Interview
In Salesforce Flows, a flow interview is a running instance of a flow representing one execution path for a user or automated process.
Definition
In Salesforce Flows, a flow interview is a running instance of a flow representing one execution path for a user or automated process. It can be active, paused while waiting for user input, or finished.
In plain English
“In Salesforce Flows, an Interview is a single running instance of a flow. If a flow handles approvals, each approval that goes through it creates one interview. The interview can be active, paused waiting for input, or finished.”
Worked example
When a customer at Larkmoor Capital submits an expense-approval request, an Interview begins on the approval Flow - one running instance of the flow handling that specific request. The Interview can be Active (in progress), Paused (waiting on the approver to act), or Finished (the approval completed). Hundreds of Interviews can run concurrently - each is independent, with its own variable state. Admins can monitor active Flow Interviews from Setup; failed Interviews show with the failure reason for troubleshooting. Each running flow has its own Interview tracking its lifecycle.
Why Interview matters
In Salesforce Flows, a Flow Interview is a running instance of a flow representing one execution path for a user or automated process. Each time a flow is invoked (whether by a record trigger, a user action, a screen flow, or an automated process), a new interview is created to handle that specific execution. The interview can be active (currently running), paused (waiting for user input or a scheduled action), or finished (completed successfully or aborted).
Flow interviews are how Salesforce tracks the state of running flows. For simple immediate flows that complete in milliseconds, interviews come and go without being noticed. For paused flows (like screen flows waiting for user input or scheduled paths waiting for a future date), the interview persists in the database until it resumes. Admins can monitor active and paused interviews in Setup, useful for troubleshooting stuck or failed flow executions. For long-running flows or flows with scheduled paths, monitoring interviews is part of normal operational health.
How organizations use Interview
Monitors paused flow interviews in Setup as part of their operational health checks, catching stuck flows before they cause user-visible issues.
Built a dashboard on flow interview status to track scheduled paths waiting for future actions, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
Treats flow interview troubleshooting as a normal admin task when investigating flow-based automation issues.
Trust & references
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Interview.
- FlowSalesforce Help
Test your knowledge
Q1. What is a Flow Interview?
Q2. What states can a flow interview be in?
Q3. Why monitor paused interviews?
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