Spike testing

Flow Optimization Best Practices

Maximize performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency in your LeadConduit flows. Learn proven strategies from high-volume implementations and expert recommendations.

📍 You Are Here

You're ready to optimize your flows for peak performance. This guide shares battle-tested strategies for building fast, reliable, and maintainable lead management systems.

🎯 Optimization Goals

• Speed: Sub-second processing
• Reliability: 99.9% uptime
• Efficiency: Minimal API calls
• Scalability: Handle volume spikes
• Maintainability: Easy updates

⚡ Performance Optimization

Step Ordering Strategy

Order steps from fastest/cheapest to slowest/expensive:

Optimal Order:
1. ✓ Format validation (instant)
2. ✓ Duplicate check (fast lookup)
3. ✓ Business rules (local logic)
4. ✓ Email validation (API call)
5. ✓ Phone validation (API call)
6. ✓ Data enhancement (expensive API)
7. ✓ Delivery (final step)

Why This Works:

• Reject bad leads early
• Minimize API costs
• Reduce processing time
• Improve success rates

🛡️ Reliability Patterns

Failover Configuration

Build redundancy into critical steps:

Primary Email Validator
  ↓ (on failure)
Secondary Email Validator
  ↓ (on failure)
Basic Format Check + Accept

Retry Logic

Smart retry strategies:

// Exponential backoff
Attempt 1: Immediate
Attempt 2: Wait 1 second
Attempt 3: Wait 2 seconds
Attempt 4: Wait 4 seconds
Attempt 5: Wait 8 seconds

// Only retry on specific errors
Retry on: 500, 502, 503, 504, timeout
Don't retry on: 400, 401, 403, 404

Circuit Breaker Pattern

Prevent cascade failures:

if (recent_failure_rate > 50%) {
  skip_enhancement = true
  use_cached_data = true
  alert_team = true
}

// Resume after cooldown
if (time_since_circuit_open > 5_minutes) {
  test_with_single_request()
}

💰 Cost Optimization

API Call Reduction

Pre-validation:

// Check format before API call
if (!email.includes('@')) {
  skip_email_validation = true
}

if (phone.length != 10) {
  skip_phone_validation = true
}

Conditional Enhancement:

// Only enhance high-value leads
if (lead_score < 70) {
  skip_expensive_enhancements = true
}

// Geographic restrictions
if (state not in target_states) {
  skip_demographic_append = true
}

Batch Processing

For non-urgent flows:

Real-time: $0.10 per validation
Batch (1hr delay): $0.02 per validation
80% cost savings

🏗️ Architecture Patterns

Hub and Spoke

Centralize common processing:

All Sources → [Central Validation Hub] → Multiple Destinations
                 - Email validation
                 - Phone validation
                 - Duplicate check
                 - Compliance check

Benefits:

• Single point for updates
• Consistent validation
• Easier monitoring
• Cost efficiency

Tiered Processing

Different paths for different lead quality:

Premium Leads (Score 90+):
→ Full enhancement
→ Real-time delivery
→ Multiple retries

Standard Leads (Score 50-89):
→ Basic validation
→ Batch delivery
→ Single retry

Low Quality (Score <50):
→ Format check only
→ Bulk file delivery
→ No retries

Modular Design

Build reusable components:

[Phone Module]
- Format standardization
- Carrier lookup
- DNC check
- Line type detection

[Email Module]
- Format validation
- Domain check
- Deliverability score
- Role account detection

[Compliance Module]
- TCPA verification
- State regulations
- Consent validation
- Age verification

📊 Monitoring and Alerting

Key Metrics to Track

Performance Metrics:

Average Processing Time: < 1 second
Success Rate: > 95%
API Response Time: < 500ms
Queue Depth: < 100 leads

Business Metrics:

Cost per Lead: Track weekly
Acceptance Rate by Source: Daily
Revenue per Lead: Monthly
Enhancement ROI: Quarterly

Alert Thresholds

Configure smart alerts:

// Critical alerts (immediate)
success_rate < 80%
processing_time > 5 seconds
authentication_failures > 10/minute

// Warning alerts (hourly digest)
success_rate < 90%
api_costs > daily_budget * 0.8
queue_depth > 1000

// Info alerts (daily summary)
new_error_types
performance_degradation > 10%
unusual_volume_patterns

🧪 Testing Strategies

Load Testing

Before major changes:

# Gradual load increase
Minute 1: 10 leads/second
Minute 2: 20 leads/second
Minute 3: 50 leads/second
...
Find breaking point

# Spike testing
Normal: 10 leads/second
Spike: 200 leads/second for 30 seconds
Return: 10 leads/second
Monitor recovery

A/B Testing

Test optimizations safely:

90% → Existing flow (control)
10% → Optimized flow (test)

Measure:
- Processing time
- Success rate
- Cost per lead
- Revenue impact

Canary Deployments

Roll out changes gradually:

Hour 1: 1% of traffic
Hour 2: 5% of traffic
Hour 3: 25% of traffic
Hour 4: 50% of traffic
Day 2: 100% of traffic

🔧 Maintenance Best Practices

Regular Audits

Monthly Review:

• Remove unused steps
• Update API credentials
• Review error patterns
• Optimize slow steps

Quarterly Deep Dive:

• Full flow documentation
• Cost analysis
• Performance benchmarking
• Architecture review

Version Control

Track flow changes:

Version 2.1.0 - 2024-01-15
- Added phone carrier lookup
- Improved state validation
- Fixed timezone handling

Version 2.0.0 - 2023-12-01
- Major refactor for performance
- Added parallel processing
- New retry logic

Documentation Standards

Every flow should have:

• Business purpose
• Technical diagram
• Field definitions
• Integration details
• Troubleshooting guide

💡 Advanced Techniques

Dynamic Routing

Route based on real-time conditions:

// Time-based routing
if (current_hour >= 9 && current_hour <= 17) {
  route_to = "call_center"
} else {
  route_to = "email_queue"
}

// Load-based routing
if (call_center.queue_size > 100) {
  route_to = "overflow_center"
}

// Performance-based routing
if (vendor_a.success_rate > vendor_b.success_rate) {
  primary_route = "vendor_a"
}

Predictive Optimization

Use historical data:

// Predict best delivery time
best_time = analyze_conversion_by_hour(lead.state)
schedule_delivery(best_time)

// Predict lead quality
expected_value = ml_model.predict(lead_attributes)
if (expected_value > threshold) {
  apply_premium_processing()
}

📈 Scaling Strategies

Horizontal Scaling

Distribute load across flows:

Flow 1: States A-M
Flow 2: States N-Z

or

Flow 1: Source Type = Web
Flow 2: Source Type = Mobile
Flow 3: Source Type = Partner

Vertical Scaling

Optimize individual components:

Before: Single validation step (3 seconds)
After: Parallel validation (1 second)

Before: Sequential delivery (5 attempts)
After: Smart retry with backoff (3 attempts)

🎯 Optimization Checklist

Performance:

• Steps ordered by speed/cost
• Parallel processing where possible
• Caching implemented
• Unnecessary steps removed

Reliability:

• Retry logic configured
• Failover paths defined
• Error handling complete
• Monitoring active

Cost:

• API calls minimized
• Conditional processing used
• Batch options evaluated
• ROI tracked

Maintenance:

• Documentation current
• Version tracking active
• Regular audits scheduled
• Team trained

📚 Related Documentation

• Managing Flow Steps - Step configuration
• Monitoring Performance - Metrics tracking
• Common Issues - Problem solving

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🚀 Peak Performance: Optimization is an ongoing journey. Start with quick wins, measure everything, and continuously refine. Your flows will become faster, more reliable, and more cost-effective with each iteration!