Process automation can be a fantastic tool to increase business efficiency & enable your workforce to be more productive.

But, there is a right & a wrong way to bring automation into your organization.

#NoCode #buildinpublic #automation #startup

Common Automation Pitfalls 🧵👇

1. Assuming Things Never Change

Businesses are dynamic organisms that are constantly changing & shifting, reacting to their environment.

This means that the processes you automate will also need to change & shift to continue working as they are intended.

2. Not Monitoring

We've gained a "set it and forget it mentality" when it comes to technology. If you adopt that same perspective for your automations, there is a good chance that something will go wrong somewhere & you will miss it.

Always watch your automations!

3. Not Configuring Alerts

Just because you are monitoring your automations, does not mean that you are done! It is also important to set up alerting so that when something does go wrong, you are notified immediately.

It also allows you to not be staring at the screen 24x7x365!

4. Automating Too Much Too Soon

We all want everything to be done now! But if you try to automate your entire business all at once, you will have a revolt on your hands! Make sure you automate reasonable chunks at one time!

5. Not Breaking Down a Task

Sometimes, even one business process is too much to automate at once. Complex processes can be easier to troubleshoot & integrate into the system if you only automate a small piece at a time.

6. Not Getting Direction from Users

It's easy for us to assume that since we are the ones building the automation, we know what to put into the automation.

The reality is that the user which performs these tasks on a regular basis is your best source for determining what to do.

7. Assuming Other Services are Working

When our automation touches a number of different systems, make sure that you work into the automation to check that each of the services is working.

Otherwise, these out of your control systems can make your automation fail!

8. Assuming Users Understand Their Work Processes

It may come as a surprise that most workers don't actually know the process they follow to do their jobs. You will probably need to spend considerable time with each user coaxing the details out of them.

9. Assuming Users Can Describe Their Thought Processes

Sometimes, users need to make a decision that needs to be replicated by the automation. Be prepared to ask a lot of probing questions when they respond, "I don't know how I decide. I just do!"

Summary

While these automation tips won't guarantee that your projects will be trouble-free, they will definitely help you to reduce the issues that you encounter, making for happier implementors & users.

#NoCode #buildinpublic #automation #startup

Common Automation Pitfalls

A client recently asked how to determine when to leave the #nocode/#lowcode platform & develop a "real" app.

A seemingly simple question with a complicated answer requiring an entire thread to address: 🧵 👇 

#buildinpublic #automation #startups

First, this question assumes that you need to move off a @nocode/#lowcode platform. Depending on the tool's purpose and how much is required, there may not be a need to move off it. 

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Second, were the tools designed to be a temporary solution (i.e., proof of concept or a short-term fix/workaround)?

It is really easy to allow a temporary working fix to become permanent.

Put a time clock on its life and re-assess at that time.

Third, is the #nocode/#lowcode app not performing well anymore?

All apps (not just nocode/lowcode) can see performance deteriorate over time. This can be a catalyst to review how that app is built & potentially move to a different framework.

Fourth, do you have access to the resources to re-code this app?

To port this over to a different technology, you need access to:
- developers
- technology
- time

Make sure you have all of these before you decide to move.

Five, is there value in re-coding this app?

Are you considering re-doing this app just to do it "right"? Development for the sake of development may not have a true value proposition.

Summary
A lot of thought & consideration is needed before taking the leap from a #lowcode/#nocode solution to a full dev project using traditional dev methods. Ensure you think carefully about the considerations in this thread first.

#buildinpublic #automation #startups

Develop "Real" Apps

When working with your #lowcode/#nocode tools, make sure you lock them down so that others don't take over and do nasty things with your projects.

Here are some of the #OpenSource tools  I use to make my projects more secure:

#buildinpublic #security #startups #Cybersecurity

OpenVAS (@openvas)
Vulnerability scanner

Website: https://www.openvas.org/
Source Code: https://github.com/greenbone/openvas-scanner

#security #cybersecurity

OSSEC (@ossecproject)
Intrusion detection system

Website: https://www.ossec.net/

#ids #security #cybersecurity

VeraCrypt (@VeraCrypt_IDRIX)
Disk/Partition Encryption

Website: https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Home.html
Source Code: https://www.veracrypt.fr/code/

#encryption #security #cybersecurity

OpenVPN (@OpenVPN)
VPN tunnel server & client

Website: https://openvpn.net/

#vpn #security #cybersecurity

Summary

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you!"

Using the tools mentioned in this thread, you can make your online projects more #secure & reduce the risk to your systems.

#NoCode #buildinpublic #automation #startups

Nocode Security

#NoCode #buildinpublic

Many people think that free #OpenSource software is only for #Linux.

But I use a lot of #FOSS software on my @Microsoft #Windows desktop that I'd be lost without!

These are some of my faves!

25+ FOSS Tools to Improve Your Windows Experience 🧵 👇

7-Zip (@7zip)

Great archiver supporting

Packing/unpacking:
7z
XZ
BZIP2
GZIP
TAR
ZIP
WIM

Unpacking only:
AR
ARJ
CAB
CHM
CPIO
CramFS
DMG
EXT
FAT
GPT
HFS
IHEX
ISO
LZH
LZMA
MBR
MSI
NSIS
NTFS
QCOW2
RAR
RPM
SquashFS
UDF
UEFI
VDI
VHD
VHDX
VMDK
WIM
XAR
Z

https://www.7-zip.org/

Audacity (@getaudacity)

If you need to perform some audio editing, Audacity is a huge help.  I often use it when fixing audio for a video or converting a recording for use in a phone system menu.

Tons of features & useful tools!

https://www.audacityteam.org/

Authy Desktop (@Authy)

Two-factor authentication (#2FA) is critical for your security these days. The desktop version of this #Android app proves to be useful for quickly accessing your tokens.

Even has online backup for restoring in an emergency!

Cryptomator (@Cryptomator)

Have you ever thought about what would happen if an employee for your cloud storage provider went rogue & started messing with your files?

Worry no longer as Cryptomator encrypts your files before they are put on the cloud!

https://cryptomator.org/

DBeaver (@dbeaver_news)

A universal database manager & #SQL/#NoSQL tool.

Supports 80 DBs, including:
@MySQL
@mariadb
@PostgreSQL
@SQLServer
@OracleDatabase
@MongoDB
@couchbase
@Redisinc
@Elasticsearch
@firebirdsql
@SAP MaxDB
@ApacheHive
@CockroachDB

https://dbeaver.io/

espanso (@terzi_federico)

A huge time saver by matching shortcut codes & replacing them with full text. 

For example, instead of typing out your entire signature at the end of each email, you could program espanso to enter it in each time you type :sig

https://espanso.org/

Greenshot (@greenshot_tool)

More than just a #screenshot tool, it has a built-in editor that allows you to annotate your screenshots & #automate some of the more commonly used features.

Very flexible & configurable to your liking.

https://getgreenshot.org/

Inno Setup (with Inno Script Studio)

I sometimes create small Windows applications that I want to easily distribute to people. This is when I turn to Inno Setup to build & package an easy-to-use Windows installer.

https://jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php
https://www.kymoto.org/products/inno-script-studio

Insomnia (@GetInsomnia)

As you can imagine, I do a lot of #API work. Insomnia is my goto tool for figuring out the specifics of different APIs so that I can then transfer them over to @n8n_io. Full export to cURL support as well!

Built by @thekonginc 

https://insomnia.rest/

Irfanview

One of the most flexible image viewers out there. I've been using this for over 20 years. Can perform batch editing of files, add annotation, resizing, converting, and more. Supports most common graphic file formats.

https://www.irfanview.com/

LockHunter

Ever try to delete a file or folder only to be told that one of the files is locked and cannot be deleted?

LockHunter solves this problem for you by determining which file is locked & unlocking it for you so that you can go about deleting!

https://lockhunter.com/

Notepad++ (@Notepad_plus)

An extremely powerful text editor that supports around 80 programming languages with syntax highlighting and code folding.

Rarely a day goes by that I'm not using this tool!

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

OBS Studio (@OBSProject)

If you are looking at creating recordings from your desktop and/or webcam, either for editing later or streaming live, OBS Studio is the tool to use.

https://obsproject.com/

Obsidian (@obsdmd)

A personal knowledge base that uses #markdown files for storing & linking information together. A great way to store your valuable information & connect it all together in a way that works for you.

https://obsidian.md/

OpenRPA

Sometimes, your automations need to interact with your desktop. Many of the #RPA solutions that are available are expensive to perform these actions.

OpenRPA fixes that with a fantastic @OpenSource tool that lets you automate your actions.

https://github.com/open-rpa/openrpa

paint.net (@Paintdotnet)

An easy-to-use image editor that allows you to do some pretty amazing things with your photos. While not Photoshop, it has enough to meet the needs of the majority of users.

https://www.getpaint.net/

PuTTY

This #SSH client has become the standard over the years for Windows users. If you are using any type of terminal emulation system, this is the tool for you!

https://www.putty.org/

Rufus

With the days of CD-ROM drives all but gone, it can be hard to figure out how to install a new OS on a system.

Rufus comes to the rescue by providing you with a simple tool to take the ISO file & put it onto a bootable USB device!

Problem solved!

https://rufus.ie/en/

ScreenToGif (@ScreenToGif)

Sometimes you don't need audio to get your message across & animated GIFs are perfect for this. ScreenToGif helps with this task by capturing activity on your screen, allowing you to edit the output and save as a GIF!

https://www.screentogif.com/

VLC Media Player (@videolan)

If you're tired of fighting with different video formats and CODECs, VLC media player is the tool for you! It also has a lot of powerful advanced features such as video streaming & playing from capture devices.

https://www.videolan.org/

VNC Viewer (@RealVNC)

#VNC has been around for a really long time and has proven itself to be one of the best remote desktop tools around. No need to pay for expensive remote control software. Works on any platform.

https://www.realvnc.com/en/

WinSCP (@winscpnet)

Most (Windows) people associate SSH with the command line. But, it can also be used as a great file transfer. Using WinSCP (Windows Secure Copy) allows you to transfer files easily between systems. Way better than FTP!

https://winscp.net/

WireGuard (@WireGuardVPN)

Securing your data in transit is critical these days. You never know who's listening in. WireGuard is a cross-platform tool that enables you to easily set up secure connections with other systems or networks.

https://www.wireguard.com/

Wireshark (@WiresharkNews)

If you really want to see what is happening under the hood of your network, Wireshark will be your new best friend. You can listen in to all the communication between your computer & other systems on the network.

https://www.wireshark.org/

yED Graph Editor (@yworks)

yED is a GraphML create & viewer, allowing you to quickly & easily create details network, flowcharts & other diagrams. Easily import custom icons in SVG format & even auto arrange the diagram for you!

https://www.yworks.com/products/yed

ZeroTier (@ZeroTier)

Connecting your Windows PC with another remote network is now as easy as entering an access code. ZeroTier does the rest. Remotely connect with servers & systems behind firewalls without any messy/risky port forwarding.

https://www.zerotier.com/

Summary

You can download & install most of these apps quickly via @winstallHQ using the Tephlon App Pack https://winstall.app/packs/g2ZfhQN15 

If you use these tools, remember to support them however you can!

Tell me about the #FOSS #Windows tools you use below! Did I miss any winners?

Windows FOSS Tools

#buildinpublic #automation #startups

At the request of @alistairswilson, here is my present #OpenSource Tech Stack! 

Many of these are #Nocode/#Lowcode tools that make your life a lot easier.

So grab a cup of coffee & settle into:

Top 20 Solutions in My Tech Stack
🧵 👇

1. n8n (#Automation)
What it is: Connects different systems together and automates the tasks.

How I use it: How don't I use it?! Automated emails. Hardware Endpoint. API creation. System monitor.

Twitter: @n8n_io
Website: https://n8n.io

2. Bitwarden (#Password Safe, #Security)
What it is: Safely stores & remembers your passwords so you don't have to.

How I use it: I have over 2000 username & password pairs. This remembers the very long passwords I create!

Twitter: @Bitwarden
Website: https://bitwarden.com/

3. ZeroTier (#VPN, #Security)
What it is: Zero-configuration VPN.

How I use it: Install on systems you want to connect & join the same network. That's it! Now they're available as if they were connected together.

Twitter: @ZeroTier
Website: https://www.zerotier.com/

4. WireGuard (#VPN, #Security)
What it is: Site-to-site VPN.

How I use it: I use this tool to connect remote networks together so that any of the systems in one network can interact with systems in another network.

Twitter: @WireGuardVPN 
Website: https://www.wireguard.com/

5. Caddy 2 Server (#WebServer, #ReverseProxy, #Caching)
What it is: Swiss army knife for online hosting!

How I use it: Host files & websites, reverse proxy, API gateway, web application firewall, certificate manager, cache.

Twitter: @caddyserver
Website: https://caddyserver.com/

6. Traefik Proxy (#ReverseProxy, #security)
What it is: Reverse proxy

How I use it: Traefik handles all of the automatic proxying required for large sites. Integrates nicely with tools like @Docker to provide secure user access

Twitter: @traefik
Website: https://traefik.io/

7. OpenReplay (#SessionReplay)
What it is: Allows you to replay how a visitor travelled through your website.

How I use it: To determine where people leave my website or where they have difficulty navigating the site.

Twitter: @OpenReplayHQ 
Website: https://openreplay.com/

8. PostHog (#ProductAnalysis)
What it is: Website analytics

How I use it: This allows me to better understand the demographics of my site visitors & how to better serve their needs.

Twitter: @PostHogHQ
Website: https://posthog.com/

9. Lowdefy (#Internal #ToolBuilder)
What it is: Internal tool builder

How I use it: I use it to create interactive dashboards & automated webpages when augmented with @n8n.

Twitter: @lowdefy 
Website: https://lowdefy.com/

10. Syncthing (#FileSynchronization)
What it is: File synchronization tools

How I use it: I use this whenever I need to replicate files across the internet when the file systems are behind firewalls.

Twitter: @syncthing 
Website: https://syncthing.net/

11. Ghost (#Blogging)
What it is: Blogging platform

How I use it: I host my website using Ghost. Will also be using it to set up a newsletter (eventually).

Twitter: @Ghost
Website: https://ghost.org/

12. Bookstack (#Documentation #Collaboration)
What it is: Online documentation software

How I use it: Used for creating documentation for any of the projects that I run or products I create.

Twitter: @ssddanbrown
Website: https://www.bookstackapp.com/

13. Docker (#Application #Containers)
What it is: Runs & hosts containerized applications.

How I use it: Great for testing new products or building a simple containerized version of an application.

Twitter: @Docker 
Website: https://www.docker.com/

14. Mattermost (#Messaging)
What it is: Messaging system

How I use it: Real-time communications with your team along with numerous integrations to your other systems. Think #OpenSource Slack

Twitter: @Mattermost
Website: https://mattermost.com/

15. Metabase (#DataVisualization)
What it is: Allows users to visualize data inside their database.

How I use it: Create quick & easy data visualizations for clients or reports. Enable clients to create their own visuals.

Twitter: @metabase
Website: https://www.metabase.com/

16. Directus (#WebApp Creation)
What it is: Database admin & web app tool

How I use it: I create custom web apps along with full database design with this tool.

Twitter: @directus
Website: https://directus.io/

17. Baserow (#Database #WebUI)
What it is: @PostgreSQL Web Front End

How I use it: Easily create databases with APIs for your data. Give users the ability to add data to the database securely.

Twitter: @baserow
Website: https://baserow.io/

18. PostgreSQL (#Database)
What it is: #Opensource database

How I use it: This is the core of all my builds that require a way to store or cache data.

Twitter: @PostgreSQL 
Website: https://www.postgresql.org/

19. Netdata (#SystemMonitoring)
What it is: Monitors #linux systems

How I use it: It tracks all of the details of my systems & provides alerts when things start to go wrong so they can be dealt with quickly.

Twitter: @linuxnetdata
Website: https://www.netdata.cloud/

20. Uptime Kuma (#Uptime #Monitoring)
What it is: Monitors system uptimes & sends out alerts

How I use it: To quickly set up basic monitoring of remote services to ensure they are still working.

Twitter: @LouisLam
Website: https://github.com/louislam/uptime-kuma

Summary

Are there any tools that you use which are not mentioned in this thread? If so, list them below!

There are many other tools that I have not mentioned here but you can find the rest of them here: https://www.notion.so/tephlon/bf7ebcf0c2ce4232a3e02aaf6a66a064?v=cdefa6343c3c49de8b3e53a2af9d81be

#NoCode #buildinpublic #automation #startups