Decision points are locations in the workflow where your process will branch. These points include if/then situations where a path branches because of a specific decision. For example, “if warranty claim is approved, then do x,” or ”if warranty claim is denied, then do y.” Or, define situations where a threshold, like the dollar amount of a return, will trigger the next action.
What constraints are in play? Constraints can include financial compliance and regulatory requirements, legal policies, or policies related to service level agreements and time frames.
For example, consider the workflow process that would follow a customer service case related to a broken refrigerator. First, customer service will need to confirm whether or not the appliance is under warranty. If it is under warranty, the process will branch to the specific steps and guidelines around making a warranty claim.
Can the refrigerator be repaired or does it need to be replaced? If it’s a repair, what parts are needed? Are the parts in stock or will they need to be shipped? Can the repair be done in the customer’s home or does the refrigerator need to be picked up to be serviced? Any of these circumstances could potentially trigger a different branch of afghanistan phone number list the process.
A customer service automation workflow map of icons that plot how customer service issues on a broken refrigerator are handled.
The workflow to handle a broken refrigerator involves a series of decision points across people, departments, and systems.
With your workflow diagram in hand, you now know how the process typically flows. You can use this as a starting point to figure out where customer service automation software can be deployed to make improvements.