Ulllted States Patent [19]
`Berk0witz et al.
`
`US005903877A
`[11] Patent Number:
`[45] Date 0f Patent:
`
`5,903,877
`May 11, 1999
`
`[54] TRANSACTION CENTER FOR PROCESSING
`CUSTOMER TRANSACTION REQUESTS
`FROM ALTERNATIVE MEDIA SOURCES
`
`.
`-
`-
`-
`.
`-
`-
`[75] Inventors‘ Pamela Ann Berkowltz’ Robm Hams
`Foster, both of Little Silver; David
`.
`.
`Abraham Homvltz’ Hlghland Park’ all
`of N1; Andrew Derek Flockharb
`Thornton; Myron Eugene Drapal,
`Longmont, both of Colo.
`
`5,655,014
`5,655,015
`5,715,307
`
`8/1997 Walsh et al. .......................... .. 379/201
`8/1997 Walsh et a1.
`379/201
`2/1998 ZaZZera ..... ..
`.. 379/265
`
`5,721,770
`
`2/1998 Kohler . . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 379/266
`
`5,740,238
`5,740,240
`
`4/1998 Flockhart et a1. ................ .. 379/266 X
`4/1998 Jolissaint ............................... .. 379/265
`
`5,745,561
`5,754,639
`5,760,823
`
`379/210
`4/1998 Baker et a1.
`379/265 X
`5/1998 Flockhart et a1. ..
`6/1998 Brunson et a1. .................... .. 379/67 X
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`_
`_
`_
`[73] Asslgnee: Lucent Technologles Inc'> Murray H1H>
`N1
`
`Kerry W. Hassler, et al., Revolutionizing De?nity Call
`Centers in the 1990s, AT &T Technical Journal, Jul/Aug.
`1995, pp. 64—73.
`
`21 A l. N .: 08 723 733
`[
`1
`pp
`0
`/
`’
`[22]
`Filed:
`Sep. 30, 1996
`
`[51]
`
`Int. Cl.6 .......................... .. G06F 15/21; H04M 1/69;
`H04M 15/00; H04M 3/22
`
`[52] US. Cl. ................................. .. 705/26; 705/11; 705/7;
`[58] Field of Search
`705/9;
`36434381165
`705/26; 364/468.15
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`
`U_S_ PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,146,488
`
`9/1992 Okada etal. ........................... .. 379/88
`
`~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ 705/11
`5,239,460
`8/1993 LaROChe ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
`379/266
`5,444,774
`8/1995 Friedes ....... ..
`____ __ 379/67
`574797487 12/1995 Hammond
`379/265
`5,511,117
`4/1996 ZaZZera ...... ..
`379/265
`5,546,455
`8/1996 Joyce et a]_
`379/201
`5,642,410
`6/1997 Walsh 6161. ..
`5,647,002
`7/1997 Brunson .................................. .. 379/67
`
`Primary Examiner—Allen R. MacDonald
`Assistant Examiner—Pedro R. Kanof
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`_
`,
`,
`,
`.
`Atransaction center including a transaction processing plat
`form having an automatic call distribution system for queu
`ing Customer transaction requests for Choosing an appro_
`priate service agent according to information gathered about
`the transaction requests, and for determining When the
`appropriate service agent is available. Also provided is a
`transaction request server for receiving and storing the
`transaction requests. In operation, the message is ?rst
`received and stored by the transaction request server. Next,
`the presence of the message is detected and in response
`
`i?ff?t‘hiilgyni‘liiniiilgti 55263311513211333356256
`'.
`’
`.
`.
`.
`agent in response to a signal from the transaction processing
`platform indicating that the appropriate Service agent is
`available to service the transaction request.
`
`28 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
`
`10
`Transaction [
`4 Processing
`Platform
`
`63$ Access
`3 Network 5
`' ............ ..
`
`7
`
`5mg’
`
`Transaction .f20
`Request
`
`40
`I
`
`Server
`
`TELEPHONE 12°
`
`8O
`
`H80
`
`‘
`CTI PLATFORM
`
`r~ ————— - — —1
`
`{En CONTROLLER l
`
`____ __ _‘70
`l5WORKFL0W 1
`I MANAGER
`I
`
`L ———— — — J\ \ \
`
`f110
`
`10°
`
`I’ — — — — _ — _l 60
`
`MESSAGE
`LCONTROLLERJ'
`_____w\_
`50
`I90
`Service
`Agent / \_3o
`
`PC
`
`115
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 1 of 9
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`May 11,1999
`
`Sheet 1 0f 4
`
`5,903,877
`
`f5
`
`[EH
`10
`@
`m Transaction /
`—> Processing
`Platform
`r
`
`TELEPHONE 1120
`
`80
`
`N80
`
`Transaction 12° I40
`Request <
`
`Server
`
`011 PLATFORM
`
`F- _ _ * _ _ — _ _]
`
`ICTI CONTROLLER l
`1_______\=
`FWORKFLOW 1
`> ' MANAGER
`'
`
`____ _ _ 70
`
`———— — — J‘ \ \
`
`f1 10
`
`10°
`
`pC
`
`115
`
`r ———— — — 1 60
`
`'_ '_ _ — _ T
`
`MESSAGE
`LCONTROLLERJI
`s i I90
`so
`Agent / “30
`GTVICB
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 2 of 9
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`May 11,1999
`
`Sheet 2 0f 4
`
`5,903,877
`
`Transaction request f
`.
`received by transaction
`request server.
`
`200
`
`i
`Message controller
`detects that
`210
`transaction request hasf
`been received; sends
`message to workflow
`manager.
`
`l
`Workflow manager
`signals CTI controller to f 220
`send signal to
`transaction processing
`platform indicating that
`a transaction request
`has been received.
`
`l
`
`Transaction request
`230
`placed in queue;
`transaction request routed by ACD system f
`and integrated into
`monitoring and reporting
`software.
`
`l
`
`A
`
`To FIG. 3
`
`FIG. 2
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 3 of 9
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`May 11,1999
`
`Sheet 3 0f 4
`
`5,903,877
`
`A From FIG. 3
`l
`Transaction processing
`platform signals to CT! _/240
`Controller that Service
`agent is available.
`l
`Workflow manager
`250
`signals transaction
`request server to f
`deliver transaction
`request to appropriate
`service agent.
`i
`250
`Transaction request is
`sent to service agent I
`for processing by
`service agent.
`i
`Service Agent
`processes transaction
`request.
`l
`B
`
`_/270
`
`To FIG. 4
`
`FIG. 3
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 4 of 9
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`May 11,1999
`
`Sheet 4 0f 4
`
`5,903,877
`
`B
`
`From FIG. 3
`
`Service Agent signals
`Message Controller that
`transaction request has
`been processed.
`l
`Message Controller
`signals workflow
`manager which in turn
`signals CTI controller
`that transaction request
`has been processed.
`l
`CTI controller sends
`signal to transaction
`processing platform
`indicating that
`transaction request has
`been processed.
`
`280 f
`
`290 f
`
`300 f
`
`FIG. 4
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 5 of 9
`
`

`

`1
`TRANSACTION CENTER FOR PROCESSING
`CUSTOMER TRANSACTION REQUESTS
`FROM ALTERNATIVE MEDIA SOURCES
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to a transaction center, and
`more particularly, to a method and apparatus for processing
`customer transaction requests in the form of alternative
`media, such as facsimile, voice mail, electronic mail, regular
`mail and video, among others.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`Traditionally, business has been conducted as a store front
`operation Where customers had to be physically present at a
`store to conduct business. Customers may also have been
`able to request items for future delivery by calling the store
`or by Writing a letter or ?lling out an order form Which Was
`later mailed to the store.
`In recent years, hoWever, there has been a tremendous
`shift in the Way business is conducted. The telephone has
`become the neW “front door” to businesses. As the use of
`800 telephone numbers proliferated, customers had an alter
`native and most often more convenient Way to conduct
`business. A physical presence at the store Was no longer
`needed, only the ability to communicate Was necessary.
`In response to the groWth in the use of the telephone by
`customers, call center technology Was developed. Tradi
`tional call centers consist solely of customers trying to reach
`service agents by telephone. The calls are placed into a
`queue Where they Wait until a service agent is available to
`service them. In a call center, the private branch exchange,
`or PBX, is provided With What is commonly knoWn as an
`automatic call distribution, or ACD, system. ACD systems
`are Well knoWn in the art and generally comprise customer
`administrable softWare that governs What happens to a call
`betWeen arrival at the call center and the time the call is
`ansWered and processed by a service agent. The ACD
`system may, for instance, alloW the caller to hear ringing,
`music or announcements about the company While Waiting
`in the queue. In addition, the ACD system may perform
`functions of Which the caller is not aWare. These functions
`include using information gathered about the caller to access
`caller records or invoices Which Will later be used by the
`service agent, and routing the call to an appropriate available
`agent based on a variety of factors relating to the customer
`request or the service agents. Such factors include, for
`example, the geographical origin of the call indicated by the
`telephone number from Which the call came, Whether the
`call is a sales or service call, Whether there should be a
`priority assigned to the call based on the caller, the type of
`skills necessary to properly service the request and the
`relative Workloads of the service agents Which may include
`When a particular agent is available to handle a call. The
`information may also include information such as the num
`ber that the customer called in order to obtain service, as in
`the case Where a business uses separate numbers for sales
`and service. This information may be gathered in a variety
`of Ways. For example, the caller may be prompted to enter
`information such as an account number, social security
`number or Zip code, or may be prompted to choose from a
`menu of options. Also, some information is inherent in each
`call, such as the area code of the origin of the call, and can
`be gathered Without the knoWledge of the caller. Typically,
`the type of information used to route the calls is selectable
`and programmable by the organiZation utiliZing the call
`center and the calls are ultimately routed based upon a set of
`programmable rules Which utiliZe the information.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`5,903,877
`
`2
`In addition, the PBX is typically provided With monitor
`ing and reporting softWare that is able to monitor and report
`quantitative metrics relating to the customer requests, the
`individual service agents and the call center as a Whole. An
`example of such softWare is Lucent Technologies, Inc.’s Call
`Management System, or CMS, and Basic Call Management
`System, or BCMS, softWare. For instance, this softWare can
`provide quantitative metrics relating to real time information
`such as the number of calls currently Waiting in the call
`center queue and hoW long each call has been Waiting. Also,
`the softWare can provide quantitative metrics relating to
`statistical information, such as the number of calls handled
`by the call center in a given day and the average process time
`of each call, and historical information, such as the volume
`of calls handled in a given day in a given year. Furthermore,
`quantitative metrics relating to the performance of indi
`vidual service agents, such as the number of calls handled in
`a day and the average process time of each, can be gathered
`and reported. These exemplary quantitative metrics are
`provided for illustrative purposes only, and it should be
`understood that a large variety of other quantitative metrics
`could be measured as desired by a particular user.
`Keeping up With the rising volume of calls can be costly
`and inef?cient. Thus, in order to provide quality service in
`a cost effective manner, businesses developed alternative
`routes for customers to communicate their requests. Voice
`mail technology Was provided to callers as an alternative to
`Waiting in the queue for an available service agent. With the
`voice mail option, a caller can leave a message stating his or
`her request Which is processed and serviced by a service
`agent at a later time. Other alternatives include media such
`as the facsimile, electronic mail via subscriber netWorks and
`the Internet, regular mail, such as a letter or a purchase order,
`video, and live multi-media requests from sources such as
`the Internet. Also, in some situations, the customer does not
`make the request at all, but instead their equipment does, as
`is the case With burglar or ?re alarms. The requests can also
`originate from Within the business operating the call center,
`as in the case Where automatic subscription reneWals are to
`be generated and sent to customers.
`These alternatives provide the bene?t of reducing the
`number of direct telephone calls that a business, and its
`service agents, must handle. Another bene?t is that a cus
`tomer is not forced to Wait on the telephone in a queue in real
`time. Instead, the customer has left a proxy, in the form of
`a facsimile, a voice mail, a letter, an electronic mail message
`or video message, Which is aWaiting service. These
`alternatives, hoWever, also have a price. Fragmenting cus
`tomer service among these many media may result in an
`inability to monitor and report the performance of the call
`center for some or all of the media. Therefore, the business
`is unable to obtain a total picture of service quality. Also,
`When service requests come in by facsimile, regular mail,
`electronic mail, and the like, they are typically kept in a
`central location Where they are either picked up by the
`service agents or manually distributed to the service agents.
`Thus, because humans are involved in the process of getting
`these types of service requests to the service agents, the
`more dif?cult request may be passed over or put aside. Also,
`often times these types of service requests are handled
`during service agent off-time, rather than on a ?rst come,
`?rst serve basis. Accordingly, the true time it takes to handle
`these requests cannot be accurately tracked. Finally, it takes
`time for the request to get to the service agents in this
`manner and, in the meantime, customers may get tired of
`Waiting and call in anyWay.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`A preferred transaction center according to the present
`invention includes a transaction processing platform pro
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 6 of 9
`
`

`

`3
`vided With an automatic call distribution system for queuing
`transaction requests, for choosing an appropriate service
`agent according to information gathered about the transac
`tion requests, and for determining When the appropriate
`service agent is available. Also provided are a transaction
`request server for receiving and storing the transaction
`requests, means for detecting the presence of the transaction
`requests, means responsive to a signal from the detecting
`means for indicating to the transaction processing platform
`that the transaction requests have been received, and means
`for sending the transaction request to the appropriate service
`agent in response to a signal from the transaction processing
`platform.
`In operation, the message is ?rst received and stored by
`the transaction request server. Next, the presence of the
`message is detected and in response thereto a signal is sent
`to the transaction processing platform. Finally, the transac
`tion request is sent to the appropriate service agent in
`response to a signal from the transaction processing platform
`indicating that the appropriate service agent is available to
`service the transaction request.
`
`15
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a transaction center accord
`ing to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
`FIGS. 2—4 are flow diagrams illustrating the operation of
`the transaction center of FIG. 1.
`
`25
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a transaction
`center according to a preferred embodiment of the present
`invention is shoWn. A transaction processing platform 10 is
`provided With an ACD system and monitoring and reporting
`softWare as described above. In a preferred embodiment of
`the present invention, transaction processing platform 10 is
`a PBX, such as Lucent Technologies, Inc.’s DEFINITY
`private branch exchange. It should be apparent to one of skill
`in the art, hoWever, that transaction processing platform 10
`can take on many other forms, such as a PC platform or the
`like, as long as it has the ability to be loaded With and run
`the ACD system and the monitoring and reporting softWare
`as described. Thus, as described above, transaction process
`ing platform 10 is able to receive customer transaction
`requests, place the transaction requests in a service queue,
`and eventually route the customer transaction requests to an
`appropriate available service agent for processing. Also as
`described above, transaction processing platform 10 is able
`to monitor and report the performance of the individual
`service agents and the transaction center as a Whole.
`Also provided is a transaction request server 20, Which is
`capable of receiving and storing customer transaction
`requests from customer 5 that need to be processed by a
`service agent. The customer transaction requests may be in
`the form of a facsimile, voice mail, electronic mail via the
`Internet or some other subscriber netWork supported by
`transaction request server 20, regular mail or video, or any
`combination thereof. The customer transaction requests are
`routed to the transaction center through What is generally
`described herein as access netWork 6, Which may be, for
`example, a public telephone sWitching netWork, the Internet,
`the US. mail system, or any combination thereof. As shoWn
`in FIG. 1, the transaction request may go directly to trans
`action request server 20 or may be routed through transac
`tion processing platform 10 depending upon the particular
`implementation. The customer requests received and stored
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`5,903,877
`
`4
`by transaction request server 20 must be in electronic
`format. Thus, in the case of a customer request in the form
`of regular mail, the customer request must be converted into
`an electronic form by scanner 7 prior to being stored by
`transaction request server 20. Transaction request server 20
`may be, for example, a multi-media messaging platform
`such as Lucent Technologies, Inc.’s INTUITY AUDIX
`system, or any other device that is capable of receiving and
`storing transaction requests in any of the forms described
`herein.
`The business that is operating and administering the
`transaction center has access to transaction processing plat
`form 10 and transaction request server 20 in order to select,
`program and administer the various functions described
`herein.
`In addition, the transaction center shoWn in FIG. 1 is
`provided With computer telephone integration, or CTI, soft
`Ware Which is Well knoWn in the art. As shoWn in FIG. 1, the
`CTI softWare is preferably stored on a separate PC platform
`30, but may also be stored on transaction processing plat
`form 10 or on transaction request server 20. In a preferred
`embodiment, the CTI softWare comprises three softWare
`modules, the operation of Which Will be described in detail
`beloW. The three softWare modules are a message controller
`50, a Work?oW manager 60 and a CTI controller 70. Trans
`action request server 20 interfaces With PC platform 30
`through application programming interface, or API, 40.
`Similarly, transaction processing platform 10 interfaces With
`PC platform 30 through CTI link 80.
`Although only one transaction processing platform 10 and
`only one transaction request server 20 are shoWn in FIG. 1,
`it should be understood that this is only for illustrative
`purposes and that more than one transaction processing
`platform 10 and/or transaction request server 20 may be
`utiliZed according to the present invention in connection
`With the CTI SoftWare described above. In other Words, the
`CTI softWare, and speci?cally the methods described herein,
`can be used to support multiple transaction processing
`platforms and multiple transaction request servers.
`Each of a plurality of service agents 90 preferably has a
`personal computer, or PC, Which is provided With desktop
`softWare Which enables the service agent to receive and/or
`vieW each customer request Whether it be in facsimile,
`electronic mail, voice mail, regular mail or video format. In
`the case of voice mail messages, the customer request can be
`played back to the service agent either over speakers con
`tained in PC 90 if PC 90 has a sound card, or over the service
`agent’s telephone connection.
`In addition, the desktop softWare provides the service
`agent With tools With Which the agent can monitor the status
`of a customer request in the queue and the progress of the
`processing of the request. Using these tools, the service
`agent is also able to monitor and search all transaction
`requests that are currently Waiting in the queue and those
`that have already been serviced. Thus, if a customer Who has
`previously sent a transaction request in a form such as a
`facsimile, electronic mail or the like later actually calls in to
`check on the status of the request, any service agent can
`retrieve the queued transaction request and service the
`customer. Also, as described above, the ACD system of
`transaction processing platform 10, using information gath
`ered about the customer, is able to access information such
`as customer records and invoices for use by the service agent
`handling a particular customer request. In an alternative
`embodiment of the present invention, the ACD system
`provides the information gathered about the customer to an
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 7 of 9
`
`

`

`5,903,877
`
`5
`auxiliary software application Which accesses the additional
`information and provides it to transaction processing plat
`form 10. This auxiliary application may be loaded directly
`on transaction processing platform 10 or on an auxiliary
`server attached to transaction processing platform 10. In
`order to facilitate this function, the desktop softWare has
`What is commonly knoWn in the art as a “screen pop”
`capability Which presents the customer information to the
`service agent on the screen of the service agent’s PC 90 just
`prior to the time that the agent receives the customer request
`in the manner to be described beloW.
`Referring noW to FIG. 2—4, the operation of the transac
`tion center shoWn in FIG. 1 Will be described in detail. As
`shoWn in block 200, a transaction request is received by
`transaction request server 20 from customer 5. As discussed
`above, this transaction request can be in the form of a
`facsimile, a voice mail message, an electronic mail message,
`a piece of regular mail scanned into electronic format or a
`video message, or any combination thereof. In addition, the
`transaction request may be a live multi-media request from
`a source such as the Internet or some other type of electronic
`record indicating the presence of a transaction request that
`needs to be serviced. Also, note that in the preferred embodi
`ment of the present invention Where transaction processing
`platform is a PBX, a customer transaction request in the
`form of a live telephone call can go directly to transaction
`processing platform 10 Where it is handled by a service agent
`as a live call, or can end up being stored in transaction
`request server 20 as a voice mail message. Next, as shoWn
`in block 210, message controller 50 detects that a transaction
`request has been received by transaction request server 20
`and sends a signal to Work?oW manager 60 indicating the
`same. Work?oW manager 60 then sends a signal to CTI
`controller 70 instructing it to send a signal to transaction
`processing platform 10 indicating that a customer transac
`tion request has been received, as shoWn in box 220. This
`signal to transaction processing platform 10 may be in the
`form of an actual telephone call made by any one of a
`plurality of actual telephones 120 connected to PC platform
`30 or preferably by simply sending an electronic message
`directly from PC platform 30 over API 80. The transaction
`request is then placed in the service queue by transaction
`processing platform 10, as shoWn in block 230. Because the
`transaction request is in the queue in transaction processing
`platform 10, it can be routed by the ACD system provided
`in transaction processing platform 10 and can be placed into
`the monitoring system provided by the monitoring and
`reporting softWare contained in transaction processing plat
`form 10. CTI controller 70 preferably provides information
`gathered about the transaction request as described above to
`transaction processing platform 10 at the time the signal
`corresponding to the transaction request is sent to transac
`tion processing platform 10 in order to facilitate processing
`by the ACD system and the monitoring and reporting
`softWare. When the ACD system of transaction processing
`platform 10 determines that an appropriate service agent is
`available, a signal is sent to CTI controller 70, as shoWn in
`box 240. As shoWn in boxes 250 and 260, in response to a
`signal sent from Work?oW manager 60, transaction request
`server 20 delivers the transaction request to an appropriate
`service agent, and preferably to that service agent’s PC 90.
`The service agent then processes the transaction request and
`signals the message controller, preferably through his or her
`PC 90, When ?nished, as shoWn in boxes 270 and 280. As
`shoWn in box 290, the message controller 50 then sends a
`signal to Work?oW manager 60 indicating the completion of
`the processing of the transaction request, Which in turn
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`6
`signals same to CTI controller 70. Finally, as shoWn in box
`300, CTI controller 70 sends a signal to transaction process
`ing platform 10 indicating that the transaction request has
`been processed either by disconnecting the call made by the
`appropriate telephone 120 or preferably by sending an
`electronic message to transaction processing platform 10.
`By this last operation, transaction processing platform 10,
`and speci?cally the softWare contained in transaction pro
`cessing platform 10, knoWs that the customer request has
`been successfully processed. Part of the processing may
`include the case Where the service agent returns the trans
`action request to the transaction request server 20 to then be
`rerouted to another service agent for processing, as may be
`necessary When, for example, the original service agent
`lacks the skills to service the transaction request or is too
`busy.
`Thus, the present invention provides a transaction center
`in Which customer transaction requests in the form of a
`facsimile, a voice mail message, an electronic mail message
`and regular mail can be integrated into the ACD and
`monitoring and reporting systems of the transaction pro
`cessing platform. In such a con?guration, all customer
`transaction requests regardless of form are routed in an
`appropriate and timely manner. Furthermore, the business is
`able to obtain a total picture of the quality of the service
`provided by its service agents.
`While presently preferred embodiments of the invention
`have been disclosed, it is to be understood that the invention
`is not limited thereto, but that many modi?cations Will be
`apparent to those of skill in this art.
`What is claimed is:
`1. Atransaction center having a plurality of service agents
`for automatically servicing a plurality of transaction requests
`including transaction requests placed by proxy, the transac
`tion center comprising:
`(a) a transaction processing platform, said transaction
`processing platform having an automatic transaction
`distribution system for queuing said transaction
`requests, for choosing one of said plurality of service
`agents according to information gathered about said
`transaction requests, and for determining When said one
`of said plurality of service agents is available;
`(b) a transaction request server for receiving and storing
`one of said transaction requests placed by proxy;
`(c) means for detecting a presence of said one of said
`transaction requests;
`(d) means responsive to a signal from said detecting
`means for indicating to said transaction processing
`platform that said one of said transaction requests has
`been received by said transaction request server; and
`(e) means for sending said one of said transaction requests
`to said one of said plurality of service agents in
`response to a signal from said transaction processing
`platform indicating that said one of said plurality of
`service agents is available.
`2. A transaction center according to claim 1, further
`comprising means for indicating to said transaction process
`ing platform that said one of said plurality of service agents
`has completed said servicing of said one of said transaction
`requests.
`3. Atransaction center according to claim 1, Wherein said
`transaction processing platform is a private branch
`exchange.
`4. Atransaction center according to claim 1, Wherein said
`transaction request server is a multi-media messaging plat
`form.
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 8 of 9
`
`

`

`5,903,877
`
`7
`5. Atransaction center according to claim 1, wherein said
`information gathered about said transaction requests is
`selectable and programmable.
`6. Atransaction center according to claim 1, Wherein said
`information gathered about said transaction requests relates
`to a characteristic Which aids in servicing said transaction
`requests.
`7. A transaction center according to claim 1, Wherein
`choosing one of said plurality of service agents is based
`upon programmed rules utiliZing said information gathered
`about said transaction requests and information relating to
`said service agents.
`8. A transaction center according to claim 1, further
`comprising means for measuring quantitative metrics relat
`ing to said service agents.
`9. A transaction center according to claim 8, further
`comprising means for reporting said quantitative metrics.
`10. A transaction center according to claim 1, further
`comprising means for measuring quantitative metrics relat
`ing to said servicing of said transaction requests.
`11. A transaction center according to claim 10, further
`comprising means for reporting said quantitative metrics.
`12. A transaction center having a plurality of service
`agents for automatically servicing a plurality of transaction
`requests including transaction requests placed by proxy,
`comprising:
`(a) means for queuing said transaction requests and for
`choosing one of said plurality of service agents accord
`ing to information gathered about said transaction
`requests;
`(b) means for determining When said one of said plurality
`of service agents is available;
`(c) means for receiving and storing one of said transaction
`requests placed by proXy;
`(d) means for detecting the presence of said one of said
`transaction requests;
`(e) means responsive to a signal from said detecting
`means for indicating to said queuing and choosing
`means that said one of said transaction requests has
`been received by said receiving and storing means; and
`(f) means for sending said message to said one of said
`plurality of service agents in response to a signal from
`said determining means indicating that said one of said
`plurality of service agents is available.
`13. A transaction center according to claim 12, Wherein
`said information gathered about said transaction requests is
`selectable and programmable.
`14. A transaction center according to claim 12, Wherein
`said information gathered about said transaction requests
`relates to a characteristic Which aids in said servicing of said
`transaction requests.
`15. A transaction center according to claim 12, Wherein
`said choosing is based upon programmed rules utiliZing said
`information gathered about said transaction requests and
`information relating to said service agents.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`8
`16. A transaction center according to claim 12, Wherein
`said queuing and choosing means and said determining
`means comprise a private branch eXchange having an auto
`matic call distribution system.
`17. A transaction center according to claim 12, Wherein
`said receiving and storing means is a multi-media messaging
`platform.
`18. A transaction center according to claim 12, further
`comprising means for measuring quantitative metrics relat
`ing to said service agents.
`19. A transaction center according to claim 18, further
`comprising means for reporting said quantitative metrics.
`20. A transaction center according to claim 12, further
`comprising means for measuring quantitative metrics relat
`ing to said servicing of said transaction requests.
`21. A transaction center according to claim 20, further
`comprising means for reporting said quantitative metrics.
`22. A method of integrating a transaction request placed
`by proxy into a transaction center having a plurality of
`service agents for servicing a plurality of transaction
`requests, said transaction center having an automatic trans
`action distribution system for queuing said transaction
`requests, for choosing one of said plurality of service agents
`according to information gathered about said transaction
`requests, and for determining When said one of said plurality
`of service agents is available, said method comprising the
`steps of:
`(a) receiving and storing said transaction request placed
`b