IVR Development Issues

Development and implementation of IVR systems is crucial to achieving the end result of an efficient tool for managing customer service. An inefficient development process can result in delays in deployment and a substandard product. A recent survey conducted by the Customer Experience Foundation has found that delays in projects and poor budget estimates of IT solutions are costing call centers considerably, both monetarily and in the eye of the customer. The survey suggests that more that one quarter of projects is delayed and that more than half of project managers simply expect problems to arise during development that will slow and/or delay implementation. IVR systems are among the the types of IT projects with the highest-risk of delays.

The survey suggests that "bad practices" and "classic mistakes" contribute to delays. It appears that little to no cost-tracking and inadequate testing are common during development with the goal of quicker delivery driving poor project management. The results also suggest that the lack of post-project reviews and executive sponsorship contribute to the problem. Besides the monetary costs associated with delays, implementing a poorly tested IVR system costs money from a customer satisfaction perspective. The lessons learned from this survey are that developers must invest in adequate resources from both a financial and managerial perspective. Better budgeting and resource management is key to avoiding costly delays. Secondly, the culture of blame must be changed so that more effort is put into solving problems during development rather than assigning responsibility for the problems. Both of these suggestions are not easily achieved but with the proper leadership, the process of IVR system deployment can be improved.