System for managing agent assignments background of the invention

• US 6,278,777 B1
• Filed: 02/17/2000
• Issued: 08/21/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unify Inc. (Atos SE)
• Original Assignee: SER Solutions Incorporated (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Morley, Peter D., Wineberg, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Harry S.
• Application Number:
  US09/505,710
• Time in Patent Office: 551 Days
• Field of Search: 379/216, 379/265, 379/266, 379/309
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5158 in combination with automated outdialling systems devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 with waiting time or load prediction arrangements

Abstract

A system in which agents are transferred based on the future performance parameter of a call center predicted from the trend of current samples. In a multi-media call center, the performance parameter may be any defined variable, such as profit per contact, incoming call wait time, etc. The agents being transferred come from any agent activity such as web chat, e-mail, another incoming call campaign, an outgoing call campaign, etc.

Claims

1. A call center agent method for transferring agents between one agent activity to another activity, which agent activities are concurrently active in a call center in order to maintain a call center performance parameter within an acceptable range, including the steps of:

obtaining, periodically, a sample value of the performance parameter;

predicting the performance parameter at a future time by projecting a trend established by at least two samples of said performance parameter to said future time;

determining whether or not the predicted performance parameter will be outside of an acceptable range at future times;

signaling for the transfer of agents to bring the predicted performance parameter inside an acceptable range if the determining step determines the predicted performance will be outside the acceptable range;

repeating during said concurrently running activities said obtaining, predicting, determining, and signaling steps to maintain said performance parameter within said acceptable range.

2. A call center agent method as in claim 1, wherein said predicting step uses a first derivative with respect to time of the change in two of the sample values to determine a predicted performance value.

3. A call center agent method as in claim 1, wherein said predicting step uses the first and second terms of a Taylor expansion to determine a predicted performance value from three sample values.