In addition to being able to execute multiple Steps at the same time as described in the Parallel Steps post, we have also added the ability for journey builders to decide if they want to start Actions within a Step in a defined order (sequential) or all at the same time (parallel). We call this Parallel Actions.

Previously, all Actions within a Step had to be run in sequence where each Action would only begin after the Action before it was completed. 

Now if you have a set of Actions that all need to be complete before progressing the Journey, but it doesn't matter what order they are completed in, you can have them all start at the same time. This means that if you have three Tasks in a Step that is set to a Parallel Action Order, all three Tasks will start at the same time and can be completed in any order. Note that the next Step will not begin until all Actions within the first Step are complete.

By default, all Steps are created as Sequential (they will start the next Action only after the previous Action is complete). But you can change a Step from Sequential to Parallel by simply adjusting the Action Order toggle at the top of the Step form. With either Action Order option, the next Step will still not start until all Actions within the current Step are complete.

An example of Parallel Actions would be when you have several Tasks assigned across various teams that need to be completed before progressing the journey, but the order that they are completed doesn't matter. This allows all Tasks to be created and assigned out at the same time, which reduces the amount of time that people are waiting for their Tasks to show up in their queue. For example, three teams need to approve a legal agreement and the order of approval does not matter. The approval Tasks can be sent out to all three teams at the same time and the journey will only progress once all approvals are received.