Activities Core Concepts

Audience: Technical Builders, Implementors, and Developers

Purpose: Explains how Activities function within Kizen’s data model so builders can design reliable automations, integrations, and API workflows.

Overview

An Activity represents a human-initiated interaction or a planned touchpoint. Every Activity instance references an Activity Object, which defines the schema, required fields, and allowed associations for a given Activity type.

Each Activity contains:

• System fields: Fields that define the Activity’s identity, scheduling, and associations, such as:

  • Activity name (for example, call, meeting, inspection)

  • One or more associated records (such as a Contact or Custom Object), all records of an object type, or no associated records

  • Timestamps (due_datetime, logged_at)

• Activity fields: Fields that are defined and stored directly on the Activity record, including:

  • Notes and descriptions

  • Participants or mentions

  • Categories or tags applied to the Activity

• Custom fields: Fields that are displayed and editable from the Activity, but whose values are stored on a related Custom Object. These are any custom fields configured for the Activity type.

System Behavior

Once logged or scheduled, an Activity:

• Appears on each associated Records Timeline

• Can trigger automations

• Updates reporting datasets

• Is accessible via API, Automations, or UI

• Sends webhook events (only when logged)

Note: A Scheduled Activity can be retrieved or modified via API, Automations, or UI. Logged Activities record completed interactions and are typically not modified after creation.

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Why Activities Matter

Activities help teams understand the full context of each associated record, including:

• Shared interaction history: Activities provide a chronological record of human interactions associated with a record.

• Clear interaction states: Scheduled and Logged Activities distinguish planned work from completed interactions.

• Standardized engagement data: Activity Objects define consistent schemas for capturing calls, meetings, and other touchpoints.

• Reliable handoffs: Activities preserve context, outcomes, and ownership so work can continue without reconstruction.

• Automation and integration hooks: Activity lifecycle events can trigger automations or external workflows via APIs and webhooks.

• Reporting and analytics inputs: Activities supply structured engagement data for dashboards, reports, and operational metrics.

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Scheduled vs. Logged Activities

A Scheduled Activity represents a future human interaction that has not yet occurred, while a Logged Activity represents a completed interaction. A Scheduled Activity transitions into a Logged Activity once the interaction occurs and the outcome is recorded.

This transition affects how the Activity behaves in the system:

• Scheduled Activities are mutable and used for planning

• Logged Activities are immutable and serve as a historical record.

Lifecycle transitions can trigger automations, webhooks, and reporting updates. The differences between the two are outlined below.

Attribute	Scheduled Activity	Logged Activity
What it represents	An interaction planned for the future	An interaction that has occurred
Lifecycle state	Pre-execution	Post-execution
When it's created	Before the interaction	After the interaction
Primary timestamps	due_datetime	logged_at / completed_at
Mutability	Can be updated, rescheduled, or canceled	Treated as append-only
Timeline behavior	Appears as upcoming	Appears as completed
Automation usage	Drives reminders and time-based triggers	Drives completion-based triggers and reporting
State transition	Converts to a Logged Activity when completed	Does not transition to another state
Trigger Webhooks	Cannot trigger webhooks	Can trigger webhooks

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How Activities are Used

Activities appear across multiple areas of the Kizen platform, allowing the same interaction data to support planning, execution, visibility, and automation.

Calendars

Activities with a scheduled date and time appear on calendars. This helps teams see upcoming work, plan capacity, and manage time-based commitments without duplicating data in a separate scheduling system.

Automations

Activities can trigger automations or be created by them. This allows workflows to respond to real interactions, such as sending follow-ups after a call is logged or scheduling reminders when an Activity is created. Activity lifecycle events—such as creation, updates, and completion—can trigger automations within Kizen or be consumed via APIs and webhooks by external systems.

Dashboards

Activity data feeds dashboards and reports. Teams can measure volume, timing, completion rates, and outcomes of interactions to understand performance and operational trends.

Timelines

Activities appear in Timelines alongside other relevant events. This gives teams a chronological view of what happened and what’s planned, providing full context for each Contact or Record.

These surfaces reflect Activity data but do not own it. The Activity record remains the source of truth.

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Key Use Cases

From a builder or system perspective, Activities support workflows such as:

• Pipeline management (sales calls, demos, negotiations)

• Service delivery tracking (on-site visits, inspections, appointments)

• Support processes (case updates, customer follow-ups)

• Compliance workflows (document reviews, required touchpoints)

• Operational logging (visit logs, check-ins, approvals)

• Engagement-based automations (triggering workflows from Activity events)

Because Activities are exposed through APIs and Automations, they function as a shared engagement object across the entire platform.

Industry Examples

Activities are flexible and can support any workflow. These short examples highlight how three different industries use Activities to capture human interactions.

Insurance

Insurance Teams Managing Policyholder Interactions

Insurance workflows use Activities to capture structured records of every interaction across the policy lifecycle, , supporting underwriting, compliance, renewals, and automation.

Examples include:

• Logging an Initial Coverage Consultation documenting coverage needs, risk factors, and existing policies

• Recording a Quote Review Call with pricing options, endorsements, and requested changes

• Logging an Underwriting Follow-Up to track required documents or clarifications

• Scheduling a Policy Renewal Outreach Activity tied to expiration dates and retention workflows

How Activities help:

• Provide a complete, auditable history of policyholder interactions for regulatory and internal review

• Standardize engagement data across agents to ensure consistent policy handling

• Drive automations (e.g., underwriting reminders, renewal notices, lapse prevention workflows)

• Synchronize policyholder interaction data across CRM, underwriting systems, and external platforms via APIs and webhook events

Healthcare

Financial Services

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What's Next?

Continue to the Activities Data Model to understand how Activities are represented structurally in Kizen, including:

• The core Activity fields and field types

• How Activity Objects define schemas and associations

• How Activities relate to Contacts and other records

• How Activity data is stored and referenced across the platform

Understanding the data model is essential before working with Activity permissions, APIs, automations, or integrations.

Related Topics

• Activities

• Activities Data Model

• Activity Permissions

• Advanced Activity Rules

• Activities API & Webhooks