Facilitating session-based read/write of context variables to share information across multiple microservices
The communication system includes a core system having a processor storing user variables representing user-specific information. A messaging system supports communication between a user and an automated bot agent over at least one user-chosen channel employing channel-agnostic context variables. A runtime system mediates a conversation session between user and bot agent, using at least one predefined context variable. A context mapping data store stores a mapping configuration representing a correlation between the channel-agnostic variable of the user-chosen channel and a field in the core CRM system. Using the context mapping data store, the messaging system responds to a communication from the user by querying the context mapping data store to acquire and pass to the runtime system the resolved mapping configuration values corresponding to the user-chosen channel for each defined context variable.
1. An interactive computer-implemented communication system, comprising:
a core system implemented by at least one processor programmed to maintain a data store of organized to include at least one user variable representing an item of user-specific information;
a messaging system implemented by at least one processor programmed to support message communication over at least one user-chosen channel that supports communication between a communicating user and an automated bot agent and that uses at least one predefined channel-agnostic context variable;
a runtime system implemented by at least one processor programmed to mediate a conversation session between the communicating user and the automated bot agent, using at least one predefined context variable;
a context mapping data store implemented by at least one processor programmed to define a computer-readable memory data structure in which to store a mapping configuration representing a correlation between the channel-agnostic context variable and a context mapping of the user-chosen channel and a field in the core system
wherein the messaging system is programmed to respond to a message communication from the communicating user by initiating at least one query to the context mapping data store: (a) to acquire and pass to the runtime system the mapping configuration corresponding to the user-chosen channel and (b) to acquire and pass to the runtime system the user variable corresponding to the communicating user.
2. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the context mapping data store is implemented by at least one processor associated with the core system.
3. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the context mapping data store includes a data structure defining a conversation context variable mapping table that stores correlations between the channel-specific variable and the conversation variable.
4. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the context mapping data store includes a data structure defining a conversation variable table that stores the user variable.
5. The communication system of claim 3 wherein the messaging system acquires an instance of the conversation context variable mapping table in response to initiation of a message communication from the communicating user.
6. The communication system of claim 4 wherein the messaging system acquires user-specific information in response to initiation of a message communication from the communicating user and stores the acquired user-specific information as user variable data in the conversation variable table.
7. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the at least one processor programmed to implement the runtime system is further programmed to communicate with the core system to update the at least one user variable maintained by the core system data store.
8. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the at least one processor programmed to implement the runtime system is further programmed: (a) to evaluate the user variable stored in the context mapping data store, and (b) to selectively communicate with the core system to update the at least one user variable maintained by the core system data store based on the evaluation.