UPD-Based Soft Phone State Monitoring for CTI Applications

• US 20090232127A1
• Filed: 03/14/2008
• Published: 09/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Jaiswal, Peeyush, Narayan, Naveen
• Granted Patent: US 8,300,630 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements

Abstract

A supervisor computer directly communicates, via User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets, with a call control application software in a soft phone. The UDP packets provide real-time information, from a desktop of the soft phone, describing call activity and usage status of the soft phone. The supervisor computer is able to remotely control usage of the soft phone according to information provided by the UDP packets.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring a state of a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) phone system, wherein the CTI phone system comprises an audio telephone for transceiving voice telephone calls, and wherein the CTI phone system further comprises a CTI computer system that comprises a desktop, wherein the desktop displays call information for a call that is received by the audio telephone, and wherein the call information is processed by a call control application software in the CTI computer, the method comprising:

remotely monitoring the call information in the desktop in the call control application software by a remote supervisor computer, wherein the remote supervisor computer directly accesses and monitors the call control application software to obtain call information that is displayed on the desktop; and

remotely controlling, by the remote supervisor computer, a handling of the call according to the call information supplied by the call control application software.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the desktop further comprises information indicating that the CTI phone system is in a “

ready”

mode to accept the call, the method further comprising;

in response to determining that a user of the CTI phone system has not answered multiple calls over a predetermined period of time, remotely resetting, by the remote supervisor computer, the CTI phone system to a “

not ready”

mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the CTI phone system is one of a plurality of CTI phone systems used in a call center, the method further comprising:

displaying multiple desktops on the supervisor computer for use by a human supervisor, wherein each of the multiple desktops represents different desktop information, from different instances of the call control application software, for a different CTI phone system from the plurality of CTI phone systems in the call center, wherein the multiple desktops displayed on the supervisor computer are generated using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets from each CTI phone system, wherein the UDP packets describe call information for calls received by different CTI phone systems.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

in response to the human supervisor observing, on one of the multiple desktops, data indicative of an unproductive call by an agent who is using an observed CTI phone, transmitting a message from the human supervisor to the agent, wherein the message provides specific instructions to the agent for increasing a call productivity.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

in response to the human supervisor observing, on one of the multiple desktops, that a frozen desktop from the multiple desktops has frozen up on a frozen CTI phone, transmitting a reset signal from the supervisor computer to the frozen CTI phone, wherein the reset signal unfreezes the frozen desktop.

8. The CTI phone system of claim 5, wherein the CTI phone system is one of a plurality of CTI phone systems used in a call center, and wherein each of the plurality of CTI phone systems are enabled to transmit call information to the supervisor computer, wherein call information transmitted to the supervisor computer causes multiple desktops to be displayed on the supervisor computer to a supervisor, wherein each of the multiple desktops represents different desktop information, from different instances of the call control application software, for a different CTI phone system from the plurality of CTI phone systems in the call center, wherein the multiple desktops displayed on the supervisor computer are generated using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets from each CTI phone system, wherein the UDP packets describe call information for calls received by different CTI phone systems.

6. A Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) phone system comprising:

an audio telephone for transceiving voice telephone calls;

a CTI computer system;

a Call Control Application software in the CTI computer system;

a desktop that is supported by the call control application software, wherein the desktop displays call information for a call that is received by the audio telephone, and wherein the call information is processed by the call control application software in the CTI computer; and

a transmitter for transmitting the call information in the call control application software to a remote supervisor computer, wherein the remote supervisor computer is able to directly access and monitor the call information in the call control application software, and wherein the remote supervisor computer is enabled to direct a handling of the call, by the CIT phone system, according to the call information for the call.

7. The CTI phone system of claim 6, wherein the desktop further comprises information indicating that the CTI phone system is in a ready mode to accept the call, and wherein the transmitter is further enabled to transmit an inactivity message to the supervisor computer, wherein the inactivity message indicates that a user of the CTI phone system has not answered multiple calls over a pre-determined period of time.

9. A computer-readable medium on which is stored a computer program, the computer program comprising computer executable instructions configured for:

monitoring a state of a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) phone system, wherein the CTI phone system comprises an audio telephone for transceiving voice telephone calls, and wherein the CTI phone system further comprises a CTI computer system that comprises a desktop, wherein the desktop displays call information for a call that is received by the audio telephone, and wherein the call information is processed by a call control application software in the CTI computer;

remotely monitoring the call information in the desktop in the call control application software by a remote supervisor computer, wherein the remote supervisor computer directly accesses and monitors the call information in the desktop; and

remotely controlling, by the remote supervisor computer, a handling of the call according to the call information for the call.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the desktop further comprises information indicating that the CTI phone system is in a ready mode to accept the call, and wherein the executable instructions are further configured for:

in response to determining that a user of the CTI phone system has not answered multiple calls over a pre-determined period of time, resetting the CTI phone system to a not ready mode.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the CTI phone system is one of a plurality of CTI phone systems used in a call center, and wherein the executable instructions are further configured for:

displaying multiple desktops on the supervisor computer to a supervisor, wherein each of the multiple desktops represents different desktop information, from different instances of the call control application software, for a different CTI phone system from the plurality of CTI phone systems in the call center, wherein the multiple desktops displayed on the supervisor computer are generated using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets from each CTI phone system, wherein the UDP packets describe call information for calls received by different CTI phone systems.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the executable instructions are further configured for:

in response to a supervisor observing, on one of the multiple desktops, data that indicates an unproductive call by an agent who is using an observed CTI phone, transmitting a message from the supervisor to the agent, wherein the message provides specific instructions to the agent for increasing a call productivity.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the executable instructions are further configured for:

in response to the supervisor observing, on one of the multiple desktops, that a frozen desktop from the multiple desktops has frozen up on a frozen CTI phone, transmitting a reset signal from the supervisor computer to the frozen CTI phone, wherein the reset signal unfreezes the frozen desktop.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable medium is a component of a remote server, and wherein the computer executable instructions are deployable to a supervisory computer from the remote server.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the computer executable instructions are capable of being provided by a service provider to a customer on an on-demand basis.