I
`
`United States Patent [19]
`Clare et al.
`
`||||||m||||| 11 1101111181 (11114 1151118111111 111 1111 11111 11
`[11] Patent Number:
`5,465,286
`[45] Date of Patent:
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`[54] APPARATUS FOR SUPERVISING AN
`AUTOMATIC CALL DISTRIBUTION
`TELEPHONE SYSTEM
`
`[75] Inventors: William K. Clare, Parkiidge, N.J.;
`Donn P Sundb Brewster Mass
`'
`Y’
`’
`-
`[73] Assignee: Executone Information Systems, Inc.,
`
`6/1992 Heller .................................... .. 342/450
`5,119,104
`5,164,983 11/1992 Brown et a1
`5,185,780
`2/1993 Leggett ..... ..
`5,214,688
`5/1993 Szlarn et al.
`5’247’569
`9/1993 Cave """ “
`5’291’399
`3/1994 Chaco '
`5,299,260
`3/1994 Shaio ..
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Milford, Conn.
`
`_
`[21] Appl' No" 248’260
`[22] Filed;
`May 24, 1994
`
`[51] Int. Cl.6 ........................... .. H04M 3/22; H04M 3/42;
`H04M 3/00
`[52] U.S. Cl. .......................... .. 379/34; 379/216; 379/265;
`379/266; 379/309
`[58] Field of Search ................................ .. 379/34, 35, 92,
`379/216’ 265, 266, 309
`
`_
`
`_
`
`_
`
`“Monltonng Solutions” by Steve McNamara Dec. 1989; pp.
`66—67; Inbound/Outbound Magazine.
`“Custom PlusTM ACD” Product Brochure, Executone®
`Information Systems, Inc., Aug. 1991 (original and one (1)
`C093/)
`“Inforstar/ILSTM Integrated Locating System” Product Br0_
`chure, Executone® Information Systems, Inc., 1993 (origi
`H31 and one (1) copy)_
`‘
`_
`_
`P'I'WY Examliler?gté‘ii’hen Chm
`Assistant Exammer-—-V1]ay Shankar
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Dilworth & Batrese
`
`
`
`References U‘s' PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`An agent supervising system is used in a telephone call
`
`6/1973 Lester ............................... .. 340/82549
`3,739,329
`3,925,762 12/1975 Heitlinger et a1.
`340/150
`4,225,953 9/1980 Simon et a1.
`340/312
`4,403,100 10/1933 Fritz 6t 31- ---- --
`-- 179/27 D
`4'601’064 7/1986 SIPPICY ----- --
`-- 340/82544
`4’649’385
`3/1987 A‘ms et a1
`340/825‘49
`gcmbb et a]
`379/113
`,
`,
`..... .. 379/34
`os1ch .
`4,858,120
`8,1989 Samuelson _ _ _ _ _ _
`_ _ _ __ 379/309
`4,882,473 11/1989 Bergeron 6131.
`235/380
`4,953,204
`8/1990 Cuschleg, Jr. 6161. .
`379/266
`4,977,619 12/1990 Cn'mmins . . . . . . . . . . .
`. . . .. 655/607
`4,988,209
`1/1991 Davidson et a1. .................... .. 379/112
`5,008,930 4/1991 GMYIYS ................................. .. 379/212
`5,023,368
`6/1991 Dfwldson 6‘ a1:
`379/112
`5,025,468
`6/1991 S1kand et a1.
`379/266
`5,038,800
`8/1991 Oba ............... ..
`364/413.02
`5,062,103 10/1991 Davidson et a1.
`379/265
`5,101,425 3/1992 Darland ..... ..
`9/34
`
`management and distribution System having a plurality of
`telephone stations assigned to a plurality of agents. The
`agent supervising system displays agent activities using
`distinctive color highlighting and text or icon depictions
`corresponding to agent identi?cation, location and status
`information on a map representation and in a directory
`listing graphically represented on a display at the supervi
`,
`.
`.
`.
`.
`sor s station. The agent supervising system also 1nteracts
`Wlih an agent locaimg System for locating {139K118 and
`displaying the agents on the map repfesematlon 0n the
`supervisor’s display. The prediction of pending abandon
`ment of queued calls and color alarms indicating such
`pending loss of calls are also provided and the potential
`?nancial impact of pending loss of calls are determined and
`displayed
`
`26 Claims, 16 Drawing Sheets
`
`( .2 Help
`{~90
`\
`100
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`40 CATHY 3
`55 141111.115 3 529
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`56 REA 1
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`
`NO-RISK
`
`1
`
`TOTAL LOSSES $ 510
`
`AT-RISK
`
`E]
`
`\ LOSS PENDING
`
`l
`
`PENDING LOSS $ 10
`
`0
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`165
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`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 1 of 28
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov.7,1995
`
`sheet 1 of 16
`
`5,465,286
`
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`Exhibit 1004
`Page 2 of 28
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`Sheet 2 of 16
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`5,465,286
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`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 3 of 28
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`611f03ae.hS
`
`5,465,286
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`Exhibit 1004
`Page 4 of 28
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Exhibit 1004
`Page 5 of 28
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`

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`Exhibit 1004
`Page 6 of 28
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`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`Sheet 6 of 16
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`5,465,286
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`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 7 of 28
`
`

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`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
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`Sheet 7 of 1.6
`
`5,465,286
`
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`Exhibit 1004
`Page 8 of 28
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`m0N
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`Sheet 8 of 16
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`Exhibit 1004
`Page 9 of 28
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
`
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`5,465,286
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`Exhibit 1004
`Page 10 of 28
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`5991I;7V.0N
`
`Sheet 10 of 16
`
`5,465,286
`
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`Exhibit 1004
`Page 11 of 28
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`V.0N
`
`%917.,
`
`Sheet 11 of 16
`
`5,465,286
`
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`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 12 of 28
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`Sheet 12 of 16
`
`5,465,286
`
`BEGIN SYSTEM OPERATIONS
`
`/~\./ 200
`
`PERFORM AUTOMATIC CALL DISTRIBUTION /\ 205
`
`PERFORM LOCATING SYSTEM SUBROUTINES
`
`/\-/ 210
`
`PERFORM SUPERVISING SUBROUTINES
`
`’\J 215
`
`COLLECT STATUS INFORMATION FROM ACD AND
`LOCATION INFORMATION FROM LOCATING SYSTEM
`
`RESPOND TO SUPERVISOR COMMANDS
`
`GENERATE MAP GRAPHICS /"\V 230
`
`I
`
`CONFIGURE SYSTEM AND /_'\
`AGENT GROUPS
`A
`
`MONITOR SYSTEM OPERATIONS /_\ , 240
`
`FIG. 9
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 13 of 28
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`Sheet 13 of 16
`
`5,465,286
`
`BEGIN MONITOR SUBROUTINES
`
`K 300
`
`305
`
`HAS A
`SUPERVISOR
`DISPLAY COMMAND
`BEEN ENTERED
`
`NO
`
`YES
`
`310 \
`
`IMPLEMENT DISPLAY COMMAND
`
`315 \
`
`UPDATE STATUS AND LOCATION INFORMATION
`AT PREDETERMINED INTERVALS
`
`FIG. 10
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 14 of 28
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`Sheet 14 of 16
`
`5,465,286
`
`BEGIN DISPLAY COMMAND SUBROUTINE N330
`i
`ACCESS STORED STATUS AND N 335
`LOCATION INFORMATION
`
`340
`
`350
`
`HAS A
`STATUS ONLY
`COMMAND BEEN
`ENTERED
`
`HAS A
`LOCATION
`COMMAND BEEN
`ENTERED
`
`[ 345
`
`DISPLAY
`STATUS SCREEN
`WITH STATUS
`INFORMATION
`
`NO
`
`FIG. 11
`
`360
`K
`DISPLAY
`DIRECTORY
`SCREEN
`
`LOCATION COMMAND
`A MAP SCREEN
`COMMAND
`
`/ 365
`
`DISPLAY MAP REPRESENTATION
`SCREEN USING STORED MAP GRAPHICS
`
`1
`N DISPLAY LOCATION INFORMATION
`370
`ON SELECTED SCREEN
`
`d
`
`375
`
`EXIT COMMAND
`BEEN ENTERED
`
`K- 380
`RECEIVE UPDATED STATUS
`AND LOCATION INFORMATION
`
`UPDATE CURRENT SCREEN
`
`f 385
`
`390
`
`EXIT DISPLAY
`COMMAND
`SUB ROUTINE
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 15 of 28
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`Sheet 15 of 16
`
`5,465,286
`
`400 A, BEGIN PREDICTIVE ABANDONMENT SUBROUTINE
`
`FOR EACH CALL WITHIN NO-RISK CAPACITY,
`405 N ASSIGN NO-RISK STATUS TO THE CALL
`
`N FOR EACH CALL EXCEEDING NO-RISK CAPACITY,
`410
`ASSIGN AT-RISK STATUS TO THE CALL
`
`415 N TRACK WAIT TIME OF EACH QUEUED CALL
`
`425
`\
`CHANGE THE
`STATUS OF THE
`ANSWERED CALL
`TO NO-RISK
`
`420
`
`HAS
`ANY AT-RISK
`CALL BEEN
`ANSWERED
`
`430
`
`THE WAIT TIME
`OF ANY AT-RISK CALL
`EXCEEDED THE
`AVAILABILITY
`CYCLE
`‘.7
`
`YES / 435
`
`CHANGE THE STATUS OF THE EXCEEDING
`CALLS TO LOSS PENDING
`
`440 N RE-EVALUATE STATUS OF EACH QUEUED CALL
`
`445
`
`DISPLAY NUMBER OF CALLS BEING
`NO-RISK, AT-RISK, AND LOSS PENDING
`USING COLOR ALARMS
`
`4
`50\ DISPLAY PREDICTED LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH
`CALLS HAVING LOSS PENDING STATUS
`J,
`
`FIG. 12
`
`15/16
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 16 of 28
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 7, 1995
`
`Sheet 16 of 16‘
`
`5,465,286‘
`
`on
`
`on
`
`on
`
`Ezmoma
`
`hozwoma
`
`on
`
`Z5
`
`inContact, Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`Page 17 of 28
`
`

`
`5,465,286
`
`1
`APPARATUS FOR SUPERVISING AN
`AUTOMATIC CALL DISTRIBUTION
`TELEPHONE SYSTEM
`
`FIELD OF INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to telephone systems, and particu
`larly to an agent supervising system and method for use in
`a call distribution environment.
`
`BACKGROUND INFORMATION
`
`Modern telephone systems are invariably computer con
`trolled; i.e. computers and computer processors perform
`functions such as call switching, respond to calls automati
`cally, generate error messages on detecting malfunctions,
`and otherwise implement stored programs and subroutines
`to operate the telephone system. Other features may be
`added to enhance the use of the telephone system to be
`convenient or user friendly. For example, the telephone
`system may be menu driven by inputs from a telephone
`keypad to provide user selected functions such as obtaining
`one’s credit card balance or one’s telephone bill balance
`over a touch tone capable telephone.
`Some telephone systems automatically distribute incom
`ing or inbound calls among a plurality of telephone stations.
`These automated call distribution (ACD) systems have been
`applied, for example, to route inbound telephone calls to
`telephone stations assigned to speci?c personnel or inbound
`agents. In other applications, outbound telephone calls may
`be initiated by an ACD using automated dialers and predic
`tive dialing techniques, and the ACD then transfers the
`established calls to outbound agents. ACDs may employ call
`queues and various distribution algorithms and methods,
`implemented in software, to enhance performance of the
`overall telephone system. Some of the above features of
`ACD are described in greater detail in commonly assigned
`U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/123,309, ?led Sep. 17,
`1993, which is incorporated herein by reference.
`ACD telephone systems also may implement monitor or
`supervisor features; i.e. facilities allowing a supervisor to
`track the ACD in the telephone system and to evaluate the
`performance of the personnel or agents in the telephone
`system. For example, in a telemarketing system such as
`described in the above incorporated U.S. patent application,
`a system administrator may display information on a display
`screen to show the status of the telemarketing campaign and
`the performance and status of each agent.
`To insure proper operation of these computerized tele
`phone systems, such supervising systems are employed
`separately or as part of the telephone system to allow a
`system supervisor or administrator to access the information
`processed by the telephone system, to setup or recon?gure
`its operation, and to interact with users of the system; i.e.
`callers or telephone system personnel.
`Although agents are assigned to individual telephone
`stations, individual agents may not be present at their
`corresponding telephone stations at all times. To avoid
`automatically distributing an inbound call to an unoccupied
`telephone station and thus delaying the response to a waiting
`call, it would be advantageous to integrate the monitoring
`system with an automated personnel locating system, such
`as the locating system described in commonly assigned U.S.
`patent application Ser. No. 08/087,394, ?led Jul. 2, 1993,
`which is incorporated herein by reference. The aforesaid
`locating system includes a plurality of remote units such as
`badges which may be worn by people, attached to objects,
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`or incorporated in equipment. The badges wirelessly trans
`mit information including badge identi?cation (ID) infor
`mation to a nearby stationary transceiver. The stationary
`transceiver further transmits the badge information to a
`central computer for processing and identifying the badge
`and its location. For example, in a hospital environment,
`staff and patients may be located and audio, video, or data
`communications may be transmitted throughout the hospital
`facility; i.e. to a nurse control station, to selected patient
`stations, and/or to staff stations to achieve enhanced patient
`care.
`In an agent supervising system for an ACD environment
`for inbound and/or outbound calls, it would be advantageous
`for an automated locating system operatively coupled to the
`ACD to provide the agent supervising system with location
`and information of the agents. The system according to the
`present invention provides such an integrated supervising
`system for use in conjunction with a locating system. The
`system according to the present invention also provides a
`visual map on the supervisor display to graphically locate
`each agent and telephone station for a supervisor to e?i
`ciently locate speci?c personnel and objects during ACD
`operation.
`ACD systems having supervising monitoring capabilities
`have been described. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,425
`to Darland et al. discusses a system for monitoring the
`operation of an automated dialing system. Menus, windows,
`and icons in a graphical computer interface are employed to
`permit a supervisor to select various options and to display
`further information.
`Given the available monitoring systems including the
`system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,425 which is
`incorporated herein by reference, there is a need for an ACD
`system having improved data and status collection in con
`junction with enhanced conveyance techniques for an ACD
`supervisor. The system according to the present invention
`provides an ACD supervisor with enhanced display of status
`information including the graphical display of agent loca
`tions. Greater e?iciency in supervising and conducting the
`ACD operations is also achieved using predictive abandon
`ment to predict the pending loss of calls to react accordingly.
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`SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to an agent supervising
`apparatus for a telephone system having a plurality of
`telephone stations assigned to a plurality of agents for
`handling a plurality of telephone calls. The agent supervis
`ing apparatus comprises an agent supervising station includ
`ing a display and an input device; a locating network
`including a plurality of remote units transmitting corre—
`sponding identi?cation information; a plurality of remote
`transceivers for detecting the identi?cation information and
`for generating corresponding detection signals; and a central
`processing station responsive to the detection signals for
`generating location information corresponding to the loca
`tion of the remote units; and a processing unit is included in
`the agent supervising apparatus having associated memory
`and stored programs responsive to commands from the input
`device and to the location information, for generating and
`displaying on the display a graphic indicating the location
`information.
`The agent supervising apparatus has at least one remote
`unit which is physically attachable to each respective agent.
`The agent supervising apparatus has a central processing
`station which sends locating information to the processing
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`unit through a private branch exchange (PBX). The graphic
`includes a directory listing each remote unit and correspond
`ing location information.
`The agent supervising apparatus includes memory storage
`of map graphic data, and the graphic is generated from the
`map graphic data and alternatively includes a map repre
`sentation having a portion of the identi?cation information
`positioned in the map representation corresponding to the
`location information. The agent supervising apparatus also
`has telephone stations and remote transceivers located in a
`geographic region with the map representation depicting
`corresponding locations of the geographic region.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The features of the present invention will become more
`readily apparent and may be better understood by referring
`to the following detailed description of an illustrative
`embodiment of the present invention, taken in conjunction
`with the accompanying drawings, where:
`FIG. 1 shows the con?guration of the supervising system
`of the present invention;
`FIG. 2 shows a group activity screen;
`FIG. 2A shows a Dynamic Screen Pro?le Edit Screen;
`FIG. 3 shows an agent directory screen;
`FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative agent directory screen;
`FIG. 5 illustrates a main supervisor menu screen;
`FIG. 5A shows a System Maintenance Screen;
`FIG. 5B shows a Time Interval for Color Alarm screen;
`FIG. 6 shows a map screen having agent and o?ice
`information;
`FIG. 7 shows a map screen showing agent status infor
`mation and agent locations;
`FIG. 8 illustrates a directory screen listing agent loca~
`tions;
`FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of the operation of the
`system according to the present invention;
`FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a supervisor moni
`toring subroutine;
`FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a subroutine imple
`menting display commands selected by the supervisor;
`FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a predictive aban
`donment subroutine; and
`FIG. 13 illustrates the elements of the locating network
`according to the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`Referring now in speci?c detail to the drawings, with like
`reference numerals identifying similar or identical elements,
`the present invention comprises an agent supervising system
`10 for use with a telephone system employing ACD and
`optionally for use with a locating system. As shown in FIG.
`1, the agent supervising system 10 includes a supervisor
`station 20 interacting with programs executed by a private
`branch exchange (PBX) 30 controlling automatic call dis
`tribution (ACD) in a telephone system having a plurality of
`telephone stations 40 and also interacting with programs
`executed by an applications processor 50. The supervisor
`station 20 includes a display and input devices 15 such as a
`keyboard and/or a mouse. The display is preferably a color
`monitor capable of outputting a plurality of distinct colors
`for text in foregrounds and various background palettes to
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`highlight the text. In a preferred embodiment, the supervisor
`station 20 and the agent telephone stations include an
`ISOETECTM terminal available from EXECUTONE®
`Information Systems, Inc., but other terminals having
`equivalent display characteristics may alternatively be
`employed. Separate telephone devices having handsets and/ ‘
`or headsets may also be included in the supervisor station 20
`and in each agent telephone station 40 for telephone opera
`tions.
`The PBX 30 is a digital telephone switching system which
`handles call processing, call queueing, call routing, voice
`announcements and other voice related functions. The PBX
`may ‘be 68000 processor based and includes a real time
`clock, EPROM memory to store the operating system of the
`PBX 30 and battery-backed static RAM software routines to
`store operational data and information including system
`con?guration and location information.
`The PBX 30 preferably utilizes time division switching
`techniques and pulse code modulation (PCM) and provides
`a capacity of 432 ports which may be con?gured as 420
`phones and 12 trunks, or 12 phones and 420 trunks or any
`combination in between. The capacity is upgradable with
`additional PBXs. The PBX 30 has a voice data bus divided
`into time slots with each port provided a time slot. This time
`slot arrangement provides a telephone system which is
`non-blocking between ports. In addition, the PBX 30 has a
`user data bus independent and parallel of the voice data bus,
`allowing for simultaneous voice and user data operation.
`The PBX 30 preferably provides four I/O ports on a main
`distribution frame (MDF). Ports 1 and 2 are con?gured for
`RS-232 type connections and each of ports 1 and 2 has a
`default baud rate of 9600 baud. Data information can be
`switched through the PBX 30 at speeds from 300 to 38.4K
`baud. The PBX 30 is preferably transparent to the connected
`devices, and no protocol or data speed conversion is neces
`sary; i.e. any compatible serial data communications devices
`can communicate through the PBX 30. In the present
`invention, the PBX 30 is preferably an IDSTM telephone
`system available from EXECUTONE® Information Sys
`tems, Inc.
`The applications processor 50 generates and stores data
`re?ecting call activity of the agent telephone stations 40
`assigned to agents operating within the ACD. The applica
`tions processor 50 executes application software with a
`UNIX® based operating system. The applications processor
`50 performs storage, coordination and control functions
`such as providing menus and graphic windows for accessing
`and generating statistical reports, and the applications pro~
`cessor 50 responds to commands from the supervisor station
`20 to display the statistical reports to the supervisor.
`The applications processor 50 includes, in the preferred
`embodiment, an INTEL® 386-based central processing unit
`(CPU). For memory, the applications processor 50 has 8
`Megabit (MB) RAM, a 540 MB hard or ?xed disk drive, a
`3.5 inch 1.44 MB ?oppy disk drive, and a 120 MB internal
`tape drive. The capacity of each of the memory devices is
`expandable. Disk drive and tape drive controllers are pro
`vided. A VGA video board included in the applications
`processor 50 operates the video graphics of the supervisor
`station 20 and the agent telephone stations 40 in the tele
`phone system. Alternatively, each agent telephone station
`and the supervisor station 20 includes an individual VGA
`video board to generate graphical displays such as user
`menus for facilitating the use of the telephone system by the
`agents and by the supervisor.
`The applications processor 50 is coupled through an
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`interface board including an RS-232 type connection to the
`MDF of the PBX 30. The interface board is preferably a 16
`channel serial interface 110 driver board designed to connect
`multiple terminals including the supervisor station 20, print
`ers, modems, or other RS-232 compatible peripheral
`devices.
`The agent telephone stations 40 are assigned to each agent
`and include at least a telephone. The ACD system in the
`telephone system according to the present invention is
`suitable for operation in telemarketing environments. The
`agent telephone stations 40 may further include a computer
`terminal with a display and an input device such as a
`keyboard for inputting and displaying information regarding
`the calls being handled or to be handled. Such agent tele
`phone stations 40 may further include a telephone headset to
`free the agents’ hands for inputting data.
`The agents are grouped in ACD groups; i.e. groups of
`agents having predetermined instructions or manner of
`addressing inbound or outbound calls. For example, as
`inbound calls arrive, they may be queued until an agent
`becomes available to address the queued calls. Some agents
`may be further assigned to “splits”, which are sets of agents
`having a predetermined manner for handling an inbound call
`when other groups of agents are unavailable to address the
`inbound call. The agents may also alternate between han
`dling inbound and outbound calls, and inbound/outbound
`call management and predictive dialing techniques may be
`implemented as described further in the US. patent appli
`cation Ser. No. 08/123,309, incorporated by reference
`above. The status of the calls and the agents can be moni
`tored by the supervisor station 20, and the supervisor may
`also answer or conduct inbound or outbound calls through
`the supervisor station 20.
`FIG. 2 shows an activity/ group dynamic display screen 80
`which may be accessed by the supervisor through the
`supervisor station 20 upon the supervisor’ s entering an input
`command for selecting the Dynamic Displays when the
`Main Menu Screen 130, shown in FIG. 5, is displayed on the
`supervisor’s display. This display provides information in a
`Group Area 85, an Agent Area 90, and a Summary Area 95
`on the display. The upper right portion of the screen is
`allocated as the Group Area 85 to display up to 16 groups.
`The following information is available for each group:
`GROUP A line of information is represented for each group.
`WAIT The number of calls waiting to be answered by an
`agent is listed for each group. This number should be kept
`as close to zero as possible. As the number of calls begins
`to rise, the supervisor should make certain that as many
`agents as possible are addressing the inbound ACD calls.
`If all agents are in fact on available inbound ACD calls,
`and the number of calls waiting to be answered is still
`high, the supervisor may consider temporarily assigning
`more agents to the group.
`'
`PRIM The number of agents available within the displayed
`group.
`SEC The number of agents available from other groups.
`AVL The number of agents who are free to receive inbound
`ACD calls. This number should be kept as close to zero
`as possible; i.e. all agents should be handling calls. An
`available agent is waiting for a call to arrive, or perform
`ing work that can be interrupted.
`BUSY The number of agents that are on inbound ACD calls.
`This number should be kept as close as possible to the
`number of agents logged in. If the number of busy agents
`plus the number of available agents does not equal the
`number of agents logged on, a quick look at the Agent
`area (or the Agent Detail Dynamic Display described
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`below) shows which agents are unavailable to take calls
`and also shows the reasons why the agents are unavail
`able.
`LNGST The amount of time the oldest ACD call has been
`waiting to be answered. This number should be as low as
`possible. This number re?ects how long the customers
`have been kept waiting.
`The left portion of the Group Dynamic Screen 80 is
`allocated as the Agent Area 90 to display the current state of
`each agent in the displayed group, using the following
`format:
`NUM The information on each line corresponds to the agent
`number listed in this column. The agents are listed
`sequentially by agent number beginning with the lowest
`number.
`AGENT The name of the agent assigned to each of the Agent
`Numbers is listed in this column. This name is entered
`during system setup on an ACD Agent Setup screen.
`EXT The extension number of the telephone where the agent
`is currently logged in. Only the last 3 digits of the
`extension number are displayed.
`GR (or a number) Indicates the primary group currently
`being viewed or the number of the agent list displayed.
`TIME This column is used in conjunction with the STATE
`column to indicate the amount of time an agent has been
`in the STATE listed.
`PRI or P Indicates the agent is in a primary SPLIT call.
`STATE The current activity of the ACD agent’s telephone is
`listed as text in a light blue foreground in this column.
`The lower right portion of the Group Dynamic Screen 80
`shows the Summary Area 95 which is devoted to the same
`group and displays:
`Avg Hold The average time calls were on hold after being
`answered by an agent.
`Avg Talk The average time agents spent talking on ACD
`calls.
`Avg Wait The average time calls waited in queue.
`Recorder The Recorder ?eld lists the total number of calls
`sent to a recording.
`Wait Lists how many calls are in queue for each of the
`above four priorities; i.e. Avg Hold, Avg Talk, Avg
`Wait, and Recorder.
`Lngst Lists how long the oldest call in queue has been
`waiting for each of the above four priorities.
`The agents are further categorized into agent lists; i.e.
`independent collections of speci?ed agents separate from the
`ACD groups for customized monitoring by the supervisor.
`Therefore, an agent may be assigned to an ACD group as
`well as an agent list. For example, agent lists may be
`composed of marketing agents, agents solely dedicated to
`handle a blood drive, inbound agents for inbound calls,
`outbound agents for outbound calls, inexperienced or rookie
`agents for specialized supervision by the supervisor, etc.
`Referring to FIG. 2A, a Dynamic Screen Pro?le Edit
`screen 106 is displayed on the supervisor’s display upon
`input of a predetermined input command from the supervi
`sor; for example, when a supervisor enters a system main~
`tenance command through the Main Menu screen 130
`shown in FIG. 5 by moving a cursor by keyboard inputs or
`by mouse, to the words “System Maintenance” and pressing
`the Return key or pressing an appropriate mouse button.
`Using the Dynamic Screen Pro?le Edit screen 106, a
`supervisor selects and customizes groups to be displayed on
`the left side portion of the activity/ group dynamic screen 80
`shown, for example, in FIG. 2. Upon displaying the
`Dynamic Screen Pro?le Edit screen 106, the supervisor may
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`add, change, or delete the groups displayed in FIG. 2 and
`then save the changed group settings in memory.
`Similarly, from the Dynamic Screen Profile Edit screen
`106, the supervisor may add, edit, or delete agents in agent
`lists. In the preferred embodiment, up to four agent lists may
`be defined for each supervisor, and each agent list may have
`up to 24 agents assigned for dedicated duties; for example,
`blood drives as described above. FIG. 5A shows a System
`Maintenance screen 131 for accessing, for example