International Standardisation for IVR Systems - ISO/IEC 13714
ISO/IEC 13714 is the international standard for interactive voice response systems. Some of the key areas are:IVR Menus should:
Correspond to numbers on the telephone keypad not letters;
Be phrased in the order of 'function' followed by 'action' (e.g. "To..., press...");
Be in ascending numerical order and avoid gaps in numbering;
Be listed with the most commonly used function first; and,
Be limited to 4 commands (excluding help, repeat, back or end call commands) wherever possible
The # key should be used to delimit data input, to stop recording and proceed to the next step, to skip to the next step or as a decimal point. The preferred name for # is 'hash'.
The basic use of the * key should be to stop the current action and take the caller back one or more steps. With data entry, it should be used to clear entry. The preferred name for * is 'star'.
Where possible the 0 key should be used to provide help or transfer the caller to an operator. The preferred name for 0 is 'zero'.
Use of the 9 Key - Where possible the 9 key should be used to hang-up the call.
Yes/No Response - Yes = 1, No = 2.
Words and Expressions
# - 'Hash', * - 'Star', 0 - 'Zero'
For ending a call use 'end the call' not 'disconnect' or 'terminate'.
For data entry use 'enter' not 'dial', 'key-in' or 'type'.
For inputting menu options use 'press' not 'dial', 'key', 'push' or 'touch'.
The Timeout time (Wait Time) should be between 3 and 10 seconds depending on the menu complexity.