Pega IVR IVA integration with AWS

Description	Pega IVR IVA integration with AWS
Version as of	8.5
Application	Customer Service
Capability/Industry Area	IVR IVA

Pega IVR IVA integration with AWS

IVR IVA: Using the IVR-IVA (Interactive Voice Response – Intelligent Virtual Assistant) API and channel configuration, Pega Customer Service delivers customer self-service over Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems.

Create the IVR-IVA channel to configure the Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) for the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems. Using the IVR-IVA channel, customers can interact with Pega Customer Service over different IVR systems for self-service.

End user calls to contact center, Amazon Lex finds the intent and utterance from user response.

AWS lambda integrates with Pega platform using IVR IVA Api call by sending the utterance and event name. Pega uses the utterance and event name to process the api call and sends the response back to AWS.

MCP: Multichannel case processor (MCP) framework purpose is to speed up implementation of Pega applications that interacts with user leveraging integration with third party communication channels.

Create the following assets in Pega and AWS to support the IVR IVA

Create IVR IVA channel

1. Create IVR-IVA channel
2.  Add case commands in your IVR-IVA channel so that it creates cases in the Pega Customer Service application based on related user input, in the Content section, click Add caste type and define a case command. The IVR-IVA channel detects the case type by using text analysis and automatically creates the case
3.  In the connect tab, select the Template operator ID of an existing Pega Customer Service operator

IVR-IVA API

IVR-IVA API is an API that any modern IVR system can use to exchange data with Pega Customer Service. The IVR-IVA channel parses the events or user inputs from the API to execute the corresponding actions. The IVR-IVA channel supports the four out-of-the-box events supported by the IVR-IVA API by default. When an IVR system sends an event notification to the API, the IVR-IVA channel executes the corresponding channel action, such as gathering contact details against ANI or running a case type.

Sample Payload for run_case event:

Request:

{

"channel_id": "bot9d06d70460914f0d90e1da2d5ce6a003",

"session_id": "ea6a1e1e-b311-43fb-ad63-42978927098",

"utterance": "escalate",

"event_name": "run_case",

"attributes": {

"ani": ""

}

}

Response:

{

   "attributes": {

       "case_key": "PEGACPMFS-WORK-SERVICE M-58322",

       "contact_id": "",

       "interaction_key": "PEGACA-WORK-INTERACTION I-32221"

   },

   "message": {

      "content": "What type of manifestation"

   }

}

In the response sending the Next question which is configured in IVR IVA flow in service case.

Additional details regarding IVR IVA API,

https://community.pega.com/knowledgebase/articles/pega-customer-service-implementation-guide/85/ivr-iva-api

Create IVR IVA Flow

Create IVR IVA process flow in customer service case type

Create the flow and configure the questionnaire to process the IVR IVA conversation

Create CTI Link

Create Pega CTI link to connect from AWS to Pega interaction portal to support transfer to agent queue scenario.

1.       Open Pega CTI call

2.       Add CTI Link, create the AWS Connect implementation

Provide the JavaScript object, contact center instance details. Use the same user details which created on the

Amazon connect as Agent profile for login setup.

Transfer to agent work queue:

To receive the call from IVR connect to CTI Link and login into Pega.

•       Login as CSR and Launch the interaction portal
•       Click on phone login in the right top corner

• ·       Select the CTI link as AWS connect and login, successful connection will enable the phone icon into green. The agent is ready to accept the incoming call.

AWS cloud

To support IVR IVA from AWS, we need to create the below Amazon assets.

Amazon Connect

Amazon Connect is an omnichannel cloud contact center. Create contact flows to define the customer experience with your contact center from start to finish. Amazon Connect contact flows integrate with Amazon Lex and provide text to speech and can enable natural language-based self-service interactions.

Follow the steps below to support the IVR IVA interaction to create the service case creation in Pega and transfer to agent scenarios.

1.       Claim a phone number in order to receive and make calls.

Note: Once the contact flow created, add that to phone number under Contact flow/IVR

2.      Set hours of operations, if required

3.       Create queues to route to the agent

4.       Create and define contact flow how a customer experiences the contact center from start to finish

Lambda and Lex can be invoked from contact flow:

•      Can invoke AWS Lambda function, which makes a call to AWS Lambda and optionally returns key/value pairs, which can be used to set contact attributes
•      Can invoke the Amazon Lex intents from Get customer input

5.       Create routing profile and add that to routing profile queues

6.       Configure users and select the above created routing profile and select the security profile (amazon supports default security profiles, if required create new)

Amazon Lex

•      Amazon Lex is an AWS service for building conversational interfaces for applications using voice and text
•      Build Lex bot to automatic speech recognition (ASR) for converting speech to text, and natural language understanding (NLU) to recognize the intent of the text
•      Create Lex bot, specify the basic conversation flow in the Amazon Lex console. Amazon Lex manages the dialogue and dynamically adjusts the responses in the conversation. Using the console, you can build, test, and publish your text or voice chatbot
• Create custom bot for specific scenario, AWS also support sample bots for couple of scenarios

Create a custom Lex bot and configure it with one or more intents that you want to support. Configure the bot so it understands the user's goal (intent), engages in conversation with the user to elicit information, and fulfills the user's intent.

Note: We can configure the Lambda function under Fulfillment (business logic required to fulfill the user’s input) or Initialization and validation (validate the user’s input) with in Lex bot.

Build the bot, publish a version, and create an alias.

Amazon Lambda

•       Create the Lambda function and write the code to integrate with Pega platform using Pega API call.
•       Write Lambda functions in your favorite language (Node.js, Python, Go, Java etc).

Under configuration tab, write your code in Function code. Deploy the code and test.

Your function should call the relevant API as indicated in https://community.pega.com/knowledgebase/articles/pega-customer-service-implementation-guide/85/ivr-iva-api with the appropriate request input, then handle the response and pass the relevant information back to the contact flow.

Note: Monitor the logs in Cloud watch.

AWS access and permissions

In AWS there are certain access and resource permissions that are required to be set in order for Amazon Connect to access Amazon Lex and Amazon Lambda.

Please refer to the Amazon documentation on IAM: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/introduction.html

An interactive phone system that can respond to a caller input (voice or keypad) and either complete predetermined services or assist in properly routing the call to the appropriate CSR. An older term for an IVR is voice response unit (VRU). Common vendors include Avaya, Genesys, Syntellect, and Nuance.

A business solution that automates workflows in your organization. Multiple, unrelated applications can be hosted in the same system. You create an application by running the New Application wizard.

A program component that defines and implements an interface between an external application acting as a client, and a Pega Platform system acting as a server. An external system can send a request to a Pega Platform application and receive a response.

For example, the Pega Cloud Services SFTP service provides Pega Cloud clients with simple, secure file transfers to and from their Pega Cloud applications.

An interactive phone system that can respond to a caller input (voice or keypad) and either complete predetermined services or assist in properly routing the call to the appropriate CSR. An older term for an IVR is voice response unit (VRU). Common vendors include Avaya, Genesys, Syntellect, and Nuance.

A digital medium through which users access your application. Depending on your business needs, you can set up various channels for the same application. For example, customers can access an application for booking flights through a browser-based web channel, or through a mobile channel that relies on a mobile app. In addition, you can also build a Facebook chatbot for customers who want to ask questions about their booking. At the same time, you can set up a second, more utilitarian web channel to accommodate professional users, such as travel agents. By making an application accessible over several channels, you can reach a wide variety of audiences, and provide each user group with the most appropriate content and user experience.

A program component that defines and implements an interface between an external application acting as a client, and a Pega Platform system acting as a server. An external system can send a request to a Pega Platform application and receive a response.

For example, the Pega Cloud Services SFTP service provides Pega Cloud clients with simple, secure file transfers to and from their Pega Cloud applications.

The building blocks of your user interface, sections can use design templates for their structure and contain such interactive UI elements as fields, buttons, lists, and so on. A section creates a functional chunk of a user interface, and can be reused throughout your application for improved consistency and efficient development.

For example, your application may need to display user data as a list of ID cards. You can create a section for the contents of a card, and then reuse that section so that the design of every card is consistent.

Actual work that is performed by application users and automations that consists of a sequence of tasks and leads to an intended business goal. An example of a case is a process of hiring a particular job candidate, where an HR worker collects necessary documents, a hiring manager conducts a job interview, and an application sends an automated email with onboarding information after the candidate is approved. To create a case, you first build a template of your business process that is a case type, and then apply the template in multiple cases, for example, to review applications from many candidates.

An application user that is identified by the user name, password, and other details. Each operator has a role, such as caseworker or customer service representative, that determines what actions the user can perform.

A series of numbers associated with a call. These numbers identify the phone number of the caller. Sometimes referred to as a CallerID.

A template for a case in an application.

A graphical representation that models a business process in your application by using graphical shapes and connectors to define a sequence of events. You can edit a flow in the life cycle of a case or by using the Flow form.

Computer control and functionality applied to telephony hardware.

The reassignment of a worklist or work queue by a user or manager with appropriate privileges.

A durable, potentially permanent, saved representation of a concrete class that is stored in the database. An instance corresponds to a row in the relational database, or to a record. An instance consists of properties and values, and some of these property values form a unique key to the instance.

The reassignment of a worklist or work queue by a user or manager with appropriate privileges.

A list of open assignments for a group of users. Assignments stay in the work queue until a user assigned to the work queue selects an assignment, or a manager sends an assignment in the work queue to a specific user. By associating many users with a single work queue, you ensure that even if individual workers are busy with other tasks, the work is processed efficiently.

To view the work queues in your application, in Dev Studio, open the Case Management > Work Management > Work queues landing page.

An interface that provides users with an organized set of work tools. Users navigate the application, collaborate, and complete work assignments mainly through portals. Typically, you create a separate portal for each user group within your application. For example, you can create a portal for regular employees, and a separate one for their managers. Most portals contain a navigation menu that leads to various pages and dashboards, as well as a menu for creating new work items. Additionally, portals might also include widgets that improve work efficiency. For example, you can design a portal that has a widget for frequently used reports, which helps managers save time and oversee their projects.

A graphical representation that models a business process in your application by using graphical shapes and connectors to define a sequence of events. You can edit a flow in the life cycle of a case or by using the Flow form.

An internal background process that operates on the server that runs activities on a periodic basis. In a multinode cluster, an agent can run on multiple nodes.

An element that defines a Java function and makes the function callable from activities and expressions. A function is an instance of the Rule-Utility-Function rule type.

(Deprecated) A configuration of panels (areas) in a harness that support a composite portal. Existing panel sets continue to function. As a best practice, upgrade panel sets to screen layouts.

The process of assigning tasks in a business process to an individual or group of individuals who are the most capable of completing those tasks.

For example, when creating an expense report, an employee creates the report, a manager approves it, and a payroll employee then sends the payment. To process employee compensation payments, you can route the task to the work queue of the payroll team, in which any member of that team can access, select, and process the work item.

If you need a specific person to work on the assignment, you can route the assignment to a work list. For example, when a human resource manager needs to approve employee time off requests, you can route the assignment to the worklist of the human resources manager.

If you need a person with a particular skill set to work on the assignment, you can route the assignment using business logic to a skilled group by defining a specific condition. For example, in an automobile quote request, a prospective customer fills in a form and selects an Electric vehicle check box. The request is then routed to the electric car insurance underwriters work queue, members of which specialize in electric cars.

The third phase of the Pega Express methodology that describes how to iteratively build and test an application and how to refine more user stories during each sprint. The output is working software that both meets the definition of done and passes all the relevant tests.

An interval of time that is defined in a service-level agreement. It is the suggested resolution time for an item, such as a case or stage.

A link to a rule or data instance. Use a favorite to quickly find items while working in Dev Studio or the Case Manager portal. You can create favorites that are visible to your operator exclusively, another operator, or all operators within a specified access group.

An element that defines a Java function and makes the function callable from activities and expressions. A function is an instance of the Rule-Utility-Function rule type.

A permanent, unique identifier for a class that includes certain key parts, and the creation date and time of a single instance for rules and some classes. A handle is sometimes known as an internal key. The pzInsKey property holds the handle value for an object. The pzInsKey property is undefined until you save the object.