ACD Management information system

• US 4,510,351 A
• Filed: 10/28/1982
• Issued: 04/09/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avaya Technology Corporation Miami Lakes FLA US
• Original Assignee: AT&T, Inc.
• Inventors: Lane, Michael S., Smith, Nicholas K., Quin, Terrence T., Costello, Peter E., Fossett, Lawrence D.
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, THOMAS
• Application Number:
  US06/437,433
• Time in Patent Office: 894 Days
• Field of Search: 179/8 A, 179/8 R, 179/27 D, 179/27 DA, 179/27 DB, 179/27 FC, 179/27 FH, 179/175.2 C, 179/7.1 R, 340/721
• US Class Current: 379/265.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13072 Sequence circuits for call signaling, ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13522 traffic management
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13525 GUI - graphical user interface, inc. for service creation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0062 Provisions for network management

Abstract

There is disclosed an ACD management information system which tracks attendant work performance without regard to the actual station at which the attendant is operating. The system also monitors non-ACD work states and provides individualized status reports based upon temporarily stored limit criteria. A real time display of system performance is provided to a supervisor in a manner which allows for immediate rearrangement of the system without resort to other data. The displayed data includes split handling information, and call abandon information, trunk busy information and work state information.

Claims

1. A management information system (MIS) for use with an automatic call distribution (ACD) system having a plurality of attendant positions operable to answer incoming calls from a plurality of trunks, said MIS system comprising

a display,

means for continuously receiving from said ACD certain ACD data, said data corresponding to current call answering activity at said attendant positions,

means for comparing said data to previously received data to determine which data is to be displayed,

means for formatting any said data determined to be displayed, and

means for presenting said formatted data to said display substantially concurrent with the reception of said ACD data.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said formatting means is operative to create on said display three separate display sections, one section having data on an attendant position-by-position basis, one section having data on a statistical system basis, and the third section having data pertaining to said trunks.

3. The invention set forth in claim 1 further comprising means for storing system parameters against which the performance of said ACD is to be measured,

means for matching certain segments of said current received data against stored ones of said parameters, and

means for providing exception data to said display under certain mismatch conditions.

4. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said presenting means includes means for presenting to said display only data which has changed from the last time of presentation.

5. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said presented data is subdivided into individually updatable segments, said system further comprising

means for storing for a period of time changed data to be presented to a particular segment while allowing other subsequently generated data pertaining to another segment to be presented to said display.

6. The invention set forth in claim 1 further comprising means for connecting said management information system to a plurality of automatic call distribution systems.

7. A communication system having a plurality of terminals operable for answering communication connections directed thereto, said communication system comprising

means for receiving and storing in a data base information pertaining to certain measured variables of each answered communication connection, said storing occurring substantially concurrently with the occurrence of the measured variable,

means for comparing subsequently received variables with priorly stored already displayed variables, and

means for displaying selected changed variables.

8. The invention set forth in claim 7 wherein said communication connections are handled by attendants each having a unique identification code and each having more than one work state,

said system including means for separating said displayed variables into segments, one segment containing attendant and terminal identification and work state information, and one segment containing system statistical information, and wherein said system also includes means for selectively updating certain information within each segment at intervals unique to said segment.

9. Theinvention set forth in claim 8 wherein said system includes means for assigning attendants with specific terminals and wherein said attendant information includes the unique identification code of each attendant in conjunction with the presently assigned terminal identification.

10. The invention set forth in claim 8 wherein said displaying means includes a data base containing pre-established exception parameters against which said stored variables are matched, and means for highlighting on said display those variables which exceed said pre-established exception parameters.

11. The invention set forth in claim 8 wherein said displaying means includes a data base containing pre-established exception parameters against which said stored variables are matched, and means for generating and displaying a message indicating that a certion pre-established parameter has been exceeded.

12. A system for dynamically displaying information pertaining to the operation of a telephone answering system, said telephone answering system having a plurality of stations from which calls incoming over trunks may be answered, said displaying system comprising

means for receiving data pertaining to each incoming call to said telephone system, said data including trunk identification data, station identification data of the station answering an incoming call on a trunk, and the current status of each said station at said telephone system,

means for determining when received data differs from priorly received data, and

means for continuously presenting said determined different data to a visual display.

13. The invention set forth in claim 12 wherein said displaying system includes,

means for associating unique digits with each attendant and wherein said presenting means includes means for formatting said visual display into separate sections, one section containing said unique attendant station associations, one section containing call completion information and one section containing trunk usage information.

14. The invention set forth in claim 13 wherein said displaying system includes means for establishing exception data values, and

means for highlighting on said display that data which exceeds said established exception data values.

15. The invention set forth in claim 14 wherein said highlighting means includes

means for generating and displaying a message indicating that a certain data value has been exceeded.