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Building the Action logic

Now that you have successfully established a secure connection to your external systems, it is time to build the actual automation. This is where you define exactly what action Celonis should take on your behalf.

Because every business process is unique, Celonis provides a flexible, visual builder that allows you to design everything from simple, one-step updates to complex workflows with branching logic—all without writing a single line of code.

Choosing your starting point

When creating a new automation, you have two primary paths:

  1. Execution Templates (The Fast Track): You do not always need to reinvent the wheel. Execution Templates are pre-built, ready-to-use automation workflows designed for the most common business use cases (such as removing a billing block in SAP, or creating an incident ticket in ServiceNow).

    • Choose a template, connect your account, and the core logic is instantly generated for you. You only need to map your specific data fields to finish the setup.

  2. Basic and Advanced Action Configuration (The Custom Route): If you have a highly customized application or a unique use case, you can build your Action from scratch.

    • Use the visual interface to select an external system, choose an endpoint (e.g., "Update Record" or "Send Message"), and map the required data points from your Celonis data model directly into the target application.

Adding Flow Control and Logic

True automation requires intelligence. Instead of just pushing data blindly, you can use our built-in logic tools to ensure your Actions adapt to different scenarios dynamically:

  • Filters: Ensure your automation only runs when strict criteria are met. For example, add a filter to prevent a "Send Vendor Email" Action from running if the vendor's email field is empty.

  • Routers: Create branching pathways within a single Action. For example, you can set up a router that says: If the invoice amount is < $10k, automatically approve it in SAP. If it is > 10k, send a Slack message to the finance manager.

  • Multi-Row Execution: Configure your Actions to handle batch processing. Instead of triggering an Action one-by-one, you can update dozens of rows or records simultaneously based on a single user click.

System Actions

Not every automation needs to interact with a third-party tool. System Actions allow you to automate internal Celonis tasks. You can use these to automatically assign a manual Task to a user in the Celonis platform, or trigger a data export directly from your process models.

Next steps

Once your Action is fully configured and the logic is sound, it is time to put it in the hands of your users. Proceed to Deploying and Triggering Actions to learn how to embed these workflows directly into your Studio Views.