Workflow Exception Triage (Delivery)

Workflow Exception Triage (Delivery)

1. 01

   Log every failed workflow run with its trigger timestamp, contact record ID, and the exact step where execution stopped

   A failure that is not timestamped cannot be reconciled against the client's campaign calendar later. Capture the run ID from the platform's execution log before anyone edits the workflow, since edits overwrite the failure state.

2. 02

   Classify the failure as data, integration, logic, or volume before assigning an owner

   Data failures trace to missing or malformed fields, integration failures to an expired OAuth token or API rate limit, logic failures to a misconfigured conditional branch, and volume failures to a send cap or list-size threshold. The classification determines whether the fix is a five-minute field mapping or a rebuild.

3. 03

   Check whether the failure is isolated or systemic by counting affected contacts against the total enrolled in that journey

   A single stuck record is a data cleanup task. If more than roughly 5 percent of enrolled contacts hit the same step, pause the workflow and treat it as a delivery incident with client notification.

4. 04

   Repair the root cause in a staging copy, then replay the failed contacts through the corrected path

   Never patch a live workflow mid-journey without testing the branch logic first. Replaying through staging confirms the fix before real contacts receive duplicate or out-of-sequence messages.

5. 05

   Confirm downstream systems reflect the corrected state, including CRM stage, lead score, and any sales notification

   A repaired email send that leaves the CRM contact stuck in the wrong pipeline stage creates a second failure the client discovers during their own pipeline review. Verify the handoff fields, not just the message delivery.

6. 06

   Document the failure, the fix, and the elapsed time to resolution in the client's workflow register

   This register becomes the maintenance evidence that justifies the retainer line for ongoing optimization. It also prevents the same integration token expiry from surprising the team twice.

7. 07

   Set a monitoring checkpoint on the repaired step and review it at the next scheduled workflow audit

   Recurring failures at the same step usually mean the underlying data source changed shape. A checkpoint catches the second occurrence before the client does.