Automation-Centered Building

Today, an app hasn’t gone through puberty until it has “automation features.”
It’ll throw on a faux mustache, integrate with Zapier, and have their mom co-
sign for an apartment.  
 
But when all your tools automate through Zapier, it becomes incredibly
difficult to know what changes in what tool trigger automations.  
 
Automation becomes a spaghetti ball of tangled dependencies soaked in sticky
syrup. It’s messy.  
 
How do you clean things up?  
 
The answer is Automation-Centered Building. Instead of automation being an
afterthought, it needs to be where you start.
 
Today I’m going to teach you what Automation-Centered Building looks like and
how to take advantage of it through Zapier’s new products when you build.  
 
Do it right and you’ll simplify and foolproof automation and maybe even get
rid of some of the tools you use.  
 
Let’s start cooking.  
 
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Google Sheets as China Plate

The best way to illustrate the difference between building with automation and
automation-centered building is with Google Sheets.  
 
We love those flexible little cells, don’t we?  
 
But good golly those Google Sheets make things fragile. Changing a header,
deleting a row, or accidentally updating a cell can shatter a beautiful Zap
like fine china thrown at the wall.  
 
It’s a recipe for disaster.  
 
Here are the ingredients your automations desperately need:

• Strength so that Zaps do not break when small changes happen
• Visibility into what is connected to Zaps
• Control over what gets automated and when

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Google Sheets can’t deliver. But Chef Zapier can.  
 
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The Zapier Sandwich

With Automation-Centered Building we can elevate out of the tactics (can it be
done? how does it work? why is it breaking?) and into getting the ultimate job
done (create an experience, get more leads, increase sales).  
 
Zapier’s new products help you close the deal with Strength, Visibility, and
Control.  
 
Strength  
In Zapier Tables, changing a column name doesn’t break your Zap. A Zapier
Table is automation-proof. The same goes for any Interface you connect to a
Table.  
 
Visibility
Each Interface, Table, and Zap shows how all three are connected. Forget
documenting how things are connected between Airtable, Typeform, and Google
Sheets. Build in Zapier and visibility is baked in.  
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Control
In-line buttons control when a Zap triggers or continues. Automations don’t
always start and finish in one click. There are often intermediary human steps
in between. If you need to approve something, Zapier’s “continue” step allows
just that.  
 
Zapier is the only one positioned to lead the charge on Automation-Centered
Building. They are the hub!    
 

To recap:

• Automation quickly gets messy.
• You need strength, visibility, and control over your automations.
• Zapier’s Tables and Interfaces help make Automation-Centered Building a reality.

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That's it for this week!  
 
Happy Building,  
Bryce