IVR (Interactive Voice Response)

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) answers calls and guides callers through menus or speech recognition before routing them or completing a defined task. It can collect intent, authenticate within limits and provide routine information, but it should not create a dead end for cases it cannot understand. Design should use clear language, short choices, accessible timing, retry limits and an escape to appropriate human help. Caller identity cannot be assumed from the phone number alone. Integrations with CRM or payment systems require controlled data handling and failure behaviour. Tests cover accents, noise, invalid input, silence, after-hours routes, transfer context and system outages. Measures such as abandonment and repeated calls need interpretation by journey. Shorter handling time is not success if callers fail to resolve their need.