[Asterisk-Users] Voicemail menu structure

[Brad Bergman]

Quoting "Low, Adam" <ALow at Prioritytelecom.com>:

> This looks good to me, much better than the ilogical Cisco Call Manager
> voicemail menu structure ...
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Don Pobanz [mailto:dpobanz at hastingsutilities.com] 
> > 
> > There are 3 primary ways of arranging the menus. First is a tree 
> > structure, second is a random access structure and the third 
> > would be a 
> > hybrid of the two. (Comedian mail is currently a hybrid.)
> > 
> > As was pointed out by Brad Bergman, the ideal would be to have it 
> > configurable in voicemail.conf as to whether to use the tree or the 
> > random or a hybrid structure. My assumption is that it would not be 
> > practical to make every key in the tree or every code for the random 
> > configurable.

Actually, I think that making the individual keystrokes user-configurable would 
not be all that difficult... really it is configurability of the underlying 
structure that is harder. That is: which commands will be presented when, which 
commands can be used at what times, and how many digits for what types of 
commands.

> > So, focusing only on the tree structure, what 
> > should the 
> > menus look like?

Here are my thoughts on tree vs. flat vs. hybrid.

Tree: especially easy for untrained, occasional, or home users. More difficult 
for power users because you tend to end up needing to listen to options rather 
than being able to remember options. And your options are always changing 
depending on the situation: during playback, you end up pressing something like 
337 to delete the message, because first you need 33 to jump to the end, so 
that you can press 7 to delete. After playback is finished, you just press 7. 
This does not necessarily seem to be obvious, because I've heard a lot of Octel 
users say, "I wish you could delete a message without listening to all of it," 
which of course you can do if you just press 337. 

Anyways, you end up with something where options from the higher level never 
work at the lower level (i.e., to get from message playback to mailbox options, 
you have to navigate back to the main menu first).


Flat: very efficient if you know the commands, though at any given time the 
commands that are presented are not necessarily intuitive, e.g., reviewing 
recorded messages your choices might be 2 review, 5 re-record, & 76 delete. On 
the other hand, any time that there is anything to delete, you can do so by 
pressing 76. The commands are what they are, if they work, great, if not, you 
get an error message. In Meridian Mail, for example, you can press 82 anytime 
to access your greetings; the trouble is since you rarely do that you forget 
that you can, and you end up pressing 8 and just waiting until it offers you a 
list of commands starting with 8. 

So it seems, neither method is perfect.

Hybrid: this is how comedian works now, partly I would think because of how it 
is programmed. Things that are in separate functions end up being presented as 
separate menus (like mailbox options); other things don't.

Having said all this, I think it is really more important the way in which the 
commands are prompted. My one real complaint about Comedian Mail is that you 
end up listening to too many options too fast, and not really in the order of 
relevance to your situation.

Personally, I would favour leaving the command structure of CoMa pretty much 
like it is, with a few changes for consistency and adaptability to new 
commands, but reading prompts more like this:

(Playback of a new message)

Press 5 to repeat the current message
Press 7 to delete this message
or 9 to save this message
(pause)
Other commands are:
8 to forward, X to reply, X to call sender, and X for the message envelope
(pause)
To hear more options, press * for the main menu

Perhaps # would be a good key to let people skip the pauses.

I would leave: "Press 4 for the previous message/6 to play the next message" 
until after the message has been saved or deleted. Ending up with:

Message deleted
Press 7 to undelete this message
Press 6 to play the next message
or 4 to play the previous message
(pause)
Press 5 to replay the current message
and so on as before

I don't personally see the reason to prevent someone from pressing 0 here for 
mailbox options, or 3 for advanced options, but I don't think that the option 
should be presented either.

Now as far as "a few changes" goes, I would do the following:

1. Make advanced commands that relate to a specific message 2-digits starting 
with 8, which is now used for forward:
81 - Forward
82 - Reply
83 - Reply all
84 - Message envelope
85 - Callback

Or something. Which actual commands get which numbers is no big deal. Also, 
since 8 has always been "forward", any time only the first digit of a 2-digit 
command is entered, I would then play the list of relevant 2-digit commands.

2. Make other advanced commands 2-digits starting with 3:
31 - Compose
32 - Call

I would make these commands always work, but only be prompted from the main 
menu. Then I would suggest prompts something like this:

You have 2 new messages.

Press 1 for new messages.
Press 2 to change folders.
Press 0 for mailbox options.
(pause)
Other commands are: 31 to compose, 32 to place a call, * for help, and # to 
exit.

Alternatively, you could say
Press 1 for new messages.
Press 2 to change folders.
Press 0 for mailbox options.
Press 3 for advanced options.
And upon getting 3+timeout:
   Advanced options
   Compose 31
   Outgoing call 32



3. Figure out something about that whole */# finish/cancel/skip/stop business.


But this is just my opinion, and this is a place where it would be hard to 
please everybody. I think that the most realistic solution is to start with 
some way to simply add new commands to the existing interface in a way that 
minimizes disruption yet maintains some sort of logic, then work towards a way 
to make the keystrokes within the existing command structure configurable, and 
then possibly a way to make the command structure configurable as well.

To be able to use Octel commands on Comedian Mail as Don suggests would be nice 
for a lot of people, and make transitioning to Comedian Mail a lot easier. 
However, my thinking is that Comedian Mail is its own thing with its own 
interface and users who have become accustomed to it, and it needs refinement 
before it needs an Octel emulator or a Meridian Mail emulator.

Cheers,
Brad