Method for estimating telephony system-queue waiting time in an agent level routing environment

• US 6,898,190 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2000
• Issued: 05/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Balkin, Dmytro G., Anisimov, Nikolay A., Pogossians, Gregory, Stoilov, Luben Gueorguiev, Shtivelman, Yuri, Deryugin, Vladimir N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US09/730,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20010000458A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,632 Days
• Field of Search: 370/259, 370/270, 370352-356, 370/412, 370/252, 370/415, 370/389, 370/229, 370/429, 379/265.01, 379/265.02, 379/242, 379/265.05, 379/265.07, 379/265.08, 379/265.09, 379/265.1, 379/265.11, 379/265.14, 379/266.01, 379/266.03, 379/266.06, 379/266.08, 379/309, 379/308, 379/268, 379/272
• US Class Current: 370/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/50 Telephonic communication in combination with video communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/12 intelligent networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42323 PBX's with CTI arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/48 Arrangements for recalling a calling subscriber when the wanted subscriber ceases to be busy
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• 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 3/5231 with call back arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5235 Dependent on call type or called number [DNIS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5237 Interconnection arrangements between ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 with waiting time or load prediction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0033 Notification or handling of incoming calls by a computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/62 for connecting to private branch exchanges

Abstract

A system for estimating call waiting time for a call in a queue takes into account multiple queues wherein agents are shared between queues, abandoned call history, and virtual and priority queues. The system in a preferred embodiment is a computer-telephony integration (CTI) software application adapted to execute on a CTI processor, which may be coupled to switching equipment at network level in a connection-oriented, switched telephony (COST) network or to a switch at call-center level, or both.

Claims

1. A method for estimating waiting time for a call in a call-waiting queue, comprising steps of:

(a) multiplying the number of calls ahead of the call by an average call handling time; and

(b) dividing the result from step (a) by an effective number of agents assigned to the queue.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising a step for determining a not-abandoned call rate and multiplying the result of step (a) of claim 1 by the not-abandoned call rate.

3. A call routing system comprising:

a call switching apparatus; and

a facility enabling the switching apparatus to maintain routing queues;

wherein the system determines a wait time by multiplying the number of calls ahead of a specific call by an average call handling time and divides the result by an effective number af agents assigned to the queue.

4. The call routing system of claim 3 wherein the system accounts for abandoned calls by determining a non-abandoned call rate and multiplying the wait time determined in claim 3 by the result.

5. The call routing system of claim 3 wherein one or more of the queues are virtual queues.

6. The call routing system of claim 3 wherein one or more of the queues are priority queues wherein newly arrived calls may be inserted in the queue by priority ahead of calls already in the queue.

7. A computer software application for determining an estimated call-waiting time, comprising:

a function for determining the number of calls ahead of a designated call, and multiplying that number by an estimated call-handling time, achieving a gross waiting time; and

a function for dividing the gross waiting time by an effective number of agents assigned to the queue.

8. The application of claim 7 comprising a function for abandoned calls by determining a non-abandoned call rate and multiplying that by the estimated call waiting time.