Key Concepts

Core Concepts

Thread is built around four fundamental concepts that work together to automate customer onboarding:

Templates

Reusable onboarding blueprints that define the customer journey

Milestones

Sequential phases within templates (Kickoff, Implementation, Go-Live)

Actions

Specific tasks within milestones (emails, forms, docs, meetings)

Automation

Triggers, AI generation, and execution rules that power workflows

Let’s explore each concept in depth.

Templates

Templates are the foundation of Thread. They capture your proven onboarding process as a reusable workflow. [SCREENSHOT: Template editor showing complete template structure] Caption: A template with multiple milestones and actions configured

What’s in a Template?

A template contains:

Metadata - Name, description, estimated total duration
Milestones - Sequential phases of the onboarding journey
Actions within milestones - Specific tasks that execute during each phase
Automation rules - When and how actions trigger
Portal configuration - What customers see at each stage

// Template structure (simplified)
{
  name: "Standard SaaS Onboarding",
  duration_weeks: 8,
  milestones: [
    {
      name: "Kickoff",
      sequence: 1,
      duration_days: 7,
      actions: [/* ... */]
    },
    {
      name: "Implementation",
      sequence: 2,
      duration_days: 30,
      actions: [/* ... */]
    },
    // More milestones...
  ]
}

Template Immutability

Critical concept: When you apply a template to an account, Thread creates an immutable snapshot of that template’s configuration.

This means:

✅ You can edit templates anytime without affecting existing accounts
✅ Each account keeps the template version it started with
✅ Consistency is guaranteed for in-flight customers
❌ Changes to templates don’t retroactively affect existing accounts

Why this matters: If you improve your template based on learnings, new customers get the updated version while existing customers complete their original journey without disruption.

Creating Effective Templates

Start with 3-5 milestones and 2-3 actions per milestone. You can always add complexity later.

Good milestone examples:

Kickoff (Week 1)
Technical Setup (Weeks 2-3)
Training & Enablement (Weeks 4-5)
Pilot Program (Week 6)
Go-Live (Week 7)
Post-Launch Support (Week 8)

Bad milestone examples:

“Everything” (too broad)
“Phase 1” (not descriptive)
“Setup Part A” and “Setup Part B” (over-segmented)

Milestones

Milestones represent phases of the customer journey. They provide structure and progress tracking. [SCREENSHOT: Milestone card in template editor showing actions] Caption: A milestone with actions, duration, and dual perspective descriptions

Milestone Attributes

Each milestone has:

Attribute	Purpose	Example
Name	What phase is this?	”Implementation”
Sequence	Order in the journey	2 (second milestone)
Duration (days)	Estimated time	30 days
CSM Description	What team is doing	”Configure platform, integrate APIs”
Customer Description	What customer is doing	”Provide credentials, review setup”
Actions	Tasks within this phase	Emails, forms, meetings

Milestone Status

Milestones progress through these statuses:

pending → in_progress → completed → blocked

Pending: Not started yet (future milestone)
In Progress: Currently active phase
Completed: All actions done, customer moves to next milestone
Blocked: Stuck due to customer delays or issues

CSMs can manually update milestone status or let it progress automatically based on action completion.

Dual Perspective Display

Every milestone shows two perspectives: CSM View (“What we’re doing”):

Internal team tasks
Technical setup steps
Behind-the-scenes work

Customer View (“What you’re doing”):

Customer responsibilities
Information they need to provide
Decisions they need to make

[SCREENSHOT: Split view showing CSM vs Customer perspectives] Caption: Milestones display differently for CSMs vs customers This dual perspective ensures alignment and clear expectations on both sides.

Actions

Actions are the specific tasks that happen within milestones. Thread supports five action types:

Action Types

Send Email
Request Docs
Collect Info
Schedule Meeting
Slack Message

Purpose: Send templated emails to customers with AI-powered personalizationUse cases:

Welcome emails
Status updates
Reminders and follow-ups
Milestone completion notifications

Features:

Variable interpolation ({{company_name}}, {{csm_name}})
AI-generated draft content
To/CC/BCC recipient management
CSM review before sending

[SCREENSHOT: Email action editor with subject, body, and recipients]

Action Lifecycle

Every action follows this workflow:

Triggered → Draft Generated → CSM Reviews → CSM Edits → CSM Executes → Customer Receives → Customer Responds → Marked Complete

[SCREENSHOT: Action workflow diagram] Caption: Actions move through multiple stages before reaching customers Key points:

✅ Actions are never sent automatically without CSM approval
✅ AI generates drafts but humans have final say
✅ CSMs can edit AI-generated content before execution
✅ Actions track completion and customer responses

Action Triggers

Actions trigger based on rules you configure:

{
  trigger: {
    type: "milestone_start",
    delay_hours: 0
  }
}
// Triggers as soon as milestone begins

Use delays strategically! For example, send a follow-up email 48-72 hours after kickoff to give customers time to complete initial setup tasks.

Automation

Thread’s automation engine handles the heavy lifting so CSMs can focus on high-value work.

How Automation Works

Trigger Processing
- When a milestone starts, Thread scans for actions with milestone_start triggers
- Actions with delay_hours: 0 trigger immediately
- Actions with delays are scheduled for future execution
AI Draft Generation
- Thread uses OpenAI GPT models to generate action content
- Context includes: customer data, template config, milestone info, previous communications
- Drafts are stored in the database for CSM review
CSM Review & Execution
- CSMs see drafts in the Implementation Tab
- They can edit, regenerate, or approve as-is
- Execution sends emails, creates portal forms, etc.
Customer Interaction
- Customers receive emails or see actions in their portal
- They complete actions at their own pace
- Thread tracks completion automatically
Progress Tracking
- Action status updates (pending → ready → review_pending → executed → completed)
- Milestone progress calculated based on action completion
- Overall account health monitored

[SCREENSHOT: Automation flow diagram showing all steps] Caption: Thread’s automation engine orchestrates the entire workflow

AI-Powered Content Generation

Thread uses AI to create drafts for:

Email Content

Input context:

Customer name, company, industry
Template action configuration
Milestone information
Previous email history

Output:

Subject line with personalization
Email body with proper tone
Variable interpolation applied
Call-to-action included

CSMs can regenerate with additional instructions like “Make it more casual” or “Add urgency”.

Handoff Q&A

Input context:

CRM data (deal info, notes, contacts)
Company research
Handoff question prompts

Output:

Draft answers for each question
Sourced from available data
Ready for AE review and editing

AEs can regenerate with extra context before submitting to CSM.

Form Introductions

Input context:

Form purpose
Required fields
Milestone context

Output:

Friendly intro text
Instructions for completion
Motivation for why this info is needed

Scheduled Action Execution

Actions with delays are handled by Thread’s cron system:

When an action has delay_hours > 0, it’s stored in scheduled_action_executions
Every hour, a cron job checks for actions ready to execute
Ready actions are moved to CSM review queue
CSMs see them in the Implementation Tab as new drafts

Scheduled actions appear in CSM review queue but still require manual execution. Thread never sends customer communications without human approval.

Variable Interpolation

Thread supports dynamic variables in email content and other text fields:

Variable	Output	Example
`{{company_name}}`	Customer’s company name	”Acme Corp”
`{{csm_name}}`	Assigned CSM full name	”Sarah Johnson”
`{{csm_email}}`	CSM email address	”sarah@yourcompany.com”
`{{arr}}`	Annual recurring revenue	”$50,000”
`{{close_date}}`	Deal close date	”2024-03-15”
`{{account_name}}`	Account display name	”Acme Corp (Enterprise)”

Example usage:

Subject: Welcome to {{company_name}}!

Hi {{primary_contact_name}},

I'm {{csm_name}}, your dedicated Customer Success Manager at Thread.
I'm excited to help {{company_name}} get up and running!

Let's schedule our kickoff call to discuss your goals and timeline.

Best,
{{csm_name}}

Variables are replaced at execution time, so the latest account data is always used.

Portal Visibility

Actions can be configured for visibility in the customer portal:

CSM Dashboard Only: Internal actions customers never see
Customer Portal: Actions visible to customers with status tracking
Both: Visible to everyone (most common)

Portal visibility affects:

Whether customers see the action in their timeline
Whether they can complete it in the portal
Whether completion is tracked in portal analytics

[SCREENSHOT: Portal visibility toggle in action configuration] Caption: Control what customers see vs internal-only actions

Summary

Thread’s core concepts work together to create scalable, automated onboarding:

Templates capture your onboarding process as reusable workflows
Milestones structure the journey into sequential phases
Actions define specific tasks within each milestone
Automation triggers actions, generates AI drafts, and tracks completion

Create Templates

Learn how to build effective onboarding templates

Manage Accounts

Apply templates and manage customer implementations

Action Types

Complete reference for all action types

Best Practices

Tips for designing high-performing templates

Getting Started

Customer Portal

Admin Guide

Reference

Core Concepts

Templates

Milestones

Actions

Automation

Templates

What’s in a Template?

Template Immutability

Creating Effective Templates

Milestones

Milestone Attributes

Milestone Status

Dual Perspective Display

Actions

Action Types

Action Lifecycle

Action Triggers

Automation

How Automation Works

AI-Powered Content Generation

Scheduled Action Execution

Variable Interpolation

Portal Visibility

Summary

Create Templates

Manage Accounts

Action Types

Best Practices

Getting Started

Customer Portal

Admin Guide

Reference

​Core Concepts

Templates

Milestones

Actions

Automation

​Templates

​What’s in a Template?

​Template Immutability

​Creating Effective Templates

​Milestones

​Milestone Attributes

​Milestone Status

​Dual Perspective Display

​Actions

​Action Types

​Action Lifecycle

​Action Triggers

​Automation

​How Automation Works

​AI-Powered Content Generation

​Scheduled Action Execution

​Variable Interpolation

​Portal Visibility

​Summary

Create Templates

Manage Accounts

Action Types

Best Practices

Core Concepts

Templates

What’s in a Template?

Template Immutability

Creating Effective Templates

Milestones

Milestone Attributes

Milestone Status

Dual Perspective Display

Actions

Action Types

Action Lifecycle

Action Triggers

Automation

How Automation Works

AI-Powered Content Generation

Scheduled Action Execution

Variable Interpolation

Portal Visibility

Summary