: Loading Workflow Steps Dynamically

In this example, the specific steps to execute are loaded based on a processType parameter. This allows a single workflow definition to handle various types of processes, each with its own sequence of operations.

// Assume loadWorkflowSteps is a function that fetches step configurations
// based on a process type, e.g., from a database or configuration file.
// interface StepConfig { name: string; action: string; params?: any; }
// async function loadWorkflowSteps(processType: string): Promise<StepConfig[]> { ... }

// Assume executeStep is a function that can execute a step based on its configuration.
// async function executeStep(stepConfig: StepConfig): Promise<any> { ... }

export default defineWorkflow('dynamic-process', async (flow) => {
  const steps = await flow.do('load steps', async () => {
    // Determine the type of process from parameters or an initial step
    const processType = flow.params.processType || 'default-process';
    return loadWorkflowSteps(processType);
  });

  // Iterate over the dynamically loaded steps and execute them
  for (const step of steps) {
    await flow.do(step.name, async () => {
      // Pass step-specific parameters if needed
      return executeStep(step.action, step.params);
    });
  }

  return { status: 'Dynamic process completed' };
});

Use Cases for Dynamic Workflows:

• Configurable Processes: Allow administrators or users to customize workflow behavior without code changes.
• Data-Driven Workflows: Adapt the flow based on the nature of the data being processed.
• Plugin Architectures: Enable new steps or behaviors to be added as plugins.
• A/B Testing Flows: Dynamically route execution through different paths for testing purposes.

Considerations:

• Complexity: Dynamic workflows can be more complex to design, debug, and maintain than static ones.
• Validation: Ensure that dynamically loaded steps or configurations are valid and secure.
• Observability: Pay extra attention to logging and tracing to understand the runtime behavior of dynamic flows. See Observability.

While powerful, use dynamic workflows judiciously where the flexibility they offer outweighs the potential increase in complexity.

Explore Resource Management for handling external connections.