Using task flow not only for dev purposes

[pmscorca]

Hi,

I'd like to understand better the use of a task flow not only for dev purposes.

It isn't an "operational" item, it represents a visual aid to organize the data flow, from the sources to the presentation layer.

I think that a such object could be useful also for a UAT phase, to propose again into a test environment.

Could it be useful also for the end-users in a prod environment?

Perhaps also the task flow could be deployed as other operational items (lakehouse, pipeline, dataflow gen2, notebook and so on).

Any comments about this subject? Thanks

[pmscorca]

Hi all, thanks for your replies.

I consider the task flow an high-level visual feature more important to provide a graphic and immediate representation of the data flow to build, combining data objects (e.g. lakehouse, warehouse, database, semantic model) and data operations (e.g. pipeline, dataflow, notebook) pictured in processing phases and data architecture, so to present/tell the entire data path, from the sources to the consumption point, to the end-users, also project managers and CIOs/CDOs.
A such graphic representation can be captured and put into a functional requirements document to describe better the data flow for the project approval: a such document is read from business users.

I think this feature has more potential value than it might seem: it is limiting to use it only for development purposes.

The task flow allows a good navigation between the implemented items, often put in folders.

I think that this feature could be further improved, in terms of graphics and navigation.

Thanks for your attention.

[v-saisrao-msft]

Hi @pmscorca,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Your use case for Task Flow as a high-level architecture and communication tool is clear and makes sense. According to the current documentation, Task Flow is designed as a visual, non-operational feature, and your feedback highlights potential areas for future improvement. Since this would be a product enhancement, the best next step is to submit your suggestion directly to the Fabric product team.

You can do this in the Fabric portal by navigating to Help → Feedback → Submit an idea.

Thank you.

[v-saisrao-msft]

Hi @pmscorca,

Thank you @svenchio, for your insights,

Have you had a chance to review the solution we shared earlier? If the issue persists, feel free to reply so we can help further.

Thank you.

[4iurchenko]

Hi,

I fully agree with the replies before. Yes, its primary purpose is to visually explain and split the Fabric items. Also, you may find it convenient to filter the items using the workflow diagram.

What may be counterintuitive is that when you choose the item on the diagram to filter, you may see the items from the different domains, and it may be a bottleneck to use that feature effectively.

So, my advice here is:

1) Formulate what use cases may be interesting for the users on UAT/DEV to use the workflow to understand the engineering part of the solution better? For example, it may be related to the Medallion structure (Bronze, Silver, Gold layers) or different pipeline groups (API, local Data sources, external pipelines).

2) Having in mind the previous thing with domains mixing, I noticed, if the company or the team has a common name convention, it may help to overcome that impediment. Example: adding prefixes to the notebooks/fabric pipelines related to the domain. Like domain1_bronze_dim_loremipsum. Then, when you have that flow, you will be tagging that notebook to the bronze pipeline block, and it will be very easy to use the flow. Because it will be clear what domain it relates to.

That's it from me. Thanks for the good question. If this info helped you out, a thumbs-up 👍 would be awesome! Best of luck, and happy fabric-ing and engineering!

[svenchio]

Hi @pmscorca  I just want to quickly give my two cents on this as I wonder somehow the same as you at some point, in a nutshell from @v-saisrao-msft reply " is a visual feature designed for documenting and understanding workspace structure" but let me expand a bit on "Could it be useful also for the end-users beyond development (e.g. non-prod environment like uat or prod)?" with a couple of ideas: 

• Task Flows are very useful in UAT/PROD to re‑explain the solution and help testers/business SMEs navigate the workspace, It provides a visual explanation of lineage and responsibilities without needing to open every artifact; lpful for governance, audits, and support teams. 
• Standardize acceptance checklists: Pair tasks with descriptions, owners, and links to test cases or runbooks in task notes — the Task Flow becomes the UAT/PROD “index”

The downside is that task flows are not a live, auto‑generated lineage graphs; It’s curated by you assign items to tasks and maintain the diagram, so, it could "labor intensive" and I would recommend you only consider these options if the benefits/value outwages the effort. 

If you find this info. useful, a thumbs-up would be nice ... best of lucks mate! 

[v-saisrao-msft]

Hi @pmscorca,

According to Microsoft documentation, Task Flow in Microsoft Fabric is a visual feature designed for documenting and understanding workspace structure. It does not perform or deploy data processes and cannot substitute pipelines or other operational tools. Task Flows can be exported and imported for reuse in UAT, but only serve as manual documentation, not for CI/CD. In production environments, they are primarily intended for architects and support teams rather than business end users.

Task flows overview - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Work with task flows - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Set up a task flow - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Thank you.