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Decision with waiting step

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Decision with waiting step

Section titled “Decision with waiting step”

This pattern needs three automations. It handles “Is something ready?” - either proceed immediately or wait until it is.

The pattern

Section titled “The pattern”
  • YES - skip waiting, go directly to the next step
  • NO - show a waiting step, then continue when it’s done

One automation for YES and one for NO only handle the decision. A third automation shows the next step once the waiting step is completed.

Example: payment confirmation

Section titled “Example: payment confirmation”

Say you have three steps:

  1. Decision step - “Has the customer paid?” (YES/NO field)
  2. Waiting step - “Hold until payment received” (starts hidden, because an automation shows it)
  3. Confirmation step - “Record payment evidence” (starts hidden, because an automation shows it)

All three automations

Section titled “All three automations”

Each one is a visibility action that shows or hides a step.

Automation 1 - YES path (customer already paid):

If

  • Payment is Yes

Then

  • Hide step
    Apply to
    Hold until payment received
  • Show step
    Apply to
    Record payment evidence

A customer who has already paid skips the wait and goes straight to confirmation.

Automation 2 - NO path (customer hasn’t paid yet):

If

  • Payment is No

Then

  • Show step
    Apply to
    Hold until payment received
  • Hide step
    Apply to
    Record payment evidence

For an unpaid customer, the waiting step appears and confirmation stays hidden until automation 3 shows it.

Automation 3 - Waiting complete (payment has now arrived):

If

  • Hold until payment received is completed

Then

  • Show step
    Apply to
    Record payment evidence

When someone completes the waiting step, this automation shows the confirmation step.

Common mistake

Without automation 3, the confirmation step stays hidden after the waiting step is completed, unless someone shows it by hand. The NO path dead-ends.

Why you need all three

Section titled “Why you need all three”

Here’s what happens with only two automations:

ScenarioWhat happens
YES selectedWorks fine - confirmation step appears
NO selectedWaiting step appears, confirmation hidden
Waiting step completedNo automation reads the waiting step, so confirmation stays hidden
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