Internal automations (Beta)

Availability

Overview

Enabling internal automations

Internal automations are enabled via Feature labs. To do so:

• Click through Company settings > Feature labs.
• Under the feature Automate workflows with Birdview automations, click Enable beta.

Accessing internal automations

Once enabled, Internal automations are part of the Automations screen. To access internal automations:

• Click through Company settings > Automations.
• Go to Internal automations tab.

Internal automations screen

The Internal automations screen consists of a list of available automations and a few controls. 

Automation workflow

An automation is executed in a fixed order. The diagram below shows the order.

The first step in the algorithm is choosing triggers. A trigger is an event, such as creation of a project or assignment to a task. Multiple triggers can be selected. Triggers as they are consecutively added are connected by the OR logic, i.e. any trigger or any combination of the triggers can make the algorithm move to the next step.

The second step, which is optional, is setting conditions. For example, if a trigger is the creation of a project, then a condition could be a specific project creator or a given start date. Multiple conditions can be set. Conditions, unlike triggers, are connected by the AND logic, which requires that ALL conditions should be met for the automation to move ahead to its final step: action.

The third and final step is to choose which actions are to be performed when the chosen triggers have fired and the conditions selected on the previous steps have been met. Multiple actions can be set. Not only all of them are executed but also in the order they have been added.

Only first (triggers) and last steps (actions) above are mandatory and cannot be skipped.

The steps are discussed below in greater detail.

Creating an automation

The process of creating an automation can be summed up in the following steps:

1. Adding an automation to the list of automations with a name and a description (initialization).
2. Editing the automation to set up its trigger(s), condition(s) and action(s) (finalization).
3. Test-running the automation, if required.
4. Enabling the automation so that it begins to run in the background, serving its purpose.

Initializing a new automation

To initialize a new automation, take these steps:

1. Click through Company settings > Automations > Internal automations.
2. Click + New Automation.
3. Type the automation’s name in Name.
4. Type a description in Description.
5. Click Create Automation.

As you finish the steps, the automation will appear on the list of automations. Now you can finalize it to furnish it with triggers, conditions and actions.

Before proceeding to this step, however, let’s consider the bricks an automation consists of.

Triggers

A trigger comprises an object (a Birdview entity, such as a project, activity, time entry, etc.) and an operation (what is done to the object to constitute a triggering event). The following triggers (object-operation pairs) are available:

Once a trigger is fired, all properties of the trigger entity become available for use in subsequent Conditions or Actions. This includes:

• Native fields (ID, name, description, status, due date, assignee, creator, timestamps, etc.)
• Related entities (e.g., project details from a task trigger)
• Custom fields — both keys and human-readable names are accessible.
  • The system resolves custom field IDs to readable labels (e.g., ProjectBit0 → Budget Approved).
  • Field values reflect the current state at the time the trigger fires.

All data exposed matches what is retrievable via the Birdview API (or, for example, data sources in custom reports).

Conditions

Conditions is the second and an optional stage of setting automations. Basically, conditions serve as an IF block in the automation’s minuscule execution code. As is well known, IF blocks create a fork in a program as follows: if something happens or meets a criterion then do this, if not — nothing happens. However, if no condition is set then the trigger will work unconditionally.

The basis for conditions used in internal automations is all eligible (i.e. ones that can be used for automations) native and custom fields associated with the objects used as triggers. For example, project progress or project end date. By using various logical operators, e.g. “not greater than” (for number fields, such as Progress) or “before” (for date fields, such End Date), a great variety of conditions can be created. For example: “End Date before 06/06/2026” or “Progress greater than 35%”, etc.

Actions

The consummation of an automation is the action(s) it produces. An action is a command that the automation gives Birdview to carry out to produce the desired results. An example of an action is sending an email on meeting the condition(s) for a given trigger.

Depending on its nature, different fields are used to formulate an action. For example, sending an email about an event (i.e. a trigger has taken place with preset conditions satisfied) would require specifying recipient(s), subject and body of the message to be sent. On the other hand, an action that involves updating a property would require specifying the object (project or activity), selecting the property from a list of available fields, and specifying a new value to be set for the property.

Actions fall into a few broad types:

• Create
• Update
• Complete
• Assign
• Unassign
• Find/Query
• Update activities
• Send Email

Let’s dwell on each type to furnish additional details.

Create

This type of action is chosen when you wish to create an object. Currently, these objects can be created with automations:

• Project;
• Activity;
• Message;
• Time log;
• Expense

The following diagram shows the workflow of using the Create type of action:

Update

This type of action is chosen when you wish to update an object. Currently, these objects can be updated using automations:

• Project;
• Activity

The following diagram shows the workflow of using the Update type of action:

Complete

This type of action is chosen when you wish to complete a project or activity.

The following diagram shows the workflow of using the Complete type of action:

Assign

This type of action is chosen when you wish to assign one or more users to an activity.

The following diagram shows the workflow of using the Assign type of action:

Unassign

This type of action is chosen when you wish to unassign one or more users from an activity.

The following diagram shows the workflow of using the Unassign type of action:

Find/Query

The Find/Query type of action serves to change the object of action (action context) from that selected previously in the automation workflow. It is useful if you wish to shift action from one object (project or activity) to another one. 

The following diagram shows the workflow of using the Find/Query type of action:

Update activities 

This type of action allows a number of activities of a project (all or a group of) selected using the Criteria filter (filtering conditions) to be updated in one go.

The following diagram shows the workflow of using the Update activities type of action:

Send email

This type of action allows an email be sent on a triggering event and if certain conditions are satisfied (optional). 

The following diagram shows the workflow of using the Send email type of action:

Finalizing automation

Returning to the created automation above, we now can furnish it with the required building blocks so that it can automate certain tasks.

Step 1: Setting up triggers

Triggers are set at the very beginning (top section marked ).

The following steps are used in Step 1 Setting trigger:

1. In the top section (marked ), click + Add trigger.
2. Make selection of the object and operation, e.g. Project and Created.
3. Click Apply.
4. Add another trigger, if required.

Step 2: Choosing conditions

To set up a condition proceed as follows:

1. In the Conditions section (marked ), click + Add condition.
2. Select a property in Property, e.g. Category.
3. Select an operation in Operation, e.g. “changed”.
4. Select a value in Value (in this example, select an old and new values).
5. Click Apply.
6. To add another condition, return to 1 above.

Step 3: Choosing actions

To select an action, follow the points below:

1. In the Actions section (marked ), click + Add action.
2. Choose an operation, object, etc.
3. Set values for properties, as appropriate.
4. Click Apply.
5. Add another action, if required.
6. Click Save changes. 

Enabling automation

A new automation is created in draft mode, i.e. as not enabled. To enable the automation, please proceed as follows:

Execution status

Activity log

Every time an automation is executed, the results, both positive and negative, as well as any errors detected are recorded in a register called Activity log.

To access an activity log:

1. On the Internal automations main screen, click the automation you wish to check to enter its editing mode.
2. Click Activity log.
3. Beside checking the records associated with a given execution of the automation, you can verify API query code by clicking Context... at the right end of a record.