When configuring a Journey, there may be times when you want to account for an event that is not directly handled by the Alloy system, such as extending an offer to a customer or making a request to an external service. The End User and Service Action Node types can be used for this purpose. They allow Alloy to wait on a user-specific or external service event before continuing in the Journey Application. The Review Action Node type is also available and allows for the creation of custom Review nodes and outcomes. This article details the steps for adding Action Nodes within a Journey in the Alloy dashboard.
Create the Action Node
Within the dashboard, Journey Action Nodes can be configured by navigating to Journeys > Manage Actions > Add Action.
On the Add Action modal, complete the following:
Enter an Action Name.
Under Action Type, select End User, Service, or Review depending on the action being configured. The configuration options are the same for all three.
Note: Additional detail on the Review Action Type is included in the Review Action Nodes section below.
Decide whether the Action should expire and select Yes or No.
If the Action should expire, set the number of days before expiration.
Under Select Outcome, set the possible outcomes for the Action.
For example: Expired, Approved, Denied
Any outcome configured in your Alloy account can be used. There is also an option to Create New Outcome on the Add Action modal.
Action Node Configuration
Days to Expiration
Actions can optionally be configured to expire in a set number of days. If an Action expires, the Journey Application will advance to the node to which the expired outcome for that Action is mapped. For example, an End User Action that expires can be mapped to a Denied outcome.
Outcomes
Add the possible outcomes for the Action.
Mapping Outcomes
Once Actions have been created they can be added to a Journey by clicking the + and selecting End User Action or External Service.
For each Action Node outcome configured, an Application Outcome must be mapped. In the below example, the Expired Action Node outcome is mapped to the Denied Application Outcome.
Review Action Nodes
While the Manual Review node type offers only Approved and Denied outcomes, Review Action Nodes allow for the creation of custom nodes and outcomes for the Review branch of a Journey. They provide greater flexibility in aligning Journeys with client-specific use cases.
Within the dashboard, navigate to Journeys > Manage Actions > Add Action.
On the Add Action modal, complete the following:
Enter an Action Name, for example Fraud Review.
Under Action Type, select Review.
Decide whether the Action should expire and select Yes or No.
If the Action should expire, set the Days to Expiration.
Under Outcomes > Select Outcome, set the possible outcomes for the Review node.
For example: Expired, Approved, Denied, and Fraud Alert
Once a Review node has been created it can be added to a Journey by clicking the +, selecting Review, and clicking the new Review node.
For each Review node outcome configured, an Application Outcome must be mapped. In the below example, the Fraud Alert Review node outcome is mapped to the Denied Application Outcome.
While this article documents the basic steps to create Journey Action Nodes in the Alloy dashboard, please see the User Action Nodes section in the Alloy Developer documentation for the technical integration requirements and additional context on this feature.