Call blending supports both inbound and outbound calls where the dialer being used supports inbound calling. An example where inbound calling might be used is an interviewer leaving a message for a candidate participant and then the candidate returning the call to take an interview.

When the dialer receives an inbound call, the dialing provider calls GetSampleRec with the new IsInboundCall InterviewProperty set to True. GetSampleRec tries to find the phone number, and then returns a record with the “InOut” sample field set as follows:

To display different text based on the value of InOut, use the conditional substitution feature (see Substitutions in Emails and Phone Participants introductory text). This feature enables the interviewer to use different scripts for incoming calls and outbound calls.

The interviewer goes through the interview as usual, and the record is returned as usual, except if the interviewer chooses the InboundLookup call outcome: if they do this, the existing record is returned without the dialer hanging up. This call outcome is used when the record retrieved is not the correct record for this call. The interviewer can then search for the correct record.

Inbound calls are prioritized over outbound. The next available interviewer that matches the requirements for the record will be connected to the call.

Default properties are set in the DefaultCatiProjectProperties collection. They can be set by using DPM Explorer. The DefaultCatiProjectProperties collection is copied into the project properties at initial activation, so use it only if all or most phone projects are configured similarly.

These DPM properties can be set directly on the project if only some projects are configured for call blending or some properties need to be set separately. You can do this by using DPM Explorer or the Edit project feature in Interviewer – Server Admin (see Working with project properties).

Default properties are stored in DPM under: Site\Properties\DefaultCatiProjectProperties.

Project specific properties are stored in DPM under: Site\Servers\<Server>\Projects\<Project>\mrInterview.

The following participant fields are recommended, but not required. Add these empty columns to the participant file when uploading during Activate or from Participants in Interviewer – Server Admin:

If all or most phone projects are configured to use inbound, you might want to set these participant fields as required fields: to do this, add the field names to the CATISMFieldsReqd DPM property under Site\Properties. Set up a collection for each field in the Site\Properties\DefaultSampleManagementFields collection, so you can define the FieldType as Long.

To set the introduction text to give a different script to the interviewers for inbound calls, use the Interviewing Options activity in Interviewer – Server Admin. Inbound introduction texts can be defined separately to outbound by using the conditional substitution feature (see Substitutions in Emails and Phone Participants introductory text).

For inbound calls, you must select Allow Interviewer to start an interview without a dialer connection to a respondent (which is under Interview Settings > Phone Interview Settings). If most projects are setup to allow inbound, you can set the CanStartSurvey property to True in the catifields_default.mdd file (which is in the FMRoot\Shared\Cati folder). For more information, see Changing the default settings.

In some cases, a respondent is requested to return a call that was dialed by the autodialer. Many autodialers can be set up to leave a message; that message might request a call back. In these cases, it is recommended to send caller identification that matches the expected inbound number. You can set this information can be in the Dialing | Autodialer section of Interviewing Options. If most projects require this setting, you can set it can be setup in the DefaultCatiProjectProperties as CallerID. Set to the number to be used.

From an interviewer’s perspective, receiving an inbound call is the same as connecting to an outbound call, except that the Inbound Lookup call outcome is available. Choose this call outcome if you get some information during the pre-interview discussion that enables you to find a better record for the participant. Maybe the interviewer requests a particular piece of information that can be used in the Get Specific Contact dialog. If this is the case, the interviewer can choose the Inbound Lookup call outcome. This releases the current record, but does not hang up the call. The interviewer can retrieve the correct record by using the Get Specific Contact dialog.