Overview: Create Interaction module (Console)

This article explains the Create Interaction workflow module and how to configure its interior in Console. 

In this article

Overview

The Create Interaction workflow module allows you to customize exactly how and where interactions are created from workflow sessions. 

Use this module when you want more control over the specific settings of the new  interaction, like which queue it’s built in, if it has tag(s) assigned to it, if there’s a custom field updated on it, and more. In short, this workflow module makes it simple to define each data point for a new interaction.

Configure interactions as you need it

The Create Interaction workflow module allows you to configure all the data related to a new interaction created from the workflow session. This means that you can set static values for the interaction so it’s always created with the same data, set dynamic values so the new interaction’s data is based on the data collected within the workflow session itself, or set a combination of both static  and dynamic values. 

When configuring this workflow module, you can configure it to build both voice and messaging interactions the same or differently to better meet the needs of its communication type.

Create Interaction module vs. Transfer module

The Create Interaction module functions similarly to the Transfer module in that they both can create an interaction in a specified queue. 

When opening a Create Interaction module for the first time in the Workflows editor, notice that the module’s data fields are pre-configured with the same default data, similar to the data that the Transfer module automatically manages. The default data points here include: customer phone number, customer name, inbound number name, tag details, and points. You can make modifications to these data fields as well as add or remove any of them. 

However, there are some key feature differences between these workflow modules. The primary difference is that the Create Interaction module allows you to make modifications, additions, or deletions to the data inserted into the interaction when it’s created. 

Additionally, this module, unlike the Transfer workflow module, allows you to decide how the module proceeds if an error occurs. 

In the event that the Create Interaction module experiences an error during the creation process, there’s a single exit port for the module. This allows you to configure how the workflow proceeds with the collected data in the case of an error.

Common use cases for the Create Interaction module

Below are some common use cases for using the Create Interaction module:

• Using database data: Use the Create Interaction module when you want to make use of data stored in a database like a custom database or CRM solution, like Salesforce or Zendesk. When using a Transfer module, the system doesn’t reference database/CRM data for any values being used to populate interaction field data. 

• Differentiating communication types: Use the Create Interaction module when you want to manage voice and messaging workflow sessions differently. This module allows you to both route voice/messaging sessions to separate queues if needed and/or to populate a different set of data fields. 

• Custom fields: Use the Create Interaction module when you collect custom data in the workflow session that you want added to the interaction, which is common when the queue is configured with custom fields, or objects. The Transfer module only references the standard fields of an interaction.

• Skip the wait: Use the Create Interaction module to skip the process of running an interaction through a queue’s exit no agents or maximum wait experiences. If the workflow session is being processed outside of business hours, you can configure the workflow to create an interaction directly as a voicemail instead of the interaction being processed through the queue’s configured experiences and then being run through another workflow process. 

How it works

The Create Interaction module is used to customize the interaction creation process. This means that you can add, remove, or modify the standard interaction data fields before it's assigned to a user. 

Here’s an example of how you can implement a Create Interaction module in your workflow process:

Your business offers technical support to your customers by providing a direct phone line to your support department. Customers needing access to your support team have the ability to use this number through either phone call or text message. Each of these communication types are supported in their own queues, a messaging interaction queue and a voice interaction queue.

Your inbound workflow for these inquiries, which processes both phone calls and text messages, is configured to automate the process of asking some standard troubleshooting questions through a series of Say + Gather modules. These modules capture the customer’s responses as a set of variables. Once the customer has answered the standard troubleshooting questions, and the captured variables are recorded, you’re ready to configure the Create Interaction module.

Start by configuring the destination for the interaction by specifying where each interaction type is routed; route voice interactions to your ‘Support - Voice’ queue and route messaging interactions to your ‘Support - Messaging’ queue. Now, in addition to the standard interaction data fields like customer phone number and name, configure the Create Interaction module to take those pieces of custom data and input them into the corresponding, custom, interaction fields for both phone and messaging sessions. 

The module uses a data type of ‘Variable’ with the value of ‘{{yourCustomVariable}}’ to input the collected custom data into the custom object field selected from the Interaction Field menu. This same process repeats for each interaction data field configured with the corresponding data type and value.

Now that you have implemented the use of a Create Interaction module in your workflow process, your support team doesn’t need to repeat the full suite of troubleshooting steps with the customer.

Visual breakdown

Exterior structure

Interior structure

The interior structure of the Create Interaction module is broken into two sections: 

• Phone

• Messaging 

These two sections are structured the same as one another, but they give you the ability to create interactions differently to better customize how each interaction is created all from the same workflow module. This is especially useful if you prefer for voice interactions to function differently compared to messaging interactions.

Notice that when you open a Create Interaction module that a standard selection of data points is already configured for both Phone and Messaging communication types. 

You can add to the standard selections already made or remove any of the pre-populated items to meet your needs.

• Label: The Label field allows you to title the module. This title can be seen from the workflow overview and acts as a quick way to explain the purpose of this module at this point of the workflow.

• Queue: The Queue menu allows you to define which of your queues you want to create an interaction in. There is a Queue menu in both the Phone section and the Messaging section. This allows you to define if you want voice interactions to be created in one queue and SMS, webchat, or other messaging interactions to be created in a separate queue.

• Comm Type: The Comm Type menu allows you to define how the interaction is created and stored, and then how it appears to queue users managing interactions in the queue workspace. The menu options here are ‘Phone’, ‘Messaging’, ‘Video’, ‘Email’, and ‘Task’. These are the main forms of communication that interactions can occur as. Use this menu in conjunction with the Sub Comm Type menu to clearly identify exactly what type of interaction is being built in one of your queues.

• Sub Comm Type: The Sub Comm Type menu allows you to define how the interaction is created and stored, and then how it appears to queue users managing this interaction in the queue workspace. The menu options here are ‘Chat’, ‘Text’. ‘Social’, ‘Learning’, ‘Coaching’, ‘Other’, ‘Inbound’, ‘Outbound’, ‘Voicemail’, ‘Callback’, and ‘Fax’. These are the more specific types of communications that can be conducted in the queue. All of these menu options fall under the umbrella of the selection made in the Comm Type menu.

• +Add: The +Add button allows you to add another line item of criteria to configure. Clicking the +Add button adds another set of fields for you to configure for further defining how this interaction is built. These fields are: Interaction Field, Type, and Value menus for you to configure.

• Interaction Field: The Interaction Field menu is where you select which field of the new interaction you want to input the collected data to from the workflow session once the new interaction is created. The menu options vary because they are based on the objects you’ve previously configured to your account.

• Type: The Type menu allows you to select the type of data you are referencing in relation to the information you want to be displayed in the interaction resulting from this Create Interaction module. This menu includes these options: ‘Linked IDs’, ‘Advanced’, ‘Source’, ‘Details’, ‘Routing Details’, ‘Comm Type’, and ‘Variable’. These are the standard varieties of data for the system to reference based on the workflow session being processed through this module. For example, if you want to display the phone number that the customer called in with, the Interaction Field menu is set to ‘Phone Number’ and the Type and Value menus need to look for the phone number that called into the system. This means that you need to set the Type menu to ‘Source’ indicating to look for the origin point of the call, and the Value menu must be set to ‘Phone Number’ so the system looks for the phone number of origin for the call being processed through the workflow session.

• Value: The Value menu allows you to select which specific piece of data that the system looks for in the workflow session to use when creating the new interaction. The Value menu can also be displayed as a field or as a Database menu depending on the selection made in the Type menu. 

  • 1. • When ‘Linked IDs’ is selected in the Type menu, this is a Database menu and it’s menu options reflect the databases or CRMs you have connected to your account. 

       • When ‘Advanced’ or ‘Variable’ is selected in the Type menu, this is a text field instead of a menu, which is where you input a specific variable or hard coded piece of data.

• Delete (A): The Delete button allows you to remove a line item of criteria from being input into the interaction created from this module. When deleting a piece of information, you are deleting the corresponding Interaction Field, Type, and Value menus in-line with the delete button.