SMS on Commcare

Users
1

CommCare SMS Functionality
We intend to use SMS functionality in CommCare to support a call center application workflow.
We wish to use SMS to:

  1. Make a request from the facility to the call center
  2. Call center respond to the SMS (approve: Yes or No)
  3. If yes, generate the request code and send it to the facility
  4. All the steps will include notifications and must work completely offline (no internet connectivity required)
    How can we achieve the above using Commcare?

Thanks.

2

To achieve your desired workflow in CommCare, you can use a combination of the SMS functionality and form-based workflows. Here's a general outline of how you could set this up:

  1. Request from the facility to the call center: You can use CommCare's SMS functionality to send a request from the facility to the call center. This can be done by setting up a form in CommCare that, when filled out, triggers an SMS to be sent to the call center. This can be done using the CommCare form builder and configuring the form to send an SMS upon completion.

  2. Call center respond to the SMS (approve: Yes or No): The call center can respond to the SMS by sending a reply back. This can be done using two-way messaging, which is available on the Advanced Plan. The response can be set up to trigger a specific action in CommCare, such as updating a case property.

  3. Generate the request code and send it to the facility: If the call center approves the request, you can set up a workflow in CommCare to generate a request code and send it to the facility via SMS. This can be done using conditional alerts that trigger an SMS when a case property is updated.

  4. Notifications: You can set up SMS alerts to notify relevant parties at each step of the process. This can be done using conditional alerts and scheduled reminders in CommCare.

  5. Offline functionality: CommCare supports offline functionality. SMS can be sent directly from a CommCare form on a mobile device without requiring internet connectivity. However, please note that while the CommCare application can function offline, sending and receiving SMS messages will require cell network connectivity.

Please note that this is a high-level overview and the exact setup will depend on the specifics of your project. You may need to customize this workflow to fit your needs. Also, keep in mind that using SMS functionality in CommCare may incur additional costs, including a monthly software plan cost and a per-message cost.
Relevant KB article: CommCare Messaging