Smart scripting call centers

• US 20020022986A1
• Filed: 05/30/2001
• Published: 02/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siebel Systems Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Nix, Kevin R., Coker, John L., Malden, Matthew S.
• Granted Patent: US 6,826,745 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/015 Providing customer assistance, e.g. assisting a customer within a business location or via helpdesk
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/355 Interactive dialogue design tools, features or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

User configurable and reconfigurable scripting, methods of scripting, and systems for scripting for call centers, technical support centers, and marketers. Scripts are interactive tools that guide a telemarketer, a sales person, or a technical support technician through a telephone call with a customer. Scripts are characterized by going on to particular subsequent questions as a function of the customer'"'"'s answer to a previous question.

Claims

1. A system (101) for facilitating interaction between a customer and a service provider, said system being configurable and comprising a set of reusable components said system further comprising a script (11) and an associated database (103), wherein

a) said script (11) comprises a hierarchical set of structured pages (13),

b) at least one of said one or more pages (13) comprising a structured set of questions (17),

c) at least one of said questions (17) having responses (19), and

d) at least one of said responses (19) causing the system to either

i) link to an associated database, or

ii) link to another question (15) in the script (11).

2. The system (101) of claim 1 wherein said reusable components comprise objects, data, public functions, and private functions, and wherein said public functions can be accessed through derived classes of objects.

3. The system (101) of claim 1 wherein said reusable components comprise routines, subroutines, and functions, pass data through global variables to local variables therein, and are accessed through calls.

4. The system (101) of claim 1 wherein said link to an associated database is a query.

5. The system (101) of claim 4 wherein the output of the database is a link to another question in the script.

6. The system (101) of claim 4 wherein the output of the database is data related to the interaction.

7. The system (101) of claim 1 wherein the link to another question (15) in the script (11) is a link to another question (15) in another page (13) in the script (11).

8. The system (101) of claim 1 wherein said system (101) further comprises computer program code for facilitating interaction between a customer and a service provider, said computer program code comprising a script and an associated database, wherein said computer program code causes the system to:

a) present a question (17) to a user,

b) receive a response (19) from the user, and

c) branch to link (19) to

i) the associated database (103) or

ii) to another question (17)

in response to the user'"'"'s response to the question.

9. The system (101) of claim 8 wherein the computer program code causes a query of the associated database (103).

10. The system (101) of claim 9 wherein the computer program code causes the database (103) to output a link to another question (107) in the script (11)

11. The system (101) of claim 9 wherein the computer program code causes the database to output data related to the interaction.

12. The system (101) of claim 8 wherein the computer program code cause a link to another question (17) which is in another page (13) in the script (11).

13. The system (101) of claim 8 wherein said computer program code comprises base objects containing data, public functions, and private functions, and said computer program code is configured to utilize additional classes of objects inheriting properties of said base objects.

14. The system (101) of claim 8 wherein said computer program code comprises functions, routines, and subroutines, containing data, global variables, and local variables, and said computer program code is configured to utilize additional calls calling said functions, routines, and subroutines.

15. The system (101) of claim 1 wherein said computer comprises is configured to verify one or more of the absence of unreachable pages, unreachable questions, and missing answer branches, and the presence of pages called by the script and translations.

17. The method of claim 16 comprising querying the database (103) through the said link to the associated database is a database query or a database entry.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the output of the database (103) is a link to another question in the script.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the output of the database (103) is data related to the interaction.

20. The method of claim 16 comprising linking to another page (13) in the script (11).

21. The method of claim 16 comprising creating derived objects and calling a set of reusable base objects, data, public functions, and private functions.

22. The method of claim 16 comprising verifying one or more of the absence of unreachable pages, unreachable questions, and missing answer branches, and the presence of pages called by the script and translations

16. A method of configuring software adapted for facilitating interaction between a customer and a service provider utilizing a script (11) and an associated database (103), said method calling a set of reusable components, and wherein

a) said script (11) comprises a hierarchical set of structured pages (13),

b) at least one of said one or more pages (13) comprising a structured set of questions (15),

c) at least one of said questions (17) having responses (19), and

d) at least one of said likely responses (19) causing the system to either

i) link to an associated database (103), or

ii) link to another question (17) in the script (11),

said method comprising the steps of:

a) presenting a question (17) to a user,

b) receiving a response (19) from the user, and

c) branching (21) in response to the user'"'"'s response to the question to link to

i) the associated database (103), or

ii) to another question (17).