Flows are run by the Routing Service — always the currently active one; only it accepts new conversations. Each conversation gets its own instance of its flow with its own variables, events and timers. The server stores the flows and distributes them.
How a flow begins
| Channel | Up to the first node |
|---|---|
| Call | The Routing Service looks for the mapping for the dialed number, reports the call to the phone system as ringing or answered, applies the voice, waiting music and error behavior of the flow and starts the flow after half a second. |
| Email, fax | It fetches the message, checks it for spam, looks for the mapping for the mailbox and starts the flow after one second. |
| Chat | It looks for the mapping for the skill and language sent by the website and starts the flow after one second. |
If an email is a reply to a conversation that is still waiting — with the same sender and subject, as a reply to a message of the conversation or with its ticket number in the subject — myContactCenter adds it to that conversation. No new flow starts in that case.
When a call is answered
- With Activate call immediately in the flow properties, the Routing Service answers every call immediately.
- Without this check box, the caller keeps hearing ringing until a node needs audio — an announcement, music, text read aloud, keypad or speech input, a voicemail, a recording, Add Participant, Deliver or the Callback scheduler — or until an agent picks up.
The error list shows which case applies as an information message: Call will be activated immediately. or Call will be activated when connected to an agent.
Handover to the queue
The Queue node registers the conversation with the server — with its current skill, its language and, if desired, preferred agents. From then on, the server distributes it, see The path of a conversation. This ends the main path of the flow; what the customer hears or receives afterwards is controlled by the event nodes.
When changes take effect
- Immediately after saving for new conversations: every Routing Service receives the flow and compiles it.
- Running conversations keep the version they started with — even if you change or delete the flow in the meantime.
- For email and fax flows, the Routing Service reconnects the mapped mailboxes to the mail server after saving.
- When a Routing Service restarts or reconnects to the server, it receives all flows and compiles them.
A version that cannot be compiled — for example one without a Start node — does not run in the Routing Service; the cause is only recorded in its log.
When something goes wrong
| Case | What the customer experiences |
|---|---|
| No mapping matches the dialed number. | The Routing Service rejects the call; what the caller hears depends on the phone system. |
| The Routing Service is not connected to the server or is suspended. | The caller hears the busy signal. |
| A path ends at an output without a connection. | Nothing happens anymore. The caller hears whatever is currently playing — for example background music — or silence until they hang up. |
| An error occurs while the flow runs. | the error behavior of the flow |
| No mapping matches the mailbox of an email. | no reply; administrators and supervisors receive Flow error |
| No mapping matches a chat. | no reply |
The Routing Service reports errors that it notices in a flow — for example an unreachable database or failed speech services — to the administrators, see Messages.