Important: Updating the initiator form after a journey has started, especially after some activities have already been completed, can affect the remaining activities.

Example: Employee Onboarding Journey

Let’s say you have initiated an onboarding journey for Emma Johnson, a new Software Engineer joining the San Francisco office, with an original start date of July 8. A few days after the journey request was initiated, Emma requested to postpone her joining to July 22.

As the Journey Request Owner, you update the joining date in the initiator form. However, this may impact the subsequent activities and their timelines. 

Assume that this onboarding journey is structured with the following phases and activities:

Phase 1: Preboarding

(Activities already completed)

  • Activity 1: IT creates an account for Emma Johnson with access starting on the original joining date: July 8.

  • Activity 2: HR verifies documents and shares onboarding materials.

  • Activity 3: Welcome kit is scheduled for delivery to Emma’s home address.

Phase 2: Joining Preparation

(To be triggered next)

  • Activity 4: Laptop delivery is scheduled based on the joining date.

  • Activity 5: Calendar invites are sent for Day 1 onboarding sessions.

  • Activity 6: Manager schedules welcome call and team introduction.

Midway Update

The Journey Request Owner updates the joining date in the initiator form from July 8 to July 22 due to a delay in the employee’s start.

How This Impacts the Journey Request

The joining date typically drives the scheduling and logic of time-sensitive activities in the journey. Updating it mid-way can impact:

  • Laptop and hardware delivery – May already be scheduled based on the original date, leading to early or mistimed delivery.

  • System access provisioning – Access may be enabled too soon, creating security or license utilization issues.

  • Calendar invites for onboarding sessions – Pre-scheduled sessions (e.g., HR inductions, training) will reference the old date and may cause confusion.

  • Manager onboarding tasks – Activities like welcome calls, buddy assignment, and Day 1 prep may need to be redone or rescheduled.

  • Automated communications – Emails or reminders triggered relative to the joining date may already have been sent based on the original timeline.

  • Form-based tasks – Any conditional fields or workflow branching that rely on joining date may no longer function as intended.

Best Practices for Journey Owners

  • Update the joining date only if necessary – Mid-journey changes can cause misalignment across multiple departments.

  • Review all pending activities after the update – Check if dates, assignees, or instructions need correction.

  • Avoid making changes after time-sensitive tasks are already in progress – If multiple critical activities are affected, consider cancelling and recreating the journey to ensure data consistency and task integrity.