Improving User Experience with Automation Error Messages

[nemanja030]

Hi Airtable Community,

I hope this message finds you well. I have a suggestion for enhancing the user experience when dealing with automation errors.

Idea: More User-Friendly Way to Display Automation Errors

Overview: Currently, when an automation fails, the error is logged in the automation’s history, which is helpful for administrators and developers. However, for end-users who trigger these automations by inserting data, the error feedback is not as immediate or intuitive.

Suggestion: I propose implementing a feature where automation errors can be displayed directly to the user who triggered the automation. This could be in the form of a bubble or pop-up notification. The notification would briefly explain the error and potentially offer guidance on how to resolve it. This immediate feedback would greatly enhance the user experience and streamline the troubleshooting process.

Benefits:

1. Immediate Feedback: Users get instant notifications of issues, reducing confusion and preventing repeated errors.
2. Improved User Experience: Users can understand and address errors without needing to dive into the automation logs.
3. Efficiency: Reduces the time spent by administrators and support teams on troubleshooting and resolving issues.

Example Scenario: Imagine a user enters data into a form that triggers an automation to update records in another table. If the automation encounters an error (e.g., due to a missing required field or a data type mismatch), the user would see a bubble notification like, "Error: Missing required field 'Email'. Please fill it out and try again."

I believe this feature would make Airtable even more user-friendly and efficient for everyone. Thank you for considering this suggestion. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback.

Best regards,
Nemanja Vukmirovic

[ScottWorld]

I totally agree with this request 100%!

Not only is there no way to control user notification of error messages, but even worse, Airtable’s automations will only send an email to ONE PERSON about an automation failing!

Even in an organization of 1,000+ employees, Airtable will still only send the error message to ONE PERSON.

And that person is typically not even the correct person who needs to know that the automation failed, because Airtable only sends an email to the very last person who turned off & on that automation, which makes no sense!

Even if that person is no longer working at the company anymore and that email address doesn’t even exist anymore, Airtable will still send an email to that email address.

In the meantime, until Airtable solves all of these problems, the best workaround that I have come up with is to outsource as many automations as possible to Make’s advanced automations for Airtable.

Make gives you full control over handling errors that come up in any automation.

If you’ve never used Make before, I’ve assembled a bunch of Make training resources in this thread.

— ScottWorld, Expert Airtable Consultant

[Pello]

Hi Nemanja, that’s a great idea! Glad to see I’m not the only one who’s been thinking about this. I’ve defined it as “Conditional Pop-Ups.” You can check out my post on it here: Introducing Conditional Pop-Ups for Better Workflow Control.