Best Practices

[L_Gordon]

When workflows are large and involved they can become very difficult to follow.  

Would it be better to break sections of codes into macros, similar to creating various functions is other types of coding?

[fmvizcaino]

Hi @L_Gordon ,

The first suggestion is for you to try organizing everything in a way you can understand. Here a blog to help you out.

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Engine-Works/Make-Your-Workflow-Visually-Impactful-Part-1-Your-Prep...

But I know sometimes it becomes impossible to manage the workflow and it starts to get slower to move through the canvas. In that case, I would suggest you to compartmentalize into macros:

1. Repetitive parts

2. Parts of your workflow that you don't need constant validation (open the macro and debug what is happening inside can be very stressful)

3. Group of tools that together are talking about the same thing, maybe a business rule or an indicator

Another suggestion is for you to separate in different workflows and use the runner macros to run all of them conditionally.

Best,

Fernando Vizcaino

[drew9]

Hi @L_Gordon ,

There are different schools of thought for this. I find the best way to keep your workflow organized is to group your sub processes into tool containers by the function they are performing. You can also color code your containers based on the type of sub process (Data prep, Output/Input, Check). It's also nice to give each tool a brief annotation about the tools use, in addition to a comment container that gives a more detailed overview of the sub process. Here is an example of how I organize workflows.