Reducing resource consumption by ACD systems

• US 6,327,364 B1
• Filed: 12/15/1998
• Issued: 12/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unify Inc. (Atos SE)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Information And Communication Networks, Inc. (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Shaffer, Shmuel, Beyda, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad
• Assistant Examiner(s): TIEU, BENNY QUOC
• Application Number:
  US09/213,090
• Time in Patent Office: 1,085 Days
• Field of Search: 379/266-1-2, 379/265-1-2, 379/309, 379/207-1-2, 379/219, 370/270, 370/271
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2209 for lines also used for data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/367 Traffic or load control
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

A system and a method for managing incoming calls within a call queue include a network bandwidth monitor for monitoring network bandwidth availability on a call center and a queue call rate monitor for determining a total of all call charge rates associated with the calls. A queue manager determines the order of advancement of the calls within the queue. If the network bandwidth monitor determines that network bandwidth availability is below a predetermined threshold, high network bandwidth calls are preferentially advanced to free up additional network bandwidth. Calls with high charge rates are preferentially advanced if the total call charge rate in the queue exceeds a predetermined maximum threshold. If the maximum total call charge rate threshold is exceeded and the network bandwidth availability level is below the minimum threshold, a relative priority for maintaining network bandwidth availability and reducing total call charge rates will determine the order of call advancement. In a preferred embodiment, a router resource monitor determines whether router resource availability is above a minimum threshold level. Different priority sets are configured for each combination of a low network bandwidth availability state, a low router resource availability state, and/or a high total call charge rate state. Call advancement within the queue is at least partially determined by the priority sets.

Claims

1. A method of systematically advancing calls for a call center comprising steps of:

determining system resource requirements for processing each call of said call center, said system resource requirements being related to use of call-handling equipment resources available to said call center;

monitoring a current level of said call-handling equipment resources currently unavailable for receiving incoming calls to said call center; and

executing a predefined strategy for advancing said calls through said call center, including utilizing said determinations of system resource requirements of said calls and said monitoring of said current level as factors in implementation of said predefined strategy, including selecting call-advancement priorities to preferentially advance calls having relatively high system resource requirements whenever said current level is above a preselected level.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

said step of monitoring includes identifying a level of availability of system bandwidth for processing said calls of said call center; and

said step of executing said predefined strategy includes selecting a first set of said call-advancement priorities at least partially in response to detecting a condition in which current available system bandwidth is below a threshold level, said first set being preferential to advancing calls having high bandwidth requirements, said predefined strategy having a plurality of alternative sets of call-advancement priorities for determining an order of processing said calls.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein:

said step of monitoring includes identifying a level of availability of resources of a router of said call center; and

said step of executing includes selecting a second set of call-advancement priorities partially based on a current level of available router resources, said second set being preferential to advancing calls having high router resource requirements.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of calculating a call charge rate for each said call, said call charge rate for each said call being a time-based tariff for maintaining connectivity for said each call, wherein said step of executing said predefined strategy includes utilizing said calculated call charge rates as a factor in said strategy, said strategy having a plurality of sets of said call-advancement priorities for determining an order of processing said calls.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said step of executing said strategy includes selecting and implementing a first set of call-advancement priorities upon detecting that current system resource requirements of said calls reduce said call-handling equipment resources below a preset availability threshold, said first set establishing a preferential advancement policy for calls having higher system resource requirements.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said step of executing said strategy includes selecting and implementing a second set of call-advancement priorities based upon detecting that a current total of said calculated call charge rates of said calls exceeds a preset charge threshold, said second set establishing a preferential advancement policy for calls having higher calculated call charge rates.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising steps of receiving said calls and placing said calls in a queue, said step of executing said predefined strategy including setting a call-advancement policy for advancing said calls in said queue.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said step of receiving said calls includes receiving incoming calls at an Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) system, wherein said step of executing said predefined strategy includes assigning a priority to each said call in said queue, each priority being at least partially based on system resource requirements of said each call.

9. A method for managing incoming calls received at a call center comprising the steps of:

determining network bandwidth requirements for each of said incoming calls, said network bandwidth requirements being specific to requirements for telecommunication equipment;

identifying a current level of network bandwidth availability for a network on which said call center is located, including basing identifications upon collective network bandwidth requirements for said incoming calls to said call center;

in response to detecting a condition of low network bandwidth availability, identifying a first set of a plurality of sets of priorities, said first set being preferential to advancing said incoming calls which are determined as having high network bandwidth requirements; and

routing said incoming calls according to said first set of priorities.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of:

determining router equipment requirements for each said incoming call;

identifying a current level of equipment resource availability for handling said incoming calls, said router equipment availability being specific to a router of said network;

in response to detecting a condition of low current router equipment availability, identifying a second set of priorities that is preferential to advancing said incoming calls which are determined to have a high router equipment requirement; and

routing said incoming calls according to said second set of priorities.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of:

calculating a call charge rate for each said incoming call;

in response to detecting a total charge rate for incoming calls within a call queue which is above a predetermined level, identifying a third set of priorities preferential to advancing said incoming calls which are determined to have high call charge rates; and

advancing said incoming calls within said queue according to said third set of priorities.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of determining said network bandwidth requirements for said incoming calls includes determining compression algorithms utilized for said incoming calls.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of determining said network bandwidth requirements for said incoming calls includes determining which of said incoming calls are multimedia calls.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of determining network band-width requirements is a step of determining network bandwidth requirements of incoming voice-over-data-network calls.

15. A system for handling incoming calls to a call center comprising:

means for identifying call-specific system equipment requirements for maintaining each said incoming call by said call center;

means for monitoring current availability of system equipment of said call center with respect to maintaining said incoming calls; and

means, responsive to said monitoring means, for advancing said incoming calls through said call center with a preference toward advancing incoming calls having high system equipment requirements when said monitoring means detects a condition in which said current availability is below a predetermined threshold level of availability.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein said advancing means is responsive to a determination of low bandwidth availability to accelerate advancement within a call queue of said incoming calls having high network bandwidth requirements.

17. The system of claim 16 further comprising:

means for calculating a level of router resources available to route said incoming calls, said router resources including an equipment router;

means for identifying router resource requirements for each of said incoming calls; and

means, in communication with said advancing means, for assigning preferences for maintaining at least a threshold level of network bandwidth availability and at least a threshold level of router resource availability, said advancing means being responsive to said assigned preferences to accelerate advancement of particular ones of said incoming calls in a call queue in response to at least one of a detected low level of network bandwidth availability and a detected low level of router resource availability.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein said advancing means is further configured to accelerate the advancement of said incoming calls having high call charge rates in the absence of said detection of said low level of router resource availability and said low level of network bandwidth availability.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein said means for identifying said call-specific system equipment requirements of said incoming calls is configured to identify compression algorithms associated with each said incoming call and to identify incoming multimedia calls.