Create a Scheduled Whiteboard

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Goal

Set up a scheduled whiteboard that starts on a specific date and time and enrolls the correct audience.

Prerequisites

You must meet the following requirements before you create a scheduled whiteboard:

  • Whiteboards are enabled as an extra feature in your system.

  • You have the required permissions for whiteboards and automations:

    • Permission 1600: Whiteboard: View All

    • Permission 1602: Whiteboard: View and Edit All Whiteboards

    • Permission 356: Automations: Activate Automations

  • Any required resources are prepared in advance, for example:

    • Segments

    • Prepared messages

Whiteboard Behavior and Rules

As you work, Mapp Engage displays only the events, jobs, and filters that are valid for the current step. Options that are not allowed in a specific location are hidden.

General rules for scheduled whiteboards

  • The scheduled whiteboard begins on the defined date and time. When the start task runs, all contacts begin their journey.

  • Contacts are enrolled only if they are active members of the audience group when the first scheduled step begins. Contacts who join later are not enrolled.

  • Always plan enough time between steps. The minimum delay between steps is one hour. Some processes require more time, especially when message sendout is distributed over time.

  • You can add an event zone to react to individual contact behavior in real time.

Rules for Start Jobs

  • The Whiteboard Audience start job is mandatory. The Import Contacts start job is optional.

  • If you use both start jobs, Import Contacts must be the first step, and Whiteboard Audience the second step.

  • If the plan starts with an Import Contacts job, add a Wait step of at least one hour. Import times vary from minutes to several hours. For imports larger than 500k contacts, a six-hour wait is recommended.

  • When the plan starts with an import, the audience group is automatically set to the import’s target group.

Procedure

A) Creating the Whiteboard

  1. Go to Automations > Whiteboards.

  2. Click Create new Whiteboard.

  3. Choose how you want to create the whiteboard. Available options are:

    • Start from scratch

    • Reuse a Whiteboard

    • Create from template

  4. In the Create new Whiteboard window, select Scheduled.

  5. Enter a unique name for the whiteboard (maximum 100 characters). You can later use the global search in the top navigation to find the plan by name.

  6. (Optional) Enter a description for the whiteboard (maximum 1,000 characters) to help you identify it in the system.

  7. Click Create.

Defining a Goal Event

  1. Click Setup.

  2. In the Whiteboard Goal area of the Setup panel, select the goal event that defines when contacts end their journey on the whiteboard.

    • All standard whiteboard events can be used as a goal event.

    • Goal events cannot be split.

    • If the same event is both defined as the goal and also placed on the whiteboard, the goal event has priority. The journey after that event does not continue.

  3. Click Apply to save your changes and return to the whiteboard canvas.

B) Configure whiteboard details

  1. On the whiteboard canvas, click Add First Step, then select one of the following tasks:

    • Whiteboard Audience - Defines when the plan starts and which contacts can enter. Only contacts who are active members of the audience group when the first step begins are enrolled. Contacts who join the group afterward are not enrolled.

    • Import Contacts - Adds contact data stored on an FTP server to an existing group. The group that receives the imported contacts becomes the whiteboard audience group. For more information, see the Import Contacts (Job) topic.

  2. Click Apply.

  3. Click the Add Next Step rectangle on the whiteboard canvas to add additional steps.

  4. Continue adding steps until your whiteboard plan is complete.

  5. In the Actions menu, click Validate.

  6. In the Actions menu, click Save.

C) Activating the whiteboard

In the Actions menu, click Activate to activate the scheduled whiteboard plan.

  • If the plan is logically correct and all required fields are completed, the system activates the plan and sets the status to Active.

  • When a whiteboard is active, the system executes the sequence of steps on the plan.

  • If the whiteboard contains errors, activation is not possible. An error message appears at the bottom of the screen and in the notification center.

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