System and method for intelligent script swapping

• US 7,359,918 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2003
• Issued: 04/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Tel-A-Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: American Tel-A-Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Crapp, Daniel R., Hansen, Paul L., Jalbert, Raymond M., Waldner, Wayne P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hicks, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US10/672,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20050071360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,663 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/6, 707/104.1, 707/102, 707/1, 455/2.01, 705/10, 379/88.01, 379/76, 600/300
• US Class Current: 717/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method for providing data collection from a client at a data collection mechanism, the method includes collecting from a client a first portion of data at a first data collection mechanism using at least a portion of a first script comprising one or more queries for information to the client. The method also includes associating the client with a second data collection mechanism based at least in part on an event associated with the client'"'"'s interaction with the first data collection mechanism. After associating the client with the second data collection mechanism, collecting from the client a second portion of data using a second script, wherein the second script comprises at least one query for information not yet presented to the client by the first script.

Claims

1. A method for providing data collection from a client at a data collection mechanism, the method comprising:

collecting from a client during a communication session a first portion of data using an automated data collection mechanism and using at least a portion of a first script comprising one or more queries for information to the client;

associating the client with a live agent during the communication session based at least in part on an event associated with the client'"'"'s interaction with the automated data collection mechanism;

populating at least a portion of a second script with at least some of the first portion of data collected from the client during the communication session; and

after associating the client with the live agent and during the communication session, collecting a second portion of data from the client using the second script, wherein the second script comprises at least one query for information not yet presented to the client by the first script.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script comprises an interactive voice response script capable of speech recognition.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script comprises an HTML-based script.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script comprises a plurality of queries.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first portion of data comprises answers in response to the queries associated with the first script.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first portion of data comprises queries and answers associated with the first script.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second script comprises an HTML-based script.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second script comprises a second plurality of queries that are substantially similar to a first plurality of queries associated with the first script.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating an agent assistance signal in response to the event associated with the client;

marking the first script at a query where the client was associated with the live agent; and

associating at least some of the first portion of data with the live agent, the at least some of the first portion of data comprising one or more answers of the client associated with the one or more queries presented by the first script.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the second script is based at least in part on a portion of the first script used to collect the first portion of data.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second portion of data comprises one or more answers of the client in response to one or more queries of the live agent.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the second script comprises at least one of the one or more queries for information presented to the client by the first script.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of data and the second portion of data are stored in common memory accessible to the data collection mechanism and the live agent.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising after collecting the second portion of data from the client using the second script and during the communication session, associating the client and the second portion of data with the automated data collection mechanism to collect a third portion of data using the first script.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

marking the second script at a query where the client was associated with the automated data collection mechanism; and

populating at least a portion of the first script with the second portion of data collected at the live agent, wherein the first script comprises at least one of the one or more queries for information presented to the client by the second script and wherein the first script comprises at least one query for information not yet presented to the client by the second script.

47. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, to the live agent, the second script.

16. A system capable of providing data collection from a client at a data collection mechanism, comprising:

an automated data collection mechanism operable to collect from a client during a communication session a first portion of data using at least a portion of a first script comprising one or more queries for information to the client;

a live agent operable to collect from the client during the communication session a second portion of data using a second script, wherein the client is associated with the live agent during the communication session based at least in part on an event associated with the client'"'"'s interaction with the automated data collection mechanism, wherein at least a portion of the second script is populated with at least some of the first portion of data collected from the client during the communication session, wherein the second script comprises at least one of the one or more queries for information presented to the client by the first script, and wherein the second script comprises at least one query for information not yet presented to the client by the first script.

17. The System of claim 16, wherein the automated data collection mechanism comprises an interactive voice response system.

18. The System of claim 16, wherein the automated data collection mechanism comprises an interactive web-based system.

19. The System of claim 16, wherein the second script comprises a second plurality of queries that are substantially similar to a first plurality of queries associated with the first script.

20. The System of claim 19, wherein the automated data collection mechanism is operable to mark the first script at a query where the client was associated with the live agent, and wherein the first portion of data is associated with the live agent, the first portion of data comprising one or more answers of the client associated with one or more queries presented by the first script.

21. A method for providing data collection from a client at a data collection mechanism, the method comprising:

collecting from a client during a communication session a first portion of data using a first data collection mechanism and using at least a portion of a first script comprising one or more queries for information to the client;

associating the client with a second data collection mechanism during the communication session based at least in part on an event associated with the client'"'"'s interaction with the first data collection mechanism;

populating at least a portion of a second script with at least some of the first portion of data collected from the client during the communication session; and

after associating the client with the second data collection mechanism and during the communication session, collecting from the client a second portion of data using the second script, wherein the second script comprises at least one of the one or more queries for information presented to the client by the first script, wherein the second script comprises at least one query for information not yet presented to the client by the first script, and wherein the second data collection mechanism populates at least the at least one of the one or more queries for information presented by the first script of the second script.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first data collection mechanism comprises an interactive voice response system.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the first data collection mechanism comprises an interactive web-based system.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the first data collection mechanism comprises a live agent.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the second data collection mechanism comprises a live agent.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the first script comprises an interactive voice response script capable of speech recognition.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the first script comprises an HTML-based script.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the first script comprises a plurality of queries.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the first portion of data comprises answers in response to the queries associated with the first script.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the first portion of data comprises queries and answers associated with the first script.

31. The method of claim 21, wherein the second script comprises an HTML-based script.

32. The method of claim 21, wherein the second script comprises a second plurality of queries that are substantially similar to a first plurality of queries associated with the first script.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

generating an assistance signal in response to the event associated with the client;

marking the first script at a query where the client was associated with the second data collection mechanism; and

associating the first portion of data with the second data collection mechanism, the first portion of data comprising one or more answers of the client associated with one or more queries presented by the first script.

34. The method of claim 21, wherein the second script is based at least in part on a portion of the first script used to collect the first portion of data.

35. The method of claim 21, wherein the second portion of data comprises one or more answers of the client in response to one or more queries of the second data collection mechanism.

36. The method of claim 21, wherein the second script is generated by one of the data collection mechanisms.

37. The method of claim 21, wherein the first portion of data and the second portion of data are stored in common memory accessible to the first data collection mechanism and the second data collection mechanism.

38. The method of claim 21, further comprising after collecting the second portion of data from the client using the second script and during the communication session, associating the client and the second portion of data with the first data collection mechanism to collect a third portion of data using the first script.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

marking the second script at a query where the client was associated with the first data collection mechanism; and

populating at least a portion of the first script with the second portion of data collected at the second data collection mechanism, wherein the first script comprises at least one of the one or more queries for information presented to the client by the second script and wherein the first script comprises at least one query for information not yet presented to the client by the second script.

40. A system capable of providing data collection from a client at a data collection mechanism, comprising:

a first data collection mechanism operable to collect from a client during a communication session a first portion of data using at least a portion of a first script comprising one or more queries for information to the client;

a second data collection mechanism operable to collect from the client during the communication session a second portion of data using a second script and to populate at least a portion of the second script with at least some of the first portion of data collected from the client during the communication session, wherein the client is associated with the second data collection mechanism during the communication session based at least in part on an event associated with the client'"'"'s interaction with the first data collection mechanism, wherein the second script comprises at least one of the one or more queries for information presented to the client by the first script, wherein the second script comprises at least one query for information not yet presented to the client by the first script, and wherein the second data collection mechanism populates at least the at least one of the one or more queries for information presented by the first script of the second script.

41. The System of claim 40, wherein the first data collection mechanism comprises an interactive voice response system.

42. The System of claim 40, wherein the first data collection mechanism comprises an interactive web-based system.

43. The System of claim 40, wherein the first data collection mechanism comprises a live agent.

44. The System of claim 40, wherein the second data collection mechanism comprises a live agent.

45. The System of claim 40, wherein the second script comprises a second plurality of queries that are substantially similar to a first plurality of queries associated with the first script.

46. The System of claim 45, wherein the first data collection mechanism is operable to mark the first script at a query where the client was associated with the second data collection mechanism, and wherein the first portion of data is associated with the second data collection mechanism, the first portion of data comprising one or more answers of the client associated with one or more queries presented by the first script.