Quick Start: Manage Case Submissions and Agent Interactions in Slack by limiting direct contact to Agents

Introduction:

This article will show a practical approach to handling case submissions and agent interactions within Slack, focusing on maintaining a streamlined communication flow between the agent and the submitter, facilitated by Centro. This method ensures agents are not overwhelmed with direct messages or random channel postings.

Please see this demo video first: 

Next, see this complete setup video: 

Finally, here is an unmanaged Salesforce package to get you started quickly:

• Production
• Sandbox 

Setting Up the System:

To implement this system, start by familiarizing yourself with the concepts discussed in our last video. This article will guide you through setting up the necessary components in Centro and Slack.

Step 1: Configuring the Centro App

As a Slack Centro admin, your first step is to access the Centro app. Here, you'll find admin settings that differ from the submitter's view, giving you full control over the setup. Make sure to connect to your Salesforce org with a Salesforce Connection. 

Step 2: Form Setup

In the Centro app, navigate to the 'Form Setup' section. This is where you'll design the case submission form, adding various fields and customizing the popup message displayed to users upon form completion. See Building Centro Forms. 

Step 3: Salesforce Setup

For those using Salesforce, you'll need to create custom fields in the Salesforce case object, such as 'Case Requester ID'. This step involves capturing the Slack member ID of the person initiating the form. The unmanaged package includes this field, but it'll be necessary to capture the Slack Member ID on the cases. This will be helpful when referencing the member during the case management process. 

Step 4: Workflow Setup

In the workflow setup, you'll enable features such as 'Reply Added to Salesforce Record Blocks'. This is crucial for capturing communications in thread form and integrating them with Salesforce record blocks. Make sure to name the Platform Event API as "Case Reply" if you use the example package. By enabling this, every single message underneath a Centro record block triggers our Platform Event, which can be handled by the Salesforce Platform Event handler. 

Step 5: Platform Event Handler

Create or use the Platform Event Triggered Flow in the example package. The video goes in-depth on how this platform event handler should work but essentially the process is:

• The flow uses the Centro Action platform event to handle incoming platform events from Slack
• One branch will handle posting back to the submitter and the agent the Case details in Slack. By linking these records in Slack to Salesforce via this method, we can post messages to the threads of each of those record blocks. 
• The other branch will handle the replies in the threads between the agents and the case submitters. That is, if the case submitter asks a question under the thread, that message will be relayed back to the agents in their version of the thread. That way the conversation is in context between both the agent and the case submitter and managed without random messages going around in Slack. The obvious implication is that the Case now has everything in context, including the Slack conversations. 

Step 6: Debugging with Workbench

For those familiar with Salesforce Workbench, it can be useful for debugging these platform events. See this How to trouble-shoot Platform Events from Slack?. 

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Have questions or trouble getting started? Please contact us:

• Email: Support@centro.rocks
• Chat on the lower right of this page
• Slack Connect if you're an existing Centro customer.