Consider Alternative Process Flows during Downtime

Create Meaningful Error Messages

Default error messages tend to be generic and describe what happened in technical terms. When an error occurs that affects a user’s workflow for business-critical operations, consider creating error messages that provide meaningful, contextual information so that the user can act beyond escalating to your internal IT team.

• Use contextual error messages that tell users how to fix user entry errors. For example, if a record can’t be saved due to missing information, provide instructions directly in the error message on what information is still required before they’re able to continue.
• If a feature is unavailable, provide workarounds, links to relevant business continuity planning instructions, or an alternative process in an error message so users can continue their task.
• To eliminate the need for a user to manually notify your IT support team, consider creating a process that alerts your team when a user encounters an error.

Develop Automated Alternative Processes

Instead of designing a singular process path that rejects user interaction at the first point of failure, consider building an alternative process into the system in those potential failure points. Especially for potential failure points that depend on other systems or services that occasionally fail, an alternative strategy can help users work around specific system issues and minimize business impact.

A common example is the use of an external address validation system in Salesforce. If the validation system is temporarily unavailable, provide an alternative process where the user can enter the address manually, and flag the address as unvalidated so that it can be revalidated when the system comes back online.

• Give users the ability to save their work in a temporary status and then auto-process the data when the issue is resolved.
• For business-critical processes using third-party validation services, consider engaging a secondary validation service in the event that the validation service is unavailable or create a manual entry process.

Bulk-Proof the Incident Recovery Process

Create a bulk-proof recovery process, especially for high-volume environments, that efficiently processes the backlog of transactions that accumulated during downtime and incoming transactions following your org's recovery. A bulk-proof recovery process helps to reduce the risk of transaction delays that impact the user experience even after your org is online.

If possible, design solutions to process records in bulk, not just one record at a time, so the system can effectively handle records in large volumes in batches.