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How to Set Up a Journey

Journeys are the automation engine of Intervengine. They deliver cards, messages, and actions to participants automatically based on time, responses, and other triggers. This guide walks you through building your first Journey from scratch.

What is a Journey?​

A Journey is a visual state-machine workflow. It defines the stages (states) a participant moves through and the rules (transitions) that advance them from one stage to the next. Each transition can deliver content, send messages, apply tags, and more.

For a full overview, see Journeys.

Prerequisites​

Before building a Journey, make sure you have:

  • Cards created — Journeys deliver Cards to participants, so you need at least one Activity or Content Card ready. See Cards for details.
  • A test participant — you'll want someone to enroll in the Journey to verify it works as expected.

Step 1: Create a New Journey​

  1. Navigate to Journeys in the left menu
  2. Click Create
  3. Enter a name for your Journey (e.g., "Welcome Program" or "Week 1 Check-Ins")
  4. Optionally add a description to help other coaches understand the Journey's purpose
  5. Click Save

You'll be taken to the Journey editor — a visual canvas where you build the workflow.

Step 2: Add States​

States represent the stages a participant moves through. Every Journey needs at least:

  • A start state — where participants enter the Journey
  • One or more intermediate states — the phases of your program
  • An end state — where the Journey is considered complete

To add a state, drag out from the output handle of an existing state and drop it on the canvas. You can also add a state between two existing states by clicking the Add new State button on a transition line.

tip

Name your states descriptively — for example, "Onboarding", "Week 1", "Week 2", "Assessment Review", "Complete". This makes the Journey easier to understand at a glance.

Step 3: Connect States with Transitions​

Transitions define how participants move from one state to the next. To create a transition:

  1. Drag from the output handle of one state to the input handle of another
  2. A transition line appears connecting the two states

Each transition needs a trigger to determine when it fires. You'll configure that in the next step.

Step 4: Configure Triggers​

Every transition needs a trigger — the condition that causes it to fire and move the participant to the next state. There are four trigger types:

  • Time — fires after a set duration (seconds, minutes, hours, or days) from when the participant entered the current state. Use this for time-based programs (e.g., "move to Week 2 after 7 days").
  • Time from Start — fires after a set duration from when the participant first entered the Journey. Use this for absolute scheduling.
  • Response — fires when the participant responds to a message sent by the Journey. Use this for interactive, conversational flows.
  • Signal — fires when a specific event occurs, such as a participant completing an activity, being assigned a tag, or receiving an external event. Use this for behavior-driven logic.
info

For the full reference on signal expressions and syntax, see Signals.

Step 5: Add Attachments to Transitions​

When a transition fires, it can execute one or more attachments — actions that happen as the participant moves between states. Available attachment types:

  • Add Card — assign an Activity, Content, or Health Measure Card to the participant
  • Send Message — deliver an app notification, email, or SMS
  • Start Journey — enroll the participant in another Journey (for branching or chaining workflows)
  • Assign Tags or Remove Tags — update the participant's tags
  • Add Groups — add the participant to a group
  • Add Extras — set custom data on the participant's profile
  • Add Task — create a task for a coach to follow up on
tip

A single transition can have multiple attachments. For example, you might simultaneously assign a Card, send a notification, and apply a tag — all when the participant transitions from one state to the next.

Step 6: Test with a Test Participant​

Before enrolling real participants, always test your Journey:

  1. Create or identify a test participant (or use your own test account)
  2. Open the test participant's profile
  3. Click Assign Journey and select your new Journey
  4. The test participant enters the start state
  5. Verify that transitions fire at the right times and attachments are delivered correctly
  6. Walk through the entire Journey to confirm participants reach the end state as expected
warning

If your Journey uses time-based triggers with long delays (e.g., 7 days), you may need to adjust the durations temporarily for testing (e.g., change to minutes) and then restore them before going live.

Tips for Success​

  • Plan on paper first — sketch your states and transitions before opening the Journey editor. Knowing the flow upfront saves time.
  • Start simple — begin with a linear Journey (state A → state B → state C) before adding branching logic or signals.
  • Use descriptive names — name your states and transitions clearly so other coaches can understand the workflow.
  • Test every path — if your Journey has branching transitions, test each branch to make sure participants are routed correctly.
  • Combine time and signal triggers — a common pattern is to use a time trigger as a default advance (e.g., "move after 7 days") with a signal trigger for early advancement (e.g., "move immediately if assessment is completed").
  • Chain Journeys — use the "Start Journey" attachment to break complex programs into smaller, reusable Journeys.