Make (formerly Integromat) is a powerful no-code automation tool that enables users to create complex workflows without writing code. When working with Make, the goal is to create efficient, smooth-running scenarios that save both time and operations.
Complex scenarios with multiple modules might seem impressive. But it is essential to focus on efficiency and operational costs. Sometimes a smaller but well-organized scenario is better.
Practical Tips to Save Operations
1. Evaluate Your Current Scenarios
Start by letting your scenario run once to see how many operations it uses. Identify modules that consume a lot of operations and determine if you can optimize or eliminate them.
2. Leverage Make Functions
Replace as many purple modules with Make functions. These functions are often more efficient and reduce the overall number of operations.
3. Optimize Scenario Size
Aim to simplify your scenarios. This not only reduces operations but also simplifies your workflow.
Let’s walk through a scenario to illustrate these concepts. Suppose you have a database of students with scores, and you need to send each student an email with their average score.
Original Scenario Steps:
1. Search rows in the database.
2. Filter for certain students.
3. Extract scores using the match pattern.
4. Create an array of scores.
5. Iterate through the array to calculate the average.
6. Set a variable with the average score.
7. Compose an email and send it.
While this setup works, it uses more operations than necessary. Below is the detailed walkthrough to streamline the scenario above.
1. Running Initial Tests. The first step in optimization is to run your scenario once and observe the number of operations used. This helps identify modules that consume a lot of operations, which is where you should start your optimization efforts.
2. Purple modules in Make often indicate opportunities for optimization. For example, instead of using a "Compose a String" module, you can dynamically create text directly within the "Send an Email" module. You can also use Make functions in place of the purple modules.
3. Remove redundant operations. For instance, if you are setting a variable just to use it immediately in the next module, you can often skip this step and directly use the result where needed.
4. Simplify Calculations. Use Make functions like the numeric aggregator to handle calculations directly. Remove intermediate steps like creating and iterating through arrays when possible.
5. Simplify conditions and filters. Use routers and filters to manage conditions efficiently. Routers do not consume operations and provide a clear overview of data flow, making it easier to maintain and debug your scenarios.
Additional Tips:
1. For scenarios that run frequently, consider using real-time triggers instead of scheduled ones. Real-time triggers, like the "Watch Changes" module for Google Sheets, only fire when necessary, saving operations and ensuring timely actions.
2. Combine Functions and modules. Sometimes, advanced optimizations involve combining multiple functions into a single step. For instance, using the sum function in combination with text splitting can effectively replace several modules and operations.
3. Automate the update process for your scenarios to ensure they always run the latest configurations.
Optimized Scenario Steps:
1. Search rows in the database.
2. Filter for certain students.
3. Use Make functions to directly calculate the average from the extracted scores.
4. Compose and send the email.
By reducing unnecessary modules and using Make functions, we save operations and create a more efficient scenario. Let's have a look at the scenario before and after optimization.
Key Takeaway
Always look for modules that can be optimized or replaced with more efficient alternatives. Focus on maintaining simplicity without sacrificing functionality. By doing so, you’ll create Make scenarios that are both powerful and efficient. Start with the most operation-heavy modules, leverage Make functions, and ensure your triggers are set up efficiently.
For more advanced tips and a comprehensive guide to Make functions, download our free Make Functions Cheat Sheet.
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