Before
Users likely had to interpret the request, locate the correct project and instance in the cloud environment, determine the instance zone, and then execute the appropriate operation manually. They also had to return to the conversation to request missing details and communicate whether the action was completed.
How it works
- Receive and interpret the Slack request, identifying the desired instance action and any supplied project or instance information.
- Retrieve and present the required project or instance choices, asking follow-up questions when the request lacks enough information.
- Resolve the target instance, execute the requested operation, and post the result back to Slack.
Workflow details
- Request interpretation: A Slack message is received through a webhook and analyzed to identify the requested instance action, such as starting, stopping, suspending, resuming, or resetting an instance, along with any available project and instance details.
- Information gathering: If required information is missing, the workflow asks the user for additional details in the existing conversation. It retrieves projects within the configured organization and presents them as selectable options; when the project is known but the instance is not, it retrieves the instances for that project and presents those as options.
- Target resolution: The selected project and instance are used to identify the relevant instance record and determine its zone. This provides the execution agent with the project, instance, zone, and requested action needed to proceed.
- Action execution: The instance management agent performs the requested operation, including start, stop, suspend, resume, or reset, while observing that resume applies to an instance that was suspended.
- User notification: After the action is performed, the workflow posts a completion message back to the relevant Slack channel or conversation, while missing information is requested in-thread when the request cannot yet be completed.
What changed
Instance operations can now be initiated from a Slack conversation instead of requiring a separate manual lookup and execution process. Project and instance selection, missing-detail checks, zone resolution, action execution, and completion notification are handled within the workflow, while the user still selects the correct project or instance when multiple choices are presented.
Work removed
Manually reviewing each request for the intended instance action, searching organization projects and project instances, identifying the target instance's zone, preparing the execution request, and composing progress or completion messages.
Expected outcome
A complete instance-management request is handled within one Slack conversation, with project and instance discovery automated and the final action result delivered directly to the requester.
