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Case routing with rule management

Some days are busier than others. When the cases are flying in fast, it can be hard to keep everything organized and assigned where it needs to go. With Banno Support’s automatic, configurable case routing, it’s quick and simple to make sure your incoming cases go where they need to go, right away. No delays. No overhead. Just what you expect, where you expect it.

Rule management

Settings
Rule management

The Rule management page is where you can add, edit, or delete routing rules.

The page includes a list of all current rules, their current status (Active or Inactive). a brief description of what the rule does, and the option to delete each.

Adding a rule

The Add a rule button near the top of the Rule management page opens a dialog with several options, allowing you to customize each rule to suit your needs.

Rule title: A customizable title used by your team to more easily refer back to each rule. You may enter any text, up to 75 characters.
When: Choose from a list of available conditions that will trigger this rule. Many conditions will produce additional entry fields to define the condition.
For a full list of available conditions and the additional info they require, see the Rule conditions section.
Then: Choose from a list of actions to perform when the given condition is fulfilled. Many actions will produce additional entry fields to further define the action. After adding an action, an Add another result button will appear, allowing you to perform multiple actions based on the same condition.
For a full list of available actions and the additional info they require, see the Rule actions section.
Set this rule’s status to active: This toggle controls whether or not the rule is enforced. If disabled, the rule will stay in your list in Rule management but will not be used to perform any automatic actions.

After adding a new rule and clicking Save, a Rule saved message will be displayed near the bottom of the screen.

Editing rules

Clicking an existing rule will open up the dialogue box outlined in the Adding a rule section. After editing the rule and clicking Save, a Rule saved message will be displayed near the bottom of the screen.

Deleting rules

The delete icon next to each rule in the Rule management list allows you to delete a rule. Clicking this icon will display a dialogue to confirm deletion.

Deleting a rule will prevent future actions based on the rule, but actions that have already been taken as a result of the rule will not be reversed.

Rule conditions

The When section of rule creation includes a robust suite of available conditions that can trigger a rule action, with most requiring extra information once selected. Available conditions include:

A case is assigned to: The rule will trigger when the case is assigned to a specific assignee. Selecting this option will create the Choose assignee entry, which will allow you to select from a list of available assignees.
A case is forwarded to: The rule will trigger when the case is forwarded to a specific group inbox. Selecting this option will create the Choose group inbox entry, which will allow you to select from the list of groups with the Manage conversations permission enabled.
A new case is created: The rule will trigger when a new case is created.
A case is closed: The rule will trigger when a case’s status is set to Closed.
Received message text contains: The rule will trigger when a message is received containing a specific keyword or phrase. Selecting this option will create the Keyword or phrase entry, which will allow you to enter custom text that will trigger the rule action. The Keyword or phrase text is case insensitive, so regardless of capitalization, the rule condition will detect the given text.
A case is tagged with: The rule will trigger when a case is assigned a specific tag. Selecting this option will create the Choose tag entry, which will allow you to select from all available tags.
A user waits for a reply longer than: The rule will trigger when a user has sent a message and has not received a reply from a Support user within a given amount of time. Selecting this option will create the Number and Choose duration entries, allowing you to enter a number and a unit of time, such as minutes or hours, up to 24 hours.

Rule actions

The Then section of rule creation includes a selection of available actions to be taken when the rule condition is fulfilled, with most actions requiring additional information once selected. Available actions include:

Assign to: When the rule is triggered, assign the case to a valid assignee. Selecting this option will create the Choose assignee entry, allowing you to select from the list of valid assignees.
Forward to: When the rule is triggered, the case will be forwarded to a group inbox. Selecting this option will create the Choose group inbox entry, allowing you to select from all groups with the Manage conversations permission enabled.
Tag with: When the rule is triggered, the case will be assigned a specific tag. Selecting this option will create the Choose tag entry, allowing you to select from all available tags.

Rule errors

The logic of rules can be complex, which means that not all available sets of conditions and actions will work together. This gets even more complex when multiple rules work together. Banno Support will let you know when one of these circumstances occurs and will prompt you to change the parameters of a rule before it can be activated. In the rule list, rules with an error to be resolved have a warning icon indicating that a rule error needs to be resolved before the rule can be activated.

There are two primary methods that can produce a rule error: logical loops and data invalidation.

Auto replies

Saved replies within the Settings menu for Banno Support can be used for automatic replies to new messages under the following circumstances:

During support hours
After support hours
Both during and after support hours

To create an auto reply, simply create a new rule and select When a new case is created and By an end user, then select Then automatically reply with and select your chosen reply. You are given the option to apply that message to any of the circumstances listed above.

Please note that only one auto reply can be set for a given option. For example, you cannot have two auto replies set for After support hours. Additionally, older cases that are being treated as new cases (such as closed conversations that are reopened after at least three days have passed) will also receive an auto reply, if one is configured for the time the reopening message is sent.

Auto replies will only appear to Banno Mobile users on version 2.34 or later.

Logical loops

Sometimes, a few rules work in a circle. Rule A triggers Rule B, then Rule B triggers Rule A, causing each rule to activate forever. Support catches this and stops the behavior, and attempting to implement a rule that would cause a loop will generate a warning. If the warning is ignored, the most recent rule created will be set to Inactive and will not be possible to activate until the error is resolved.

Barb is going on vacation, and sets up a rule that detects when a case is assigned to her and assigns the case to Joe instead. Joe primarily handles support needs around car loans, so he has a rule that applies the tag “cars” when cases are assigned to him. Barb, having previously been keeping an eye on incoming car loan cases, has an established rule that assigns cases to Barb when they are tagged with “cars.” When a case is assigned to Barb, the following steps would happen:

The case is assigned to Joe, per the first rule.
After being assigned to Joe, the case has the “cars” tag applied, per the second rule.
After the “cars” tag is applied, the case is assigned to Barb, per the third rule.
After the case is assigned to Barb, the first rule triggers again.

Support does not allow this loop, and instead applies a warning to the last rule, making it inactive until the loop is broken.

Data invalidation

Sometimes, a change elsewhere in the the Banno platform will invalidate a rule. For example, a rule that applies a specific tag will not work if that tag is deleted, nor will a case assigned to someone who is no longer available to accept cases. In these instances, the invalid rule will be set to inactive, and a warning icon will display next to the description of the rule, signifying that the rule must be changed to be set to Active again. After clicking to edit the rule, any invalid data points will show the message “Value not available” in place of the previously assigned value, making it simple to see what value must be changed at a glance.

FAQ

Are any conditions incompatible with certain actions?

Most conditions are compatible with all actions, However, there are a handful of conditions where things work slightly differently.

A case is assigned to: When selected, only the Forward to and Tag with actions will be available.
A case is forwarded to: When selected, only the Tag with action will be available.
A case is tagged with: When selected, the tag chosen for the condition may not be applied as a part of the action.

Why isn’t a rule firing?

Is it a time-based rule?

Yes: See, “Why hasn’t the timed-based rule hasn’t fired yet?”
No: Was the rule active? Check the rule’s Status in the Rule Management setting. The rule must be active at the time that the triggering event occurred. If it’s not Active, a rule must be active in order to fire. If it is Active, it should fire immediately upon being triggered—please open an issue.
Note: Setting a rule to Active after the fact will have no effect on prior events.

Why hasn’t a timed-based rule hasn’t fired yet?

If the rule was a Support hours rule when it was triggered, has the full duration elapsed (when operating hours, weekends, and holidays are taken into account)? Click the rule, and see if the rule has the Apply to Support hours option checked. Selecting the rule and look at the “Apply to support hours only” toggle:

Note: Toggling “Apply to Support hours" has no effect on rules that have already been triggered.

After disabling or deleting a rule, it’s still firing.

Time-based rules that were triggered before the rule was disabled or deleted will fire. Disabling the rule will stop further invocations of the rule but will not cancel previous invocations.

Let’s say you had a rule that sends an email when conversations haven’t received a reply for 24 hours, and you’re about to disable it. Conversations come in just before the rule’s disabled. In this case, the rule has been triggered and emails will send 24 hours later if the conversations haven’t receive a response. But, the rule has been disabled and will prevent emails from being sent to future conversations.

Note: 24 hours may mean 24 hours or 24 business hours. It depends on how the rule was defined.