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Elementum Best Practices

Master the art of building effective workflows with these proven patterns and strategies. This guide covers the essential principles that separate good Elementum implementations from great ones.

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Core Objects Overview

Understanding Elementum’s core objects is fundamental to building effective workflows. Each object serves a specific purpose and excels in particular scenarios.

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Services

Best for: Customer support, help desk, and request portals

When to Use Services

• Creating user-facing portals for request submission
• Automatically generating Application records from submissions
• Standardizing intake processes across teams
• Providing self-service capabilities to end users

Example Use Cases:

• IT helpdesk portal
• Employee onboarding requests
• Customer support ticket system
• Equipment request portal

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Applications

Best for: Tracking individual business processes and work items

When to Use Applications

• Managing unique work items that progress through stages
• Tracking complex business processes with multiple stakeholders
• Coordinating work that spans multiple departments
• Maintaining audit trails for compliance

Example Use Cases:

• Contract approval workflows
• Employee onboarding processes
• Customer implementation projects
• Compliance audits

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Tasks

Best for: Breaking down work into manageable, assignable activities

When to Use Tasks

• Decomposing complex Applications into smaller activities
• Assigning specific work to individual team members
• Creating parallel workstreams within larger processes
• Tracking progress on detailed work items

Key Principles:

• Tasks should be specific and actionable
• Assign clear ownership and deadlines
• Use Tasks to create accountability within larger workflows
• Complex Applications often require multiple related Tasks

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Elements

Best for: Managing structured data with unique identifiers

When to Use Elements

• Storing configuration, master, or transactional data
• Managing data that needs unique identification
• Creating relationships between different data types
• Building searchable, updateable data repositories

Requirements:

• Each record must have a unique identifier
• Data structure should be relatively stable
• Updates need to be tracked and auditable

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Tables

Best for: Data analysis, reporting, and automation triggers

When to Use Tables

• Joining and manipulating Elementum objects for insights
• Accessing Snowflake data without primary key requirements
• Powering Data Mines for automation workflows
• Creating complex analytical views

Advantages:

• No primary key requirements unlike Elements
• Effective for aggregations and analytics
• Essential for automation triggers

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Surveys

Best for: Collecting structured feedback and responses

When to Use Surveys

• Gathering feedback from internal and external users
• Collecting parallel responses from multiple stakeholders
• Linking feedback directly to Application records
• Creating standardized data collection processes

Best Practices:

• Design questions to minimize ambiguity
• Link Surveys to relevant Applications for context
• Use conditional logic to improve user experience
• Plan for data analysis during survey design

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Implementation Strategies

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Object Selection Framework

Follow this decision tree to choose the right object for your needs:

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Building Effective Relationships

Strategic relationships between objects unlock Elementum’s full potential:

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Relationship Best Practices

• Hierarchical Relationships: Use parent-child relationships for natural hierarchies
• Reference Relationships: Link to Elements for master data lookups
• Process Relationships: Connect workflow stages through Applications and Tasks
• Contextual Relationships: Link Surveys to Applications for process-specific feedback

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Performance Optimization

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Query Performance

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Data Architecture

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Security and Governance

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Access Control

• Role-Based Access: Align Elementum roles with organizational structure
• Data Sensitivity: Classify data and apply appropriate restrictions
• Workflow Permissions: Control who can view, edit, and approve at each stage
• Audit Trails: Maintain complete records of all changes and approvals

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Governance Framework

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Common Pitfalls to Avoid

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❌ Object Misuse

Using the Wrong Object Type

Problem: Choosing Tables when Elements are needed, or vice versaSolution:

• Use Elements when you need unique identifiers and data integrity
• Use Tables for analysis and reporting without unique constraints
• Use Applications for process tracking, not just data storage

Red Flags:

• Multiple “Tables” that should be related Elements
• Applications with no associated Tasks or workflow
• Elements being used purely for analytics

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❌ Over-Engineering

Creating Unnecessarily Complex Relationships

Problem: Building elaborate relationship networks that slow performanceSolution:

• Keep relationship chains under 3 levels deep
• Document the business justification for each relationship
• Regular reviews to eliminate unused connections

Red Flags:

• Relationships that require multiple hops to access data
• Circular references between objects
• Relationships created “just in case”

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❌ Poor Data Design

Inadequate Planning for Data Growth

Problem: Not considering how data volume will impact performanceSolution:

• Plan for 10x current data volume
• Implement archiving strategies early
• Use appropriate Snowflake table types (see Table Types Guide)

Red Flags:

• No data retention policies
• Single large tables without partitioning
• No performance monitoring in place

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Success Metrics

Track these key indicators to measure your Elementum implementation success:

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Next Steps

Ready to implement these best practices? Here’s your roadmap:

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This guide is regularly updated based on customer feedback and new Elementum features. Last updated: