Don’t Fail Your IVR with Manual Testing

Nowadays, interactive voice response systems (IVRs) play a more prominent role in contact center and customer service interactions than ever before. An IVR integrates telephony and computer technology to create an automated phone system. This allows callers to access the information or speak with the person or team they need to via a voice response system of pre-scripted messages. The caller can route their call to the appropriate destination, for example, the complaints department or a reservations assistant, by utilizing the touch tones on their keypad or even speech recognition technology.

Benefits of IVR systems

IVR systems offer numerous advantages for both the caller and the organization. For businesses, these include:

• Cost savings: IVRs can significantly reduce organizational costs by automating routine interactions and decreasing the requirement for agents to speak with the caller in the initial stages of the calls.
• Around-the-clock accessibility: They operate on a 24/7 basis and can provide customers with the basic information they may require even outside of traditional business hours.
• More efficient routing of calls: IVRs allow callers to self-select the best department or team to connect with for addressing their needs. The self-service element enables employees to handle only queries relevant to their expertise, instead of having to spend time rerouting calls to other teams. This helps to reduce unproductive working time and allows agents to focus on handling only the issues they are trained and experienced in dealing with.
• Scalability: While a single agent can only handle one call at any given time, IVRs can handle a large volume of calls simultaneously. This can be invaluable to organizations, especially during peak traffic times.
• Data collection: Typically, IVR systems automatically record data such as call patterns and FAQs during each and every interaction. The organization can then use the gathered data to identify trends and make more informed, evidence-based decisions.

IVRs can also significantly enhance the customer experience for callers, thanks to benefits including:

• Greater convenience: IVRs allow callers to access the information they require or conduct transactions at their convenience, without having to wait for an agent to answer their call. Where an agent is required, IVRs can dramatically reduce the wait time callers experience, by more effectively routing them to the relevant department.
• Self-service options: They can easily handle simple, routine transactions, allowing callers to perform tasks such as paying bills or updating personal information simply by interacting with their keypad or utilizing a voice recognition system.
• Multilingual support: Modern contact centers typically pay a premium for multilingual support agents; however, organizations can easily configure their IVRs to interact with callers in their preferred language. This helps make their services accessible to a more diverse range of callers.
• Greater personalization: IVRs can be designed to recognize repeat callers and provide them with more personalized responses based on their specific preferences and call history. This creates a more tailored and specialized service for the customer and has been shown to have a significant correlation with positive customer experiences. 

Testing IVRs

When designed and implemented correctly, IVR systems can enhance the customer experience and help contribute to the overall success of the business. However, to get the best from their IVR systems, organizations must put stringent testing processes in place. This ensures that their IVRs do not encounter issues, and if any problems do arise, organizations can identify them as soon as possible for prompt resolution. This helps minimize any negative impacts that callers may otherwise experience.

IVR testing can be categorized into two types – manual and automated. Manual testing requires the organization’s employees to conduct all test calls manually and attempt to replicate all potential use cases and test scenarios. Many regard manual testing negatively for its time-consuming, costly, and tedious nature. On the other hand, automated testing uses pre-specified test case scenarios to conduct these tests as needed or more commonly, at regular, scheduled intervals. The software automatically runs these tests, requiring little to no human intervention following the test set-up.

Challenges of manual testing

• Resource intensive: The most commonly cited issue with manual testing is its resource-intensive nature. The process is time-consuming, especially when there are complex IVR structures in place with numerous paths for callers to select. The repetitive nature of such testing can also increase levels of oversight and human error, thereby further reducing the effectiveness of testing.
• Untested paths: Testers require significant time and effort to navigate through each of these paths, and it is likely that many will remain untested due to labor and time constraints. Manual testers may also overlook some of the less common use cases or be unaware of potential issues they should check for. Simulating real-world scenarios can also be difficult, for example, replicating background noise or variations in caller tone or accent.
• Inconsistent results: As manual testing is subjective by its very nature, different testers may perceive results differently. This makes it more challenging to accurately understand and compare results. There is also the possibility that each tester may conduct their manual testing through slightly differing methods, leading to differing results.
• Cost: Employing a skilled team of manual IVR testers can be expensive, especially when an organization frequently updates and changes its IVRs, requiring more recurrent testing. As such, organizations may face a significant issue with the limited scalability of manual testing operations.

Testing IVRs

Automated IVR testing solutions such as those offered by Cyara, allow organizations to test all potential IVR journeys quickly and more cost-efficiently. Organizations can develop specific test cases and scenarios that run on a scheduled basis. Such testing ensures that problems are not lurking within the IVR system, and it can also measure load capabilities and the impact of variations in traffic on IVR performance. Additionally, automated testing scripts ensure that the testing process is well-documented, enabling organizations to quickly understand exactly what has been tested and what has not.

With the increasing integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into IVR systems, the importance of comprehensive testing has been further amplified. With greater reliance on automation, the margin for human intervention has decreased, reinforcing the need for a consistently dependable and trustworthy IVR system.

While callers benefit from a more prompt response and improved customer experience, organizations also reap the rewards of automated testing through reduced operational costs and enhanced brand loyalty. Automated testing enables agents to step away from monotonous and often tedious tasks and focus more time on potential revenue-generating opportunities.

Cyara revolutionizes the way businesses transform and optimize their customer experiences. Cyara’s AI-based CX Transformation Platform empowers enterprises to deliver flawless interactions across voice, video, digital, and chatbot experiences. With Cyara, businesses improve customer journeys through continuous innovation while reducing costs and minimizing risk. With a 96% customer retention rate and world-class Net Promoter Score (NPS), today’s leading global brands trust Cyara every day to deliver customer smiles at scale.

To learn more, visit cyara.com or call 1-888-GO-CYARA.