Inquiry flow steps

Overview

Steps define the logic and actions that occur between screens of an Inquiry flow.

Steps are just one type of building block in an Inquiry flow. See this guide for an overview of all the building blocks.

What should you know about steps?

• There are different types of steps:
  • Action steps take an action or series of actions.
  • Conditional steps express branching logic.
  • Parallel steps enable multiple branches of action steps to run at the same time. 
• Steps are part of modules: The easiest way to add steps to your flow is by dropping in a prebuilt Flow module. For example, you can drop in a Government ID Verification module that includes both screens and steps for that type of Verification.
• If needed, you can add or edit steps. Reach out to us for help.

Action step

An action step—as the name suggests—takes action. There are many types of action steps. For example, action steps can:

• Run Verifications. For example, a step can run a Selfie Verification. 
• Act on other parts of Persona. For example, a step can update the fields of an Account.
• Take custom action beyond Persona. For example, a step can run custom JavaScript code, or make an HTTPS request.

In the Flow Editor, an action step is represented as a square with a lightning bolt symbol:

Action sequence

You can define multiple action steps to run one after another. Multiple actions in a row form an action sequence.

To illustrate, here's an example of a simple action sequence that occurs in Persona's standard Government ID Verification module:

1. Run an Government ID Verification using a specific Verification Template
2. Update Fields on Inquiry from the Government ID Verification

Conditional step

A conditional step lets you express custom branching logic. For example, you can use a conditional step to define multiple retries for a Verification, or to ask higher-risk individuals to go through an additional type of Verification.

This is what a conditional step looks like in the Flow Editor:

Routes

A route is a branch of a conditional step. The logic for each route can be customized.

Each route is processed in order. For example, if there are three routes, Route 1 is processed first, then Route 2, then Route 3.

Example

You can place a conditional step in your Inquiry flow right after a Government ID Verification module. The conditional step could have the following three routes that depend on the outcome of the Verification:

• Route 1: The Verification attempt passed. 
  
  • This route might be followed by another type of Verification, or by a Success screen.
• Route 2: The Verification attempt did not pass (i.e. it did not go through Route 1), and the number of Verification attempts is below an allowed number.
  
  • This route might be followed by a screen that asks the end user to retry, then a connector that connects the flow back to the start of the Government ID Verification module.
• Route 3: For everything else (i.e. the Verification attempt did not go through Route 1 or Route 2).
  
  • This route might be followed by a Failed screen, or a connector that connects to a Failed screen.

Parallel step

A parallel step lets you run multiple branches of action steps at the same time.

Parallel steps are less commonly used than action steps and conditional steps.

Adding or editing steps

Steps via modules

Steps are a component of many prebuilt modules. A common way to add steps to a flow is by adding a module that includes steps (and screens). This is easier than building steps from scratch.

Persona offers a number of useful modules. For example, the Verifications types we offer—such as Government ID Verification, Selfie Verification, and Documents—are packaged as modules that you can drop into your flow.

Custom edits

If you would like to make custom edits to steps in your flow, reach out to your customer success manager or contact the Persona support team.