Series: Create a call flow

In general, Architect processes flows with little caller intervention, in the order specified by the design. However, when you build a lengthy flow, the actions that execute as a block can become crowded within the design, making it difficult to visually analyze a process. To avoid this problem, you can group related steps for a complex process below a task action. A task action groups related steps of a process together to create a flow routine.

A task action does not perform any actions--it is a container for a group of sequential actions. A common example of a task is prompting a caller for his or her account number and then looking up a value in a database. This process requires several steps: user data entry, database query, menu selection, and so on. Grouping the process together in a task action makes the flow easier to inspect, since all actions for the process remain together, regardless of sort order. 

A task most often contains a collection of actions designed to sequentially perform a given task. For example, you can:

• Add a prompt for an account number
• Add collect input for an account number
• Configure simple account number validation
• Add actions to do advanced account number validation or to obtain an account balance from customer data
• Add action to play account balance audio to user
• Configure hold music or prompts
• End task sequences with an action that tells the flow where to go next. For example, transfer to another menu.

Build tasks in the task editor

The task editor is the design form actions are placed and connected to make up a task sequence. It provides a pallet of action categories and options to create complex IVR operations. In the task editor, you can add, edit, and delete actions. When you drag an action category from the Architect Toolbox into the task editor, configuration options for the action appear to the right of the task editor. Select the action type from the drop-down list, and then configure the action settings.

Re-use tasks in a flow

You can drag a task action category into the Reusable Tasks area and construct a task sequence that you can then use in multiple locations within the flow. You can also set a reusable task as the starting task.