Paths

Design Considerations

You can edit paths in interactions that are not currently running or paused. You can edit defined paths or default paths. You can delete paths only in stopped interactions. When you click a path, it changes color and the action icon appears. Point to the action icon, and click Edit or Delete.

Advanced Path Criteria

Advanced criteria enables you to use mathematical operations to define a path's criteria. The advanced criteria option is available when you are creating criteria based on these types of attributes:

Date Only
Date and Time
Email
Long Integer
Numeric
Text
Percentage

You can use advanced criteria when you create these types of path criteria:

Attribute criteria
Response history criteria
Contact history criteria
Product history criteria

Example:
An interaction processes subjects who have purchased products from your organization. You want to send 1 message to those subjects who are increasing their spending with your organization, and a different message to those subjects who are decreasing their spending.

You use several extended attributes to track information about purchases:

The Average Monthly Sales extended attribute tracks purchase information for the current year.
The Total Annual Sales extended attribute tracks the total annual purchases for the previous year. You use a derived variable to calculate this value.

To use advanced criteria to determine the customers who are increasing their spending, you complete these steps:

Create a path based on an expression.
Click the Expression tab.
In the Attribute Criteria section, click Add.
In the Title field, type the criteria title.
From the Attribute list, click the Total Annual Sales extended attribute.
From the Operator list, click is less than.
Click Advanced Criteria.
Click Insert Constant.
In the Constant field, type 12.
Click Save.
From the available operators list, double-click the multiplication symbol (*).
From the available additional details list, double-click Average Monthly Sales.
On the Advanced Criteria page, click Save.
On the New Attribute Criteria page, click Save.

You can also use derived variables to calculate complex mathematical expressions. The difference between using derived variables and using advanced criteria is the way in which the result is handled.

When you use a derived variable to calculate a complex expression, the application updates the record of each subject with the result.
When you use advanced criteria to calculate a complex expression, the application does not update each subject's record. The result is used only for the purpose of routing subjects through the interaction.

For date fields, the advanced criteria capabilities also provide the «Process Date» tag. The interaction automatically replaces this tag with the current date when the path processes a subject. You can use this tag to control when subjects proceed to the next step in the interaction. For an example of a path that uses the «Process Date» tag, see Setting Audience Codes to Avoid Overcommunication.

Details

Field	Description
Path Priority	Select the sequence in which the application evaluates the paths. A step can be followed by multiple paths. When a subject leaves a step, the application evaluates each path to see whether the subject qualifies for the path. Subjects go through the first path for which they qualify.
Path Criteria	Select how the path processes subjects.
Target Group	This field appears if you set the Path Criteria field to Use Target Groups. Select the path's target groups. You can select profiles or user-defined groups. You select from the same target groups you added to the interaction.
Percent	This field appears if you set the Path Criteria field to Use Percentage. Type the percentage of subjects that qualify for the path.
Estimated Distribution (%)	This field identified the estimated percentage of subjects that use this path. The application uses this value to generate information in the Cost Matrix module.
Number Passed	This field appears while the interaction is running. This field displays the number of subjects that have gone through the path.

Path Criteria Options

This table describes the methods by which you can distribute subjects down a path. The graphic that precedes the table illustrates the table's examples.

Distribution Method	Description	Example
Evenly Distribute	The interaction randomly selects the subjects that go down each path. All paths receive the same number of subjects. Note: If you select this option for 1 path that leaves a step, you must select this option for all paths that leave the step.	You send 33.333% of the subjects to A, 33.333% of the subjects to B, and 33.333% of the subjects to C.
Use Percentage	The interaction randomly selects the subjects that go down each path. Each path receives the percentage of the subjects that you specify. Note: If you select this option for one path that leaves a step, you must select this option for all paths that leave the step. The total of all percentages must equal 100%.	You send 50% of the subjects to A, 25% of the subjects to B, and 25% of the subjects to C.
Use Expression	If you select this option, you must also configure the Expression tab. The expression criteria determines the subjects that qualify for each path. If a subject does not qualify for any paths, the subject either remains at the current step or qualifies for the default path, if one is defined.	You specify that only the subjects of ages 25 to 30 years old go to A. Subjects of ages 31 to 40 years old go to B. Subjects of ages 41 to 50 years old go to C.
Use Target Groups	If the interaction's target group is audience members, you can select the profiles or user-defined groups to populate the interaction.	You segment your subjects based on their salary, type of job, and region. You specify that only the subjects who made more than $40,000 a year, worked in the medical industry, and lived in Ohio should proceed to A.
All Qualify	If you select this option, all subjects go through this path. When you create a default path, the default path uses this option. Note: If you select this option, no other path can leave the step.	In the illustrated example, you cannot use this option unless you remove two paths and two communicate steps.
Don't Qualify for Any Other Path	A step can be followed by multiple paths. You create this type of path to ensure subjects continue to move through the interaction, even if they do not meet the criteria in other paths. When you create this type of path, it is usually listed last in the Path Priority field.	You use age ranges to qualify subjects for A and B. You send the subjects who did not qualify for A or B to C.

Set Audience Codes

This tab appears if the interaction targets audience members. You can use a path to set a value in an audience code for each audience member that goes through the path. Audience codes enable you to determine how to communicate with your audience members in the future, based on how you have interacted with them in the past.

For an example of how you can set audience codes with an interaction, see Setting Audience Codes to Avoid Overcommunication.

Field	Description
Audience Code	Select the audience code that contains the value you want to set. You can select from all audience codes with Active status.
Operator	Select whether the application sets or clears the audience member's audience code.
Value	This field appears after you select a value in the Audience Code field. Select the value that is entered for the audience code. The Value field is automatically populated with a series of question marks. The number of question marks indicates the length of the audience code you selected. Each question mark represents a position in the audience code. For each position, you can specify a value. If you do not want to specify a value for a position, leave the question mark. If the audience member does not already have the audience code assigned, the path assigns the audience code to the audience member, and sets the appropriate value in it.

Field

Description

Audience Code

Select the audience code that contains the value you want to set. You can select from all audience codes with Active status.

Operator

Select whether the application sets or clears the audience member's audience code.

Value

This field appears after you select a value in the Audience Code field.

Select the value that is entered for the audience code.

The Value field is automatically populated with a series of question marks. The number of question marks indicates the length of the audience code you selected. Each question mark represents a position in the audience code. For each position, you can specify a value.

If you do not want to specify a value for a position, leave the question mark.

If the audience member does not already have the audience code assigned, the path assigns the audience code to the audience member, and sets the appropriate value in it.

Expression

This tab appears if you select the Use Expression option as the path criteria. The first step in configuring the Expression tab is to add criteria for the path. The criteria define the characteristics a subject must have to qualify for the path. Criteria can encompass standard or extended attributes, product history records, contact history records, and response history records. When you add criteria, you specify this information:

Attribute
Determines the attribute to which you apply the criteria.
Operator
Specifies the logical operation applied to the value.
Value
Specifies the value to which the operator's logic is applied.

Tip:
If the Advanced Criteria button is enabled after you select the attribute, you can use advanced logic to define the path's criteria.

For more information about the criteria you can create, see these sections:

Attribute Criteria
Processing Flag Criteria
Contact History Criteria
Product History Criteria
Response History Criteria
Audience Code Criteria
Collect Deadline Criteria
Integration Component Criteria

After you create a path's criteria, you must build an expression. An expression is a logical statement that uses the criteria you created for the path. The expression determines which criteria to use and how to apply that criteria against subjects in the interaction. The expression defines the exact set of subjects that proceed through the path.

You use these items to build an expression:

The criteria you created for the path.
The AND, OR, and NOT operators.
The opening and closing parentheses, to combine statements in the expression and control the order in which the application processes statements.

For more information, see Expressions.

Note:
You must build the expression, even if you have only 1 piece of criteria for the path. If you do not build the expression, the interaction cannot validate properly, and you cannot start it.

You have defined these criteria for a path in an interaction that targets audience members:

Type equals Prospect
Type equals Customer
Region equals Southwest

You want to ensure all prospects and customers who live in the Southwest go through the path.

This is the expression for the path:

( Type equals Prospect OR Type equals Customer ) AND Region equals Southwest.

Attribute Criteria

You can use the value in a standard attribute or a custom attribute to determine whether a subject goes through a path. For an example of a path that uses attribute criteria, see Pathing Based on the Type of Audience Member.

Processing Flag Criteria

You can use a processing flag's value to determine whether a subject goes through a path. A processing flag acts as a counter to keep track of the number of subjects processed in a domain, an activity, or an interaction. You can select from these types of processing flags:

A domain processing flag available to all interactions in a domain
An activity processing flag available to all interactions in a single activity
An interaction processing flag available to a single interaction

For an example of a path that uses processing flag criteria, see Using Processing Flags and Staging Interactions. For more information, see Processing Flags.

Field	Description
Action	Select whether the application updates the processing flags as the path processes a subject. The application performs the action you select on all processing flags that are part of the criteria. If you select Increment, each time the path processes a subject, the application automatically increases the processing flag's value by 1. If you select Decrement, each time the path processes a subject, the application automatically decreases the processing flag's value by 1. A processing flag's value can be alphabetic or numeric. If you want to increment or decrement the processing flag, the value must be numeric.

Field

Description

Action

Select whether the application updates the processing flags as the path processes a subject. The application performs the action you select on all processing flags that are part of the criteria.

If you select Increment, each time the path processes a subject, the application automatically increases the processing flag's value by 1.

If you select Decrement, each time the path processes a subject, the application automatically decreases the processing flag's value by 1.

A processing flag's value can be alphabetic or numeric. If you want to increment or decrement the processing flag, the value must be numeric.

Contact History Criteria

Contact history records store information about the communications your organization has had with audience members. If an interaction targets audience members or leads, you can use the value in a contact history record to determine whether a subject goes through a path.

Field	Description
Record Type	Select the type of contact history record to use as criteria for the path. The record type you select determines which fields are available in the Attribute list. You can use standard or custom contact history record types.

Field

Description

Record Type

Select the type of contact history record to use as criteria for the path. The record type you select determines which fields are available in the Attribute list.

You can use standard or custom contact history record types.

Example:
During the first quarter of this year, you used an interaction to send a survey to your customers. The interaction uses an outbound message to send an email. The email includes a link to an inbound form. When customers click the link, they are directed to a Web page that contains the survey questions.

You want to send the customers who complete the survey a coupon for 1 free admission to a 2-day training program. To do this, you create a path that uses contact history criteria. The title of the survey was Customer Feedback Survey First Quarter. This table describes the path criteria you create.

Contact History Record Type	Attribute	Operator	Value
Inbound Form Completed	Inbound Form Title	is equal to	Customer Feedback Survey First Quarter

Product History Criteria

Product history records store information about products your organization has sold to audience members or products for which audience members have expressed an interest. If an interaction targets audience members or leads, you can use the value in a product history record to determine whether a subject goes through a path.

Field	Description
Record Type	Select the type of product history record you want to use as criteria for the path. The record type you select determines which fields are available in the Attribute list.

Response History Criteria

You can use the value in a response history record to determine whether a subject goes through a path. For each inbound form a subject completes, the application creates a separate response history record. This record contains the values of every form field the subject completed in the inbound form. You can use the results of an inbound form that subjects completed earlier in the current interaction, or that the subjects have completed in other interactions.

For an example of a path that uses response history criteria, see Pathing Based on Response History.

Field	Description
Activity/Lead Process	Select the activity or lead process that contains the inbound form from which you want to draw response history.
Inbound Form	Select the inbound form that contains the form field to insert. The inbound form you select determines which fields are available in the Attribute list. When the interaction runs, the interaction replaces the form field tag with the value the subject provided in the inbound form.

Field

Description

Activity/Lead Process

Select the activity or lead process that contains the inbound form from which you want to draw response history.

Inbound Form

Select the inbound form that contains the form field to insert. The inbound form you select determines which fields are available in the Attribute list.

When the interaction runs, the interaction replaces the form field tag with the value the subject provided in the inbound form.

Audience Code Criteria

If an interaction targets audience members, you can use the value in an audience code to determine whether a subject goes through a path. You can specify whether the path is used by any of these conditions:

Audience members to whom the audience code is assigned, regardless of its value
Audience members to whom the audience code is not assigned
Audience members to whom the audience code is assigned and who have specific audience code values

Field	Description
Attribute	Select the audience code to use as criteria for the path.
Value	Select the values in the audience code that are used as criteria for the path. The Value list is automatically populated with a series of question marks. The number of question marks indicates the length of the audience code you selected. Each question mark represents a position in the audience code. For each position, you can specify a value. If you do not want to specify a value for a position, leave the question mark.

Field

Description

Attribute

Select the audience code to use as criteria for the path.

Value

Select the values in the audience code that are used as criteria for the path.

The Value list is automatically populated with a series of question marks. The number of question marks indicates the length of the audience code you selected. Each question mark represents a position in the audience code. For each position, you can specify a value.

If you do not want to specify a value for a position, leave the question mark.

Example:
You have selected an audience code called PurchaseInfo. This audience code has 6 positions. The Value list initially contains this value:

??????

Your organization uses these positions to indicate the date on which the audience member last purchased a product from you:

The first and second positions indicate the type of product.
The third and fourth positions indicate the month.
The fifth and sixth positions indicate the year.

You want only those audience members who have purchased from you during the current month to go through this path. The current month is August 2012. Therefore, to build this path, you follow these steps:

In the Audience Code Criteria section, you create these criteria:
- An entry named PurchaseMonth. The definition of this criteria is: PurchaseInfo equals ??08??.
- An entry named PurchaseYear. The definition of this path statement is: PurchaseInfo equals ????12.
In the Expression section, create this expression:
Purchase Month AND Purchase Year.

Collect Deadline Criteria

The Collect Deadline Criteria section is available for paths leaving a collect step with a deadline. You can use this section to specify which subjects go through this path if they meet the deadline, or do not meet the deadline, set in the collect step.

Integration Component Criteria

An integration component enables your organization to use its own processing tools in conjunction with interactions. You can use the value returned by a value return integration component to determine whether a subject should go through a particular path. A value return integration component creates a 2-way integration with an external program. The external program returns data to the application.

Example:
You have a booth at an industry trade show. The names of the expected attendees are in Aprimo. At the booth, attendees swipe ID cards that confirm they attended the product demonstration at the booth. This data is collected in an external program. You use the integration component to communicate to the external program to determine the attendees who attended the product demonstration. You use this data as the path criteria to determine whether attendees proceed to the communicate step. The communicate step sends the email to each attendee in an attempt to schedule a sales appointment.