The running example in this chapter is the disputes process for fictional ACMEBank. (We also discuss this example at length in Chapter 6.) The process controls how ACMEBank handles complaints over charges raised by its VISA card holders. The process has three stages:
1. The Capture Stage: The customer submits a dispute over one of various channels (call center, web, email, mail, or fax) to ACMEBank. The bank makes a quick determination of whether to reject the dispute outright (for example, because it was not submitted within 60 days of its posted date), write it off (for example, because the dollar amount of the transaction is below a certain threshold), request supporting documentation (for example, receipts) from the customer, or pass it to one of the bank's disputes specialists for further investigation. At any time during this stage the customer may cancel the dispute. The goal of this stage is either...