An Automation is executed in one of three ways:
Scheduled
ZAB Automation records can be scheduled to run on a recurring basis. The Automation record includes time and interval fields to determine the ‘Next Run Date’, which is set and stamped on a record.
A scheduled script checks for ZAB Automation records where the ‘Next Run Date’ is on or before the current script execution time (which is every 15 minutes). The script then processes any Automation record returned in the results. When the Automation record is processed, the date/time is stamped on the Automation record as the ‘Last Run Date’, and the ‘Next Run Date’ dynamically recalculates using the ‘Last Run Date’ plus the frequency/interval.
For more details, see scheduling an Automation record.
Manual
At any point the Automated Process can be kicked off manually, whether or not it is scheduled, by clicking the ‘Run Now’ button. This will immediately submit the process to the queue.
ZAB API
The ZAB API can be leveraged to trigger a ZAB Automation from an external system. This can be done in tandem with a standard post record operation or the bulk API. Multiple ZAB Automation IDs can be provided in an array to chain process multiple ZAB Automations, in the order which the array is provided. The time at which each ZAB Automation is processed is set on the ZAB Automation record in the ‘Last Run Date’ field.
For example API requests, refer to the ZAB API Documentation.