In inbound email, chat, and messaging flows, a process is defined first in terms of states. States define the pipeline through which work flows. Each state is composed of a series of tasks and actions. States relate to the following:

• The queue to which the interaction routes.
• The industry-defined portion of a process.
• The portion of a process defined by best practices.

In the same way that tasks group actions together into logical units, states group tasks together into logical units. Every interaction process starts with an initial state. If your process is simple, you can leave it at that. For more complex processes, create states to group tasks that occur together, usually at the same stage of your process.

Think of states as stations along an automobile assembly line. At one station, mechanics install the axles, wheels, and steering components onto the chassis. At the next station, workers install the engine and all its related parts. At the next station, the shell of the car body is welded onto the chassis and the doors are installed. At each station, workers do a group of related tasks and then send the car down the line to the next station for another group of tasks to be done. At the end of the line, the result is a finished automobile.

Similarly, an inbound email, chat, or messaging flow process is like an assembly line. At each stage of the process, the system must do various related tasks before the process can continue, and the state groups the tasks so that the process is easy to understand and carry out. At the end of the process, you get the result.