Personal interaction interface for communication-center customers

• US 20020056000A1
• Filed: 01/18/2001
• Published: 05/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Albert Coussement, Stefaan Valere
• Application Number:
  US09/766,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20020056000A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/028 for synchronisation between service call and response
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/18 Delegation of network management function, e.g. customer network management [CNM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 : Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 : Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 : Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 : Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 : where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 : Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 : interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 : with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5231 : with call back arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 : with waiting time or load prediction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 : Click to dial services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 : for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal

Abstract

An application for enabling a client to interact with communication-center resources has an interactive client interface component operable by the client for posting client data and for receiving and displaying agent and interaction data from the communication center, a brokering component for managing client and communication center data and communication, and a status monitoring and reporting component for monitoring and reporting communication center and client status. The application is characterized in that a client using the user interface is enabled to access and alter communication center data, and also to initiate live interaction with the communication center. The application is described in relation to Internet uses and system architecture as well.

Claims

1. An application for enabling a client to interact with communication-center resources comprising:

an interactive client interface component operable by the client for posting client data and for receiving and displaying agent and interaction data from the communication center;

a brokering component for managing client and communication center data and communication; and

a status monitoring and reporting component for monitoring and reporting communication center and client status;

characterized in that a client using the user interface is enabled to access and alter communication center data, and also to initiate live interaction with the communication center.

2. The application of claim 1 wherein the components are distributed among computerized stations interconnected in a communication network.

3. The application of claim 2 wherein the communications network includes one or more of a data packet network (DPN) and a connection-oriented-switched-telephony (COST) network.

4. The application of claim 3 wherein the communications network further includes at least one local area network (LAN).

5. The application of claim 3 wherein the (DPN) is the Internet network.

6. The application of claim 1 wherein communication and transfer of status information is accomplished using a presence protocol.

7. The application of claim 6 wherein the preference presence protocol used is compatible with the IMPP-IETF RFC 2778 protocol.

8. The application of claim 1 wherein the client data includes one or more of personal demographic data, communication capability data, personal agenda data, and personal interest data.

9. The application of claim 1 wherein the communication-center data includes one or more of interaction history records, product information, order-status information, and agent-availability information.

10. The application of claim 1 wherein the communication center status includes one or more of number of available agents, number of calls holding, estimated hold time, and communication capability data.

11. The application of claim 9 wherein the interaction history records are categorized by product.

12. The application of claim 11 wherein the interaction history records are further categorized by participating agent.

13. The application of claim 9 wherein the interaction history records are date and time stamped.

14. The application of claim 1 wherein the communication managed by the brokering application comprises status alerts related to client and/or agent states.

15. The application of claim 14 wherein the communication managed by the brokering application further comprises invitation messages sent by either agents or clients for initiating communication.

16. The application of claim 1 wherein, in initiating live interaction, the client is enabled to select a medium and initiate a communication with the communication center using the selected medium.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the components are distributed among computerized stations interconnected in a communication network.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the communications network includes one or more of a data packet network (DPN) and a connection-oriented-switched-telephony (COST) network.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the communications network further includes at least one local area network (LAN).

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the (DPN) is the Internet network.

22. The system of claim 17 wherein communication and transfer of status information is accomplished using a presence protocol.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the preference presence protocol used is compatible with the IMPP-IETF RFC 2778 protocol.

24. The system of claim 17 wherein the client data includes one or more of personal demographic data, communication capability data, personal agenda data, and personal interest data.

25. The system of claim 17 wherein the communication-center data includes one or more of interaction history records, product information, order-status information, and agent-availability information.

26. The system of claim 17 wherein the communication center status includes one or more of number of available agents, number of calls holding, estimated hold time, and communication capability data.

27. The system of claim 25 wherein the interaction history records are categorized by product.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the interaction history records are further categorized by participating agent.

29. The system of claim 25 wherein the interaction history records are date and time stamped.

30. The system of claim 17 wherein the communication managed by the brokering application comprises status alerts related to client and/or agent states.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the communication managed by the brokering application further comprises invitation messages sent by either agents or clients for initiating communication.

32. The application of claim 17 wherein, in initiating live interaction, the client is enabled to select a medium and initiate a communication with the communication center using the selected medium.

17. A customer-interaction system for enabling a client of a communication center to interact with communication-center resources comprising:

a customer interaction server coupled to the communication center;

a network-capable appliance coupled to the interaction server;

at least one agent workstation in the communication center; and

an application for enabling a client to interact with communication-center resources, the application having an interactive client interface component operable by the client for posting client data and for receiving and displaying agent and interaction data from the communication center, a brokering component for managing client and communication center data and communication, and a status monitoring and reporting component for monitoring and reporting communication center and client status;

the system characterized in that a client using the user interface is enabled to access and alter communication center data, and also to initiate live interaction with the communication center.