IVR step: Soubroutines
Using subroutines, it is possible for the IVR to join several branches into just one.
As an example, let us assume the case where the IVR needs to greet the caller with "Good morning", before 11:00, "Good afternoon" between 11:00 and 18:00 and "Good evening" after 18:00. After the greeting, the called must press a key to be transferred to the desired department.
In this case, using time conditions the call will be checked and send to one of 3 branches: morning, day, evening. After the greeting has ended, a selection step is needed. You can define 3 identical selection steps, one for each branch, but this solution is inefficient. This case can be managed using subroutines.
A subroutine from the IVR has 2 types of steps:
- Start subroutine;
- Stop subroutine.
The "Start subroutine" step has 2 further steps (folders) Sub and Ok. On the first access, the call will be sent to the Sub folder. In our case, the Sub folder will contain all time conditions and the media playback steps (so 3 branches).
After the media playback step the administrator will insert a "Stop subroutine" step (each branch will end with this type of step). When the call reaches the end step, the IVR will return the call to the Ok folder from the "Start subroutine" step. In our case, the Ok folder will contain the department selection step.
Step options
Folders
The folder management is made using the "Folders" option. A description for this set of options has been made inside the "Common options" section of this chapter.