3.2 - Words become a process map

Now, open the process mapping tool of your choice and let's begin with something very straightforward that we have already discussed:

1. A call comes in.
2. The call waits in a queue.
3. The call is connected to an agent.
4. The call ends.

Here's how this process could be represented:

By the way, you may notice colors in the process maps above. Although they may appear random at this stage, they follow a logical pattern that will become clearer as we delve into more technical aspects. For now, they simply enhance the visual appeal of the process maps.

There is a start event (Incoming call), a finish event (Call ends), and two actions in between (Caller waiting in queue & Agent is connected to caller).

However, as we discovered earlier, this doesn't capture the complete picture, does it? We cannot guarantee that the call will be answered, and it's important to provide the customer with some form of audio while they wait.

This flow doesn't demonstrate much more than before, but it includes an extended sub-process (Everything happening while waiting) with two actions (Customer hears ring tone & Caller waits in queue). Additionally, there is a decision point: Is an agent available at any point? If the answer is true, the customer will be connected to the agent, and the call will end when the customer's request is resolved. If the call is not answered, it becomes an ongoing loop until an agent answers.

As you can see, the description of this process is more extensive than the process map itself.

Now, let's expand the entire process:

At first glance, it may seem that this process is much more complex. However, if you think about it, what has actually changed from before? More factors come into play:

1. Is the caller reaching your hotline during a holiday?
2. Is the caller contacting you during business hours?
3. Are too many callers waiting in the queue?
4. Has the caller exceeded the maximum wait time?

In the first three cases, if the system returns false, the customer will hear an audio prompt informing them about the office hours or that agents are currently unavailable, and they should try again later.

In the fourth case, if the system returns true, indicating that the call has reached the maximum wait time, the customer is notified about the end of the call and may be asked to call back later. The call terminates after the audio prompt.

The remaining part of the process remains the same as described earlier.

We hope this process map gives you an initial understanding of how to design your own map. In the next section, we will explore more complex examples to further expand your knowledge.