Patents by Inventor William E. Gourlay

William E. Gourlay has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Call selection and agent selection in a call center based on agent staffing schedule
    Patent number: 6356632
    Abstract: A call center is configured such that call selection and/or agent selection processes may be based at least in part on stored information regarding agent schedules, such as scheduled break times, training sessions, ends of shifts or other events for the agents. In an illustrative embodiment, schedule information is stored for at least one of the call center agents, and a communication is selected for delivery to the agent based at least in part on the stored schedule information for that agent. For example, a call selection process in the call center may be modified for a designated period of time before a scheduled break of a given agent such that the call selected for delivery to that agent is likely to be completed in the time remaining until the scheduled break.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2002
    Assignee: Avaya Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Robin H. Foster, William E. Gourlay, Eugene P. Mathews