# Creating a Real Time Journey

You can create a real-time journey to interact with existing or potential customers within minutes.

![](/assets/creating-a-real-time-journey-2024-04-16.444f7bf78f15c2b39c265b53774c39b6c3f4fc881a0ae455090270ab63a24e99.9e7171ae.png)

A real-time journey supports the following events:

* [Wait step](/products/customer-data-platform/journey-orchestration/realtime/creating-a-wait-step-for-a-real-time-journey): Customize a user's experience by defining the cadence of interaction to ensure optimum engagement.
* [Real-time triggered activations](/products/customer-data-platform/journey-orchestration/realtime/creating-a-real-time-triggered-activation): Create time-sensitive activations that enable personalized contact with a user within minutes after a purchase or subscription.


A triggered activation should follow a wait step. The system will wait for the specified time before triggering the activation.

* [End step](/products/customer-data-platform/journey-orchestration/creating-an-end-event): A visual indicator that profiles take no further action in the journey flow unless they qualify for a milestone or exit criteria.


## Requirements​

* **Permissions** :
  * Full Control:
    * Create, modify, or delete any journeys in the selected and child folders.
    * Retrieve a list of profiles as well as customer endpoints.
  * View: View real-time journeys in the selected and child folders.
* **Entry-stage criteria** : A real-time journey stage requires entry criteria to start the journey's progress.
* **Milestone** : When a journey has multiple stages, milestones are applied to the subsequent stages to move profiles to the next stage. Milestones are not needed in the last stage of the journey.


You can create a journey goal, entry criteria, and milestones when you [create rules for each stage.](/products/customer-data-platform/journey-orchestration/realtime/creating-stage-rules-for-a-real-time-journey)

## Limitations

* When creating a journey with 120 events, limit your activations to less than 50 for better performance.
* Each stage in a journey can support a maximum of 40 events.


## Create Your Journey

1. Navigate to the Audience Studio.
2. Select a parent segment from the dropdown.
3. The root folder for the parent segment is highlighted. You can create a real-time journey in the route folder or a sub-folder. To create a journey within a sub-folder, highlight that folder.


![](/assets/image2022-2-23_11-24-57.815c4cc63dc69142817cc18d21654fdc5abebe5d1d87a4ea01f0ebf824040a01.9e7171ae.png)

1. Select **Create new**.


![](/assets/image2021-4-14_14-1-40.c14593a04798678bc14f948b921d0285f024ac0343f845075eb3132d6e42b6a2.9e7171ae.png)

All tasks available in the right drop-down menu are also available when you right-click an element in the left folder.

1. Select **Journey**.


![](/assets/copy-creating-a-journey-2024-02-21.72f70d7b3f3aec0c54355d288ad8a1b894f3c924a61d20e39190d61595624a21.9e7171ae.png)

1. Enter the journey name (name must be unique within a folder) and, optionally, enter a description.
2. Select the **Real-time** attribute type.
3. Every journey must have at least one stage. Stage names must be unique within the same journey. You can create 1 - 8 stages.
4. Select **Create**. The Journey canvas displays so you can create rules and add events for each stage.


## Configure Re Entry Settings

You can define whether or not profiles can re-enter a real-time journey. Re-entry settings control what happens when a profile that has already been through the journey qualifies for entry again.

You can only configure re-entry settings when a journey is in draft mode.

1. Open the journey and select the pencil icon to edit journey details.
2. Under **Re-entry of Profiles**, choose one of the following options:


![](/assets/rt-journey-re-entry-settings.153a8744f59eb5dbd20bcdae1a4c87ac3c6295264ea4b1463062bc96277f124d.9e7171ae.webp)

* **Never allow re-entry**: Profiles can only enter the journey once. After a profile exits the journey — whether by meeting the goal, exit criteria, or completing the journey — the profile cannot re-enter, even if it qualifies for the stage entry criteria again.
* **Allow unless goal has been met**: Profiles can re-enter the journey unless they have already met the journey goal.
* **Allow even if goal is met**: Profiles can always re-enter the journey, regardless of whether they previously met the goal.


1. Select **Save details**.


### Re Entry Behavior

The following table describes how each re-entry option affects profile behavior.

| **Profile meets** | Never allow re-entry | Allow unless goal has been met | Allow even if goal is met |
|  --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Exit criteria (**exits journey**) | Cannot re-enter | Can re-enter | Can re-enter |
| Goal (**exits journey**) | Cannot re-enter | Cannot re-enter | Can re-enter |
| Jump from a different journey | Cannot re-enter if the profile has previously entered this journey | Can re-enter unless goal was met | Can re-enter |


When **Never allow re-entry** is selected, profiles that have previously entered the journey cannot jump into it from another journey, even if they qualify. Profiles that have never entered the journey can still jump in. For more details, see [Creating a Jump for a Real-Time Journey](/products/customer-data-platform/journey-orchestration/realtime/creating-a-jump-for-a-real-time-journey).

#### Next Steps

* [Creating Stage Rules for a Real-time Journey](/products/customer-data-platform/journey-orchestration/realtime/creating-stage-rules-for-a-real-time-journey)
* See also [Journey FAQs](/products/customer-data-platform/journey-orchestration/batch/journey-faqs).