Interactive voice response (IVR) is a system that allows a computerized phone system to interact with users through the use of voice and keypad options. Anytime you have called a phone number and been given a choice to press a key to choose a different language, dial an extension, or be directed to a department, you have interacted with an IVR.

The IVR can easily become a complicated system. The larger it grows with more options, the more important it becomes to create a flowchart showing what happens when prompt options are selected.

The IVR created in the following lessons will not be too complicated.  There will be a main menu and four different options that are used to demonstrate common actions within the IVR. All of the voice prompts will need to be written and recorded to guide the user.

Below are the audio file names and the script I will use for this section of the course. In the next lesson I will use Asterisk to record the audio files.

• main_menu – “Hello, welcome to LectureSnippets. If you know your party’s extension press 1. If you are calling for tech support, press 2 to be transferred to the tech team. Press 3 to hear our business hours. Press 4 to repeat the this menu. You may press 0 to speak with an operator”
• party_extension – “Please enter the three digit extension of the person you are trying to call”
• business_hours – “We are open Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm eastern standard time”
• invalid_message – “We are sorry, that option is not available”
• timeout_message – “We are sorry, we did not detect an option”