Poppulo enterprise case study
Workflows
Making automation journeys easier to build, understand and trust
Workflows lets internal communicators build multi-step automated email campaigns without writing code: lay out a canvas of steps, send a message, wait for a period, then branch into different follow-ups depending on whether someone opened it, and let the platform run the sequence automatically, including on a recurring schedule. My work focused on making that branching logic something authors could read and trust at a glance, rather than settings buried in configuration panels.
- Role
- Lead Product Designer
- Timeline
- Design, 2026
- Product
- Workflows canvas builder
- Tools
- Figma, Miro, systems mapping
About this project
Grounded in the real automation model
This case study is grounded in how the Workflows builder actually behaves: a canvas of connected steps, where a wait or a response check can send different audiences down different paths. The screens shown are concept work exploring how that branching logic can be made legible to the people building it.
- Core model
- Canvas of connected steps
- Key logic
- Branch on wait & open-rate
- Primary users
- Internal Communicators
- Automation
- Recurring, scheduled sends
- Status
- Live product area
Project brief
The brief
Design a canvas-based builder for multi-step, branching email campaigns: an author wires together steps such as sending a message, waiting for a period, and checking whether someone opened it, then sets up different paths for what happens next. The product needed to make that branching logic legible and trustworthy, not a hidden set of rules buried in configuration screens.
- Represent branching logic, wait steps and response checks in a way that can be scanned at a glance.
- Help authors configure individual steps without losing sight of the whole journey.
- Give authors a way to preview a workflow before it activates and starts reaching real employees.
- Support monitoring and control, pausing, resuming, cloning, once a workflow is live or scheduled.
Challenge
Understanding the problem space
Workflow author challenge
Branching logic is difficult to trust when a wait step, a response check and two different follow-up paths are all buried in separate configuration panels. Authors need to see the whole sequence, including what happens on each branch, before they activate it against a real audience.
Enterprise challenge
Once a workflow activates, it runs unattended for days or weeks, checking who opened a message and branching accordingly. Teams need confidence that they can pause, resume or clone a working pattern, and see clearly what is currently live.
Solution direction
- Structured the case study around the builder's real automation model: canvas steps, wait logic, response-check branching and workflow-management surfaces.
- Focused the narrative on scannable automation logic, launch confidence and reusable workflow patterns such as recurrence and cloning.
- Converted selected concept screens into optimised visuals for the live portfolio.
My contribution
I framed the work around trust in a branching system. The design challenge wasn't only arranging steps on a canvas; it was making sure authors could predict what each branch of a workflow would do, review the audience impact of a wait or response-check step, and still understand the journey months after they built it.
- Explored a canvas-led model for building and scanning communication journeys.
- Structured workflow steps around triggers, messages, waits, response checks and branching decisions.
- Connected builder states with preview and dashboard concepts to support governance.
- Prepared the project page for future validation evidence, delivery notes and measurable outcomes.
Insights
What guided the design
01
Logic has to be visible
Users should be able to scan a workflow's canvas and understand the sequence, including where it splits into two paths, without opening every step's settings panel.
02
Review prevents costly mistakes
Automation affects real employees once it starts, so preview and review states matter as much for a workflow as they do for a single email send.
03
Workflows need operational context
A workflow doesn't stop needing attention once it's live: recurring runs, paused states and branching outcomes all need to stay visible after launch, not just during setup.
Design decisions
What the design needed to make clear
Keep the whole journey visible
Workflow tools fail when users have to remember logic hidden inside panels. The canvas gives authors a visible map of the sequence, including both branches of a response check, while still allowing detailed configuration underneath.
Treat preview as a safety feature
Preview is not a cosmetic add-on. For a workflow that runs unattended, it helps authors check what will be sent, when it will be sent, and which audience ends up on which branch.
Make wait and branch logic explicit
Time-based logic is a common source of misunderstanding. A wait step and the branch it leads to, opened or not opened, need to be visible, labelled and easy to inspect on the canvas.
Design for after launch
Workflow UX doesn't end at activation. Status and control surfaces help authors monitor a live or recurring workflow, pause it if something looks wrong, and understand what is currently running.
Process
A reusable design process
-
1
Concept mapping
Mapped the builder's real automation model, canvas steps, wait logic, response-check branching, onto a set of representative concept screens.
-
2
Journey framing
Organised the story around triggers, steps, logic, previews and post-launch monitoring.
-
3
Visual extraction
Optimised builder, preview, logic and dashboard screenshots for accessible presentation.
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4
Template consistency
Aligned the page with the same shared structure used for Employee app and Events.
Figma artefacts
Selected screens from the Figma file
View the full Figma file
Every screen and state behind this case study, including the ones that didn't make the page.
Workflow list management
The live list view for managing workflows: status, frequency, schedule and quick actions like pause, clone or delete.
Workflow builder canvas
The canvas view for assembling a multi-step campaign, with a branch node selected and ready to add the next step down each path.
Workflow preview state
Previewing exactly what a recipient's email will look like before the workflow goes live.
Workflow logic detail
A populated branch: separate follow-up emails queued for the "opened" and "not opened" paths.
Design system
Automation pattern system
The builder's real model supports a design-system story around reusable step cards, canvas layout, configuration panels, validation states, workflow previews and status patterns.
Scannable workflow canvas
The builder visuals show a canvas-led model where authors can understand a communication journey at a glance.
Journey preview and governance
The selected artefacts include preview and dashboard concepts that support confidence before and after activation.
Accessibility considerations
Inclusive product details that matter
- Canvas interactions should have keyboard-operable alternatives, including a structured list view of each step and branch.
- Workflow status should be exposed with text labels, not colour alone.
- Configuration panels should use semantic form controls with clear validation messages.
- Zoomable or complex diagrams should include a readable linear summary of the workflow sequence.
Outcomes
Impact and product contribution
- Reframed the Workflows page around the builder's real branching model rather than a generic placeholder description.
- Clarified the product contribution: making automation logic visible, reviewable and safer to activate.
- Documented the design decisions behind canvas structure, preview states, wait and branch logic, and operational monitoring.
- Added optimised concept visuals while keeping the case study honest about what is concept work versus what is confirmed in production.