Redpoint Interaction v7.x Documentation
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Redpoint Interaction v7.x Documentation
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Using Execution windows

Overview

Execution Windows restrict the periods of time in which production offer activity execution is permitted in RPI. They were created to solve a specific compliance problem: SMS (Short Message Service) messaging has strict quiet-hours rules at the state and federal level, and organizations can't legally send an SMS outside permitted hours.

Even a campaign scheduled well within the legal window can drift late. For example, an upstream bottleneck could delay a campaign scheduled for 6:00 PM Eastern so that it doesn't actually fire until 8:00 PM. If quiet hours start at 8:30 PM, that run still lands before the cutoff, but there's no buffer left, and the next bottleneck could push the same campaign past 8:30 PM. RPI hands each message off to a downstream provider rather than sending it directly, and that hand-off is the point that needs to be controlled. That's what Execution Windows do: they hold an activity back at the hand-off step until the window allows it to proceed, so nothing is sent and no offer history is recorded in the meantime.

The same idea applies to any channel with a time-of-day or day-of-week restriction, not just SMS. A few things to know before you configure one:

  • An Execution Window is either “Open” (production execution is permitted) or “Closed” (it isn't). Test offer activity execution is unaffected either way; only production offer activity fulfillment is restricted.

  • A window is either “Global” (applies across any channel) or “not Global” (applies only to the channels you assign it to).

  • If at least one open Execution Window applies, execution must occur within it. If a closed window also applies, the closed window takes precedence over the open one.

  • Execution Windows can also be restricted to a specific calendar date range (e.g., a holiday blackout period), in addition to or combined with Time of Day and Day of Week. Refer to Getting started with Execution Windows for the complete reference.

  • Configuring Execution Windows requires the “Configuration - Execution Windows” permission.

  • Execution Windows only gate offer and channel-send activities. Control, Data Transfer, and Export activities always run regardless of any window; there's no option to change that.

The video below walks through creating an execution window and configuring the window with a channel.

For the complete reference and toolbar actions, refer to Configuring Execution Windows.

To navigate to Execution Windows from the RPI home screen:

  1. From the Quick Access menu, go to Management > Configuration, then select Open Configuration Workbench.

  2. In the Configuration Workbench's left-hand navigation menu, under Environment, select Execution Windows.

Use case: Restricting SMS to quiet hours

For this use case, you want to ensure SMS offers never deploy between 9:00 PM and 7:00 AM Eastern. All other channels (email, direct mail, etc) can execute at any time. The first step will be to configure the execution windows, and the final step will be to apply the execution windows to the channel.

To configure the Execution Windows:

  1. In the Configuration Workbench, open Execution Windows.

  2. Select the green plus icon in the toolbar and choose Closed Window.

  3. Give the window a name.

  4. Set Time Zone to Eastern.

  5. Check the Time of Day box and set it to 9:00 PM–11:59 PM.

  6. Save the window.

  7. Repeat steps 2-5.

  8. Check the Time of Day box and set it to 12:00 AM–6:59 AM.

  9. Save the window.

While the window is closed, the activity pauses entirely: RPI won't send the message or record its offer history. Both happen together, automatically, once the window reopens.

Now that the windows are created, we’ll want to apply them to the SMS channel.

  1. In the Configuration Workbench, open Channels.

  2. Choose the SMS channel from the list of channels.

  3. Go to the Execution Windows tab.

  4. Check the box for Override Global Execution Windows.

  5. Use the green plus sign icon to add both Execution windows you just made.

  6. Save your changes in the toolbar.

Individual activities within an interaction can also be configured to bypass Execution Windows entirely, regardless of any Global or channel-level windows that would otherwise apply. On the activity's configuration panel, check Ignore Execution Windows. Control, Data Transfer, and Export activities always bypass Execution Windows this way: there's no checkbox for them, because Execution Windows only ever gate offer and channel-send activities.

Additional resources

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