Abstract: A method and system for routing incoming calls from callers to agents associated with an automatic call distribution system, where the incoming calls are based on non-voice dialog communication, the method includes the steps of: identifying a plurality of transaction-handling skills representative of skills possessed by the agents in handling the non-voice dialog communication, calculating a skill level possessed by each agent for at least some of the plurality of transaction-handling skills, forming an agent profile for each agent corresponding to the calculated skill levels, assigning a weight to each calculated skill level for each agent, identifying agents who are available to handle the incoming call, selecting an available agent based on the weighted calculated skill levels, and transferring the incoming call to the selected agent.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, a system, and a software product to automatically manage one or more human workers carrying out a process of manipulating source data provided to produce result data. The process including a set of one or more task steps each having an input and resulting in a task result. The computer implemented method includes receiving units of source data from a customer. For each unit of source data and each task step for the unit of source data, the method includes dispatching the task step and its corresponding input unit to a worker and, after the worker carries out the dispatched task step on the input unit, receiving the task result corresponding to the dispatched task step and input unit from the worker.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for dynamically reassigning agents among call types in a call distribution system having a plurality of agents assigned to a plurality of call types. The method includes the steps of detecting a deficiency in agent responsibility assigned to a call type of the plurality of call types based upon a measured service parameter and corresponding target service parameter and determining an agent allocation among the plurality of call types best suited to correct the deficiency.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for reallocating agent responsibility for servicing a plurality of call types received by an automatic call distributor. The apparatus includes an autopilot adapted to form a plurality of proposed alternative fractional call assignments among the plurality of call types for an agent of the automatic call distributor, a performance predictor adapted to calculate a service parameter for each of the plurality of call types for each of the formed alternate agent call assignments and a comparator adapted to automatically select an agent assignment of the plurality of formed alternative agent assignments based upon the calculated service parameter.

Abstract: A method of evaluating a design for a call center system. A particular system is put into use and data collected to quantify various quality of service factors. Each quality of service factor is multiplied times an expense multiplier and added to an agent cost factor. The result is a metric that describes the system in monetary terms.

Abstract: Managing the rate of delivering performance interventions, such as training sessions, to agents in a contact center, such as a call service center benefits the operations of the contact center. Managing this rate can include adjusting the number of performance interventions delivered in an increment of time according to the state of the contact center. The state of the contact center can be determined by monitoring or predicting contact center performance. Contact center performance increasing above or falling below a management input level can trigger an increase or decrease in intervention delivery rate. In coordination with determining delivery rate, agents can be selected to receive interventions based on ranked performance or need.

Abstract: Managing the selection of performance interventions, such as training sessions, for delivery to agents in a contact center, such as a call service center benefits the operations of the contact center. Managing performance intervention selection can include selecting performance interventions according to the state of the contact center. State can be a monitored or a forecast performance of the contact center. Contact center performance meeting a management input criterion can trigger the selection of specific performance interventions. Performance interventions can be prioritized. When contact center performance is poor, high-priority interventions can be preferentially selected over less important interventions. In coordination with selecting performance interventions, agents can be selected to receive interventions based on ranked performance or need.

Abstract: A system for implementing a recording plan comprises a first record manager, a second record manager, and a session manager. The first record manager generates a first message that comprises a request to record a first session according to a recording plan, wherein the first session is conducted by a client associated with the recording plan. The session manager is communicatively coupled to the first record manager and the second record manager. The session manager generates a second message for communication to the first record manager. The second message comprises an authorization to record the first session. The session manager further generates a third message for communication to the second record manager. The third message comprises a command to record a second session.

Abstract: The tailored assignment and delivery of training or other information to an agent in a call center or other constituent contact environment. Agent interactions are recorded by a quality monitoring component of the call center to produce an agent performance record. The agent performance record is scored against predetermined performance criteria to produce an agent score. Training materials are assigned to agents based on the agent score in skill areas corresponding to the subject matter of the particular training materials. The agent score is coded and the training materials are categorized according to the associated subject matter. If an agent score is below a predetermined threshold, then a database record is populated with the agent score and a training material identifier. The database may then be polled to determine whether the agent needs the training materials to address the associated subject matter. The assigned training materials can then be delivered to the agent over the communications network.

Abstract: Presented is a method and system for visually depicting performance levels in a time-varying environment such as a workplace experiencing time-varied workloads. A call center is one example of such a workplace. One embodiment includes a graphical depiction with a reference time period, such as a work day, on a the horizontal axis. A vertical axis displays, for example, the length of time an incoming call must wait before being answered. As calls come into the call center a symbol is placed horizontally on the graph corresponding to the time during the reference time period that the call was received, and vertically according to the time the caller had to wait before a call center agent answered the call. Other information may also be superimposed on the graph, such as a call center service metric, and abandoned calls.

Abstract: The tailored assignment and delivery of training or other information to an agent in a call center or other constituent contact environment. Agent interactions are recorded by a quality monitoring component of the call center to produce an agent performance record. The agent performance record is scored against predetermined performance criteria to produce an agent score. Training materials are assigned to agents based on the agent score in skill areas corresponding to the subject matter of the particular training materials. The agent score is coded and the training materials are categorized according to the associated subject matter. If an agent score is below a predetermined threshold, then a database record is populated with the agent score and a training material identifier. The database may then be polled to determine whether the agent needs the training materials to address the associated subject matter. The assigned training materials can then be delivered to the agent over the communications network.

Abstract: A method for allocating agents to telephone call campaigns by a telephony system is disclosed. The disclosed method is aimed at maximizing productivity of successful agents by prioritizing call distribution to those agents enjoying a high level of success with respect to a particular call campaign during a particular period of time. The method includes providing a plurality of agent resources to participate in at least one call campaign, establishing success criteria for each call campaign, assigning a success index to each agent for each call campaign, directing calls to the plurality of agent resources in a prioritized manner, whereby calls are connected to available agents in accordance with the value of agent success indexes from highest to lowest The method also includes updating each agent success index is based on the established success criteria while the call campaign is in progress.

Abstract: A call center system used for receiving incoming calls in accordance with the present information has a plurality of terminals, an incoming-call control apparatus and an exchange. Each of the terminals is accommodated by the exchange and includes a display unit as well as a telephone unit; an audio recording & playback unit for recording voices of a conversation between an operator operating the terminal and a caller making an call in a conversation-voice recording file and for playing back voices from the conversation-voice recording file and a response-information-creating unit for creating a response to an incoming call.

Abstract: A personal computer banking system and method in which a personal computer is connected by a network service provider directly to a host computer system of a bank such that customer service requests can be processed automatically without need for intervention by customer service representatives. The system is capable of distinguishing between those customer service requests which are capable of automated fulfillment and those requests which require handling by a customer service representative. The system is integrated with the host computer system of the bank so that the remote banking customer can access other automated services of the bank.

Abstract: Call center supervisors require information about the performance of call center agents in order to manage them appropriately. Previously this information has been provided in two general forms. Current information in the form of statistics such as queue lengths, numbers of active agents, etc. and historical information in the form of aggregate data such as the average waiting time over a 15 minute period. At present supervisors have no means of accessing information about the state of a call center at a particular past time instant. The present invention provides this information by using a pegging engine to extrapolate from statistics about behavior of the call center at a past time instant to values of those statistics at a required past time instant. Information about events occurring in the call center is used in order to carry out this extrapolation.

Abstract: The method and apparatus improves call transactions in a communication system having an automatic call distribution system. A personality profile of each agent of a plurality of agents in the system is determined. A respective personality profile is one of a plurality of predetermined personality profile types. The determined personality profile type for respective agents are stored as personality profile records in a database. A personality profile of a caller is then determined, the personality profile of the caller being one of the plurality of personality profile types. A priority hierarchy is provided for matching a personality profile types of the caller to personality profile types of the agents. The personality profile type of the caller is then compared to the personality profile type of the agents according to this priority hierarchy. An agent is selected from the plurality of agents based on the comparison of the personality profile types.

Abstract: A method of monitoring the performance of a CTI enabled business application for a call center is described. The method comprises the steps of acquiring telephony network information such as an Automatic Number Identification from the telephony network when a telephone call is made to the call center and searching for information stored by the business application such as the customer name which is associated with the ANI from the telephony network. This search is made at the beginning of the call and the customer name is stored with ANI in a call log. Additional information associated with the call such as an order taken during the call is searched for after the call is completed and this additional business information is also stored with said telephony information in the call log.

Abstract: A contact center records and analyzes customer communications. The contact center includes a monitoring system which records customer communications and a customer experience analyzing unit which reviews the customer communications. The customer experience analyzing unit identifies at least one parameter of the customer communications and automatically determines whether the identified parameter of the customer communications indicates a negative or unsatisfactory experience. This customer experience analyzing unit can perform a stress analysis on audio telephone calls to determine a stress parameter by processing the audio portions of the telephone calls. It can then be determined whether the customer experience of the caller was satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

Abstract: The present invention relates to providing presence information bearing on the availability of a first user involved with a call to a second user involved with the call. In general, call information bearing on the call is received and triggers a request for presence information associated with the first user. Upon retrieval of the presence information associated with the first user, the presence information is effectively delivered to the second user in a manner informing the second user of the availability of the first user to receive a call. Thus, when an attempt to establish a call between the first and second users has failed, the second user may monitor the presence information relating to the availability of the first user to decide when, and perhaps how, to contact the first user.

Abstract: A technique for sharing multimedia sessions between users that share a directory number allows incoming calls to be routed to both phones. Once one party picks up, the other party is alerted to this fact. Both parties may then exchange multimedia information to help in the handling and disposition of the call.

Abstract: A system for analyzing call center operations data retrieves data from a memory unit associated with a call center and then processes the data to determine agent composition and occupancy information for the call center on a representative working day. A number of different heuristics are provided for analyzing the operations data to identify one or more representative days corresponding to at least one user-specified call center operating parameter and at least one user-specified call center skill. The operations data is then analyzed further to identify agent groups within the call center on the representative day(s) that share a common skill set. Occupancy information is then developed for the identified agent groups for the representative working day(s). The system then generates one or more reports indicating the agent composition and occupancy information for the representative day(s).

Abstract: A call center system used for receiving incoming calls in accordance with the present information has a plurality of terminals, an incoming-call control apparatus and an exchange. Each of the terminals is accommodated by the exchange and includes a display unit as well as a telephone unit; an audio recording & playback unit for recording voices of a conversation between an operator operating the terminal and a caller making an call in a conversation-voice recording file and for playing back voices from the conversation-voice recording file and a response-information-creating unit for creating a response to an incoming call.

Abstract: A method and call center system are disclosed for collecting and reporting information by the call center for use by a supervisor. A supervisor computer is connected to an automatic call distributor (ACD) server and a structured query language (SQL) server having an associated historical database for call center statistics, which are included as part of the call center having a plurality of agents for receiving incoming calls. At predetermined time intervals, status data relating to real time status changes of agents and incoming calls are forwarded from the ACD server to the supervisor. The received status data is processed at the supervisor computer and real time reports are displayed for supervisor monitoring of call center and agent statistics.

Abstract: An arrangement (100) for monitoring contact-center (104-108) performance automates the monitoring process by using a database schema (250-270) that records (200-224) the contact center to be monitored, its skills, the locations where the skills are located (in the case of a distributed contact center), the objective or target value for a given skill attribute (such as average speed of answer, maximum delay, etc.), the acceptable deviation from the objective (tolerance), the maximum acceptable deviation between locations (in the case of a distributed contact center), the periodicity or frequency of the monitoring, and the comparison operator needed to determine how a given observed or actual value for the skill attribute is to be compared with its specified objective and tolerance. Monitoring is then effected (300-366) as follows.

Abstract: Methods and systems for skills-based testing and training of an application are provided. Example embodiments provide a Skills-Based Simulation and Measurement System “SBSMS”, which enables publishers and authors of tests and training programs to provide simulated application environments for testing and training students. In one embodiment, the SBSMS comprises a client portion and a server portion. The client portion includes a simulation engine that is run by a student and tracks the student's responses. The server portion comprises the components and data that are used to implement the client-side simulation engine and includes a skills-based testing and training engine, simulation components, non-simulation components, and a tests and training scenarios and student data repository. The server portion receives and satisfies requests for portions of a scenario with the simulation and non-simulation components.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in a data processing system for asynchronous context switching. Requests of graphics processes are received to process graphics data for display in a queue in the graphics adapter. A current context is switched for a first graphics process to a new context for a second graphics process only in response to requests received in the queue. In this manner, the graphics adapter is able to continuously process commands in the queue instead of waiting for new commands to be sent after each context switch.

Abstract: A portable telephone records a short voice memo during a call and reproduces the recorded short voice memo later. Upon detection of a voice record key input during a call, the portable telephone converts an input voice signal to voice data, stores the voice data, and determines whether a stop key is input. Upon detection of the stop key input, the telephone stops storing the voice data and displays an index number input request message. Upon detection of an index number input in response to the index number input request message, the telephone records the stored voice data in a voice memo table in association with the input index number, and determines whether a voice reproduce key is input. Upon detection of the voice reproduce key input, the telephone displays an index number input request message and determines whether the voice memo table has a voice memo corresponding to an input index number.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for controlling an automatic call distributor by a supervisor from a remote location. The method includes the steps of establishing a telephonic connection between the supervisor and the automatic call distributor and screening the call for the authorized supervisor. The method further includes the steps of transferring a configuration instruction to the automatic call distributor, executing the configuration instruction by the automatic call distributor and returning a configuration result to the supervisor.

Abstract: A virtual contact center (VCC) system includes facilities for full participation by a VCC monitor in a transaction between a customer and a customer service representative (CSR) using virtual network computing (VNC) techniques. A second display system remote from a first computer system actively views and controls the computing desktop at the first computer. Thus, one or more virtual contact center monitors can simultaneously view a CSR desktop, including windows containing merchant applications. Moreover, use of VNC programs permits a monitor to directly control the selection, display, data entry and interaction with such merchant applications and customer in exactly the same manner, and to the same extent, as a CSR.

Abstract: Performance measurement and analysis of local exchange carrier interconnections. Performance measurements can be used to establish that an incumbent local exchange carrier (“ILEC”) is providing interconnections to one or more competitive local exchange carriers (“CLEC's”) that are at least equal in quality to the interconnections provided to itself. Performance measurements are defined to measure the timeliness, accuracy and availability of the interconnections provided to the CLEC's. A performance measurement is based upon performance data that us collected from one of the ILEC's processes (preordering, ordering, provisioning, collocation, billing, maintenance and repair, emergency 911, operator service/directory assistance and trunk blockage). A performance report is defined to specify the types of performance measurements and dimensions that are included, as well as the reporting period.

Abstract: A multi-site call processing system includes multiple distributed call center sites, and utilizes a load balancing process to distribute calls among the sites for handling by agents. The system generates a multi-site performance score characterizing the performance of the load balancing process. Adjustments may be made in the load balancing process, such as selection of one type of load balancing over another for use at a particular time, based at least in part on the multi-site performance score. The multi-site performance score may be determined using single-site performance measures such as Average Speed of Answer (ASA) and agent occupancy generated across multiple time intervals. The multi-site performance score as generated for a given interval may be, e.g., a ratio of the maximum and minimum values of a single-site performance measure for that interval.

Abstract: Scheduling and delivering training or other information to agents in a call center or other constituent contact system. Agent schedule data from a workforce management component or agent workload data from a work distribution component is analyzed to determine whether an agent is scheduled for training or is available for training, respectively. The agent's terminal user interface is monitored to determine whether the agent is interacting with constituents. If the agent is not busy, training materials or other information are delivered over a communications network to the agent's terminal. To avoid interference between a training session and customer call activities, the agent may be disconnected from the system's customer contact engine before delivery of the training materials is complete. If call volume to the call center exceeds a predetermined threshold during agent training, the training session is discontinued so that the agent may resume serving customers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for measuring a call handling efficiency of a call center. The method includes the steps of measuring a touch-point indicia for a call and adding the measured indicia to a touch point history of the call.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and system for monitoring and evaluating multimedia telephonic and computer-communication interactions. The multimedia quality monitoring system may include an event manager, which may receive a notification associated with a communication between an agent and a customer and recording servers, which record data associated with the communication.

Abstract: A system for providing a secure interface to a PBX system comprising a PBX having a command executor; a plurality of telephony devices connected to the PBX; one or more programmable computing devices connected to the PBX; wherein each programmable computing device has a telephony service provider component which communicates with the PBX command executor through a PBX command interface resident on the programmable computing device to request and obtain a list of telephony device identifiers corresponding to a set of telephony devices which are permitted to be monitored or controlled by the programmable computing device.

Abstract: A call center is configured to determine which of a number of designated service states is associated with a particular skill or type of communication supported by one or more agents of the call center. A particular one of the states represents a branded service level, while other states represent over-service and under-service conditions. If the particular skill or type of communication is determined to be associated with a service state other than that corresponding to the desired branded service level, a communication processing function of the call center is adjusted so as to return the skill or type of communication to the desired branded service level state. An example of such an adjustment is a dynamic agent pooling, in which a pool of agents available to perform work for the particular skill varies in accordance with the current service state of that skill.

Abstract: A method, system, and program for rating parties according to party identities are provided. A second party to a call may rate the first party to the call. For subsequent calls by the first party, the rating by the second party of the first party may be displayed to subsequent called parties. In addition, the ratings by subsequent called parties may be accumulated for the first party. Ratings may be stored according to the identity of the individual representing the first party, according to the identity of the business representing the first party, or according to the context of a call.

Abstract: A monitoring system for monitoring agent telephonic interactions with customers and a method thereof is provided. The system may comprise a voice logger to receive and record audio of a telephone call received by the agent, a screen logger to receive and record video screen data associated with interactions of the agent with a computer during the telephone call and an event manager to determine whether the interactions meet at least one predefined monitoring condition.

Abstract: A method and call center system monitors performance of agents in a call center. A call is received within a call center and has a plurality of agents, an automatic call distributor (ACD) server for routing calls to individual agents based on the proficiency skills of the agents, an interactive voice response (IVR) server, and in one aspect, a structured query language (SQL) server having a historical database. The requested type of service is determined and the call routed to an agent based on the requested type of service. After the call between an agent and caller is completed, the call is transferred to the IVR server and responses are solicited from the caller to allow the caller to rate the performance of the call center and agent. In the event that a response is indicative of a poor rating of an agent in the call center, the caller is transferred to a supervisor at a supervisor stations for personal questioning of the caller.

Abstract: A system to monitor a call center includes reception of call center data, determination of respective values of a plurality of measures based on the call center data, determination of a compliance description for each of the plurality of measures, presentation of an indicator in association with each of the plurality of measures, wherein an indicator presented in association with a measure corresponds to a compliance description determined for the measure, reception of a selection of a presented indicator, and presentation of a value of a measure associated with the selected indicator in response to the received selection.

Abstract: An efficient algorithm is presented for selecting an agent to service a task in a skills-based routing system. A set X is determined of all states of the boolean variables that contain the required skills for a task. A resume table of available agents is built, organized by the states of the N variables; each agent is represented in each state that includes all skills possessed by the agent. All available and qualified agents are determined from the resume table; those agents associated with a state of the resume table outside of the set X are disqualified. An agent is selected from those remaining. Preferably, an agent is selected having a minimum qualification level to service the task. One preferred way of doing this is to subtract from the number of terms in a canonical form of the required skills expression a number equal to the number of times the agent appears in the set of states X and picking an agent with the lowest result.

Abstract: The invention provides a system and method for strategic services enterprise workload management and more particularly to an automated method and system for enterprise workload management that enables an organization such as a financial institution to route any channel service to customer service representatives at any capable service site. Thus, the invention enables an organization to provide service to its customers at any time and by any communications or service channel a customer, chooses, wherein the enterprise workload management knows all work in process for a customer so that when a customer is identified, that customer will be routed to the first available agent that can best satisfy both the customer's intent and the organization's intent.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for dynamically reassigning agents among call types in a call distribution system having a plurality of agents assigned to a plurality of call types. The method includes the steps of detecting a deficiency in agent responsibility assigned to a call type of the plurality of call types based upon a measured service parameter and corresponding target service parameter and determining an agent allocation among the plurality of call types best suited to correct the deficiency.

Abstract: A call center is configured to determine variable rest periods for one or more agents, based at least in part on factors such as call center service state and agent occupancy. The call center service states may include a number of designated service states associated with a particular skill or type of communication supported by one or more agents of the call center. A particular one of the states represents a branded service level, while other states represent over-service and under-service conditions. The rest period determined for one or more of the agents can be used to implement features such as many-to-many work assignment, just-in-time (JIT) delivery of work, next opportunity for service (NOS) indicators, thereby facilitating the processing of communications in the call center.

Abstract: An agent station for a call-in center has a telephone for an agent's use connected by a communication link with a computer workstation adapted for providing voice extensions, including one or more of call recording, playback of pre-recorded voice files to the telephone during a telephone call, and voice-activated functions. The agent station can be adapted to a call-in center wherein the computer workstations are connected on a local area network (LAN) together with a computer processor running a telephony server (T-Server). In some embodiments the T-Server may provide voice extensions in conjunction with a database accessible on the LAN.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for reallocating agent responsibility for servicing a plurality of call types received by an automatic call distributor. The apparatus includes an autopilot adapted to form a plurality of proposed alternative fractional call assignments among the plurality of call types for an agent of the automatic call distributor, a performance predictor adapted to calculate a service parameter for each of the plurality of call types for each of the formed alternate agent call assignments and a comparator adapted to automatically select an agent assignment of the plurality of formed alternative agent assignments based upon the calculated service parameter.

Abstract: A method for monitoring agent telephonic interactions with customers, the method including a) receiving a CTI datum associated with a telephone call between an agent and a party, b) determining whether the telephone call is to be recorded by determining whether the CTI datum meets at least one predefined monitoring condition, and, if so, c) recording at least a portion of the telephone call.

Abstract: The tailored assignment and delivery of training or other information to an agent in a call center or other constituent contact environment. Agent interactions are recorded by a quality monitoring component of the call center to produce an agent performance record. The agent performance record is scored against predetermined performance criteria to produce an agent score. Training materials are assigned to agents based on the agent score in skill areas corresponding to the subject matter of the particular training materials. The agent score is coded and the training materials are categorized according to the associated subject matter. If an agent score is below a predetermined threshold, then a database record is populated with the agent score and a training material identifier. The database may then be polled to determine whether the agent needs the training materials to address the associated subject matter. The assigned training materials can then be delivered to the agent over the communications network.

Abstract: The present invention relates to simultaneous computer screen and voice monitoring from a remote location, and particularly relates to synchronized telephone and screen monitoring of a computer workstation from a remote location. Such monitoring is useful for providing training and assistance to those using such workstations, especially in connection with telephone use, can also be useful for providing an audit trial of significant on-screen events, or can be used as a trigger to initiate other separate events. In one embodiment, graphics primitives are used to determine localized screen changes which are periodically copied from the monitored workstation desktop and sent over a network to a remote, monitoring, workstation. In another embodiment, localized screen changes are determined by full screen comparison, and sent over a network to a remote, monitoring, workstation.

Abstract: An automated monitoring system monitors telephone resources in a call center. The call center may include agent stations at which agents are stationed to handle calls. A monitoring server monitors calling activity by the agents to maintain state information about the agents and to gather statistics about the calling activity of the agents. These statistics are forwarded to a client program run on a workstation or other type of computer system. The client program provides a graphical user interface and depicts the state information about the agents as part of the interface. The graphical user interface may also display statistics regarding the calling activity of agents, agent supervisors, business clients of the call center, and the call center in aggregate.