Multimedia queuing in a customer contact or call center

• US 6,771,765 B1
• Filed: 12/29/1999
• Issued: 08/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Crowther, Jonathan M., Montemurro, Michael P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): AL AUBAIDI, RASHA S
• Application Number:
  US09/474,422
• Time in Patent Office: 1,679 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.09, 379/265.12, 379/265.13, 379/266.01, 379/266.02
• US Class Current: 379/265.09
• 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 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and customer contact or call server that provides a unified queuing mechanism for queuing multiple media requests. The queuing mechanism includes one or more skillsets each including an idle agent queue and a pending requests queue. Skillsets are assigned interrupt levels defining the importance of skillsets with respect to each other. Agents are assigned to and queued in the idle agent queue of one or more of the skillsets. As media requests are received in the pending requests queues of skillsets, agents are dispatched to attend to the requests. As an agent is dispatched from a skillset, it is removed from other skillsets that have an equal or lower interrupt level, and is maintained in skillsets that have a higher interrupt level. Consequently, an agent, tending to a media request, may be interrupted with other media requests only if the other media requests are queued in skillsets of higher interruptibility level, and if the agent is assigned to those other skillsets. Media requests include, among other things, a voice/video call request, an e-mail request, a web form request, and an outbound voice call request.

Claims

1. A method for routing a plurality of contact requests in a call center, the method comprising:

receiving a first contact request from a first source;

queuing the first contact request in a pending queue of a first skillset having a first interrupt level;

connecting a first agent selected from a first plurality of agents assigned to the first skillset to the first source; and

maintaining the first agent as a valid agent in a second plurality of agents assigned to a second skillset having a second interrupt level, the second interrupt level indicating that agents may be interrupted to handle contact requests assigned the second interrupt level while busy handling contact requests assigned the first interrupt level.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second skillsets include different media requests.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second skillsets are e-mail and voice call skillsets, respectively.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

removing the first agent as a valid agent from a third plurality of agents assigned to a third skillset having a third interrupt level, the third interrupt level indicating that agents may not be interrupted to handle contact requests assigned the third interrupt level while busy handling contact requests assigned the first interrupt level.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a second contact request from a second source;

queuing the second contact request in a pending queue of the second skillset;

putting on hold the connection of the first agent and the first source;

connecting the first agent assigned to the second skillset to the second source; and

connecting the first agent back to the first source when the connection between the first agent and the second source is terminated.

6. A queuing method for routing a plurality of contact requests in a call center, the method comprising:

receiving a contact request from a source;

queuing the contact request in a first skillset having a first interrupt level;

connecting an agent selected from a first plurality of agents assigned to the first skillset to the source; and

maintaining the agent as a valid agent in a second plurality of agents assigned to a second skillset having a second interrupt level, the second interrupt level indicating that agents may be interrupted to handle contact requests assigned the second interrupt level while busy handling contact requests assigned the first interrupt level.

7. The queuing method of claim 6 further comprising:

removing the agent as a valid agent from a third plurality of agents assigned to a third skillset having a third interrupt level, the third interrupt level indicating that agents may not be interrupted to handle contact requests assigned the third interrupt level while busy handling contact requests assigned the first interrupt level.

8. The queuing method of claim 6 further comprising:

receiving a second contact request from a second source;

queuing the second contact request in the second skillset;

causing the agent to hold the first source;

connecting the agent to the second source.

9. The queuing method of claim 8 further comprising:

connecting the agent back to the first source when the connection between the agent and the second source is completed;

adding the agent as a valid agent in the second skillset; and

adding the agent as a valid agent in the first skillset when the connection between the agent and the first source is completed.

10. The queuing method of claim 6 wherein the first and second skillsets include different media requests.

11. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein to route a plurality of contact requests in a call center;

computer readable program code to queue the contact request in a first skillset having a first interrupt level;

computer readable program code to connect an agent selected from a first plurality of agents assigned to the first skillset to the source; and

computer readable program code to maintain the agent as a valid agent in a second plurality of agents assigned to a second skillset having a second interrupt level, the second interrupt level indicating that agents may be interrupted to handle contact requests assigned the second interrupt level while busy handling contact requests assigned the first interrupt level.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising:

computer readable program code to remove the agent as a valid agent from a third plurality of agents assigned to a third skillset having a third interrupt level, the third interrupt level indicating that agents may not be interrupted to handle contact requests assigned the third interrupt level while busy handling contact requests assigned the first interrupt level.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising:

computer readable program code to receive a second contact request from a second source;

computer readable program code to queue the second contact request in the second skillset;

computer readable program code to cause the agent to hold the first source; and

computer readable program code to connect the agent to the second source.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising:

computer readable program code to connect the agent back to the first source when the connection between the agent and the second source is terminated;

computer readable program code to add the agent as a valid agent in the second skillset; and

computer readable program code to add the agent as a valid agent in the first skillset when the connection between the agent and the first source is completed.

15. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the first and second skillsets include different media requests.

16. A call center system for plurality of contact request, the system comprising:

a queuing manager to queue the plurality of contact requests, the contact requests being associated with one of a first skillset and a second skillset;

a configuration database that comprises information pertaining to each of a plurality of agents and each of a plurality of skillsets, the information comprises a list of one or more skillsets assigned to each of the plurality of agents, and a list of skillsets and associated interrupt levels; and

an agent manager in communication with the queuing manager and the configuration database,

wherein the agent manager, the configuration database and the queuing manager collectively

(i) receive a contact request from a source,

(ii) queue the contact request in a first skillset having a first interrupt level,

(iii) connect an agent of the plurality of agents assigned to the first skillset to the source, and

(iv) maintain the connected agent as a valid agent in a second skillset having a second interrupt level if the connected agent is also assigned to second skillset, the second interrupt level indicating that connected agents may be interrupt to handle contact requests assigned the second interrupt level while busy handling contact requests assigned the first interrupt level.

17. The call center system of claim 16, wherein the agent manager, the configuration database and the queuing manager collectively operate to remove the connected agent as a valid agent from a third skillset having a third interrupt level, the third interrupt level indicating that connected agents may not be interrupted to handle contact request assigned the third interrupt level while busy handling contact requests assigned the first interrupt level.

18. The call center system of claim 16, wherein the agent manager, the configuration database and the queuing manager further collectively operate to:

receive a second contact request from a second source;

queue the second contact request in the second skillset;

cause the agent to hold the first source; and

connect the agent to the second source.

19. The call center system of claim 16, wherein the agent manager, the configuration database and the queuing manager further collectively operate to:

connect the agent back to the first source when the connection between the agent and the second source is terminated;

add the agent as a valid agent in the second skillset; and

add the agent as a valid agent in the first skillset when the connection between the agent and the first source is completed.