Method and system for management of queues in contact centers

• US 7,796,747 B1
• Filed: 05/10/2006
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Costello, John, McCormack, Tony, Hession, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US11/431,230
• Time in Patent Office: 1,588 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.12, 379/203.01, 379/93.21, 709/204, 709/227
• US Class Current: 379/265.12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 with waiting time or load prediction arrangements

Abstract

Contacts are managed within a contact center by associating each contact with one or more skill set and priority identifiers. The contacts may be represented as a software object. Contact (or contact objects) may be queued relative to one another by means of references to and/or from the object(s) immediately ahead of and behind each contact. For those contacts having multiple skill sets, a process and a system is disclosed wherein the multiple skill sets of the contact are serviced by multiple agents to provide a 1 to N process. The customer may be given the option to have each additional agent conference into a contact session thereby reducing the customer'"'"'s overall wait time for the contact to be serviced. The process and system also may include identifying contact objects having prerequisites and routing those contact objects to an agent having one of the prerequisites. The process and system also allows a group of related contacts to be serviced by one or more agents in an M to 1 or M to N fashion. This is accomplished in part by determining if the contact has a common identifier associating the contact with a larger group and routing the contact to an agent or agents supporting contacts having the common identifier.

Claims

1. A method of managing contacts within a contact center, the method comprising:

receiving a contact;

assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact;

determining if the contact can be serviced by multiple agents;

routing the contact to a first agent of the multiple agents having at least one of the plurality of skill set identifiers and commencing a contact session;

identifying another agent of the multiple agents having another of the plurality of skill set identifiers; and

determining if the another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising conferencing in the another of the multiple agents if it is determined that the another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining if yet another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact includes determining if the contact has any skill set identifier which requires a prerequisite.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining if the contact has any skill set identifier which requires a prerequisite includes routing the contact to an agent having the prerequisite.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact includes:

creating a software object for the contact;

analyzing the object to determine a queuing position for the object relative to at least one other object representing a contact having a similar skill set identifier; and

adding to the object a reference to the at least one other object.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if the contact can be serviced by multiple agents and determining if the another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session are established by a computing system supporting the contact center.

8. A system of managing contacts within a contact center, the system comprising:

a network interface for receiving a contact; and

a contact manager, the contact manager;

assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact;

determining if the contact can be serviced by multiple agents;

routing the contact to a first agent of the multiple agents having at least one of the plurality of skill set identifiers to commence a contact session;

identifying another agent of the multiple agents having another of the plurality of skill set identifiers; and

determining if the another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

9. The system of managing contacts of claim 8, wherein the contact manager further conferences in the another of the multiple agents if it is determined that the another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session . . . .

10. The system of managing contacts of claim 9, wherein the contact manager further determines if yet another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

11. The system of managing contacts of claim 8, wherein assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact includes determining if the contact has any skill set identifier that requires a prerequisite.

12. The system of managing contacts of claim 11, wherein determining if the contact has any skill set identifier which requires a prerequisite includes routing the contact to an agent having the prerequisite.

13. The system of managing contacts of claim 8, wherein the assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact includes:

creating a software object for the contact;

analyzing the object to determine a queuing position for the object relative to at least one other object representing a contact having a similar skill set identifier; and

,

adding to the object a reference to the at least one other object.

14. The system of managing contacts of claim 8, wherein the contact is at least one of a telephony communication, an email, a facsimile transmission, a video communication, a short messaging service and a chat session communication.

15. A storage medium storing a computer program which when executed by a processing unit performs a method for managing contacts within a contact center, the method comprising:

receiving a contact;

assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact;

determining if the contact can be serviced by multiple agents;

routing the contact to a first of the multiple agents having at least one of the plurality of skill set identifiers and commencing a contact session;

identifying another of the multiple agents having another of the plurality of skill set identifiers; and

determining if the another of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

16. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises conferencing in the another of the multiple agents if it is determined that the another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

17. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises determining if yet another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

18. The storage medium of claim 17, wherein conferencing in the another of the multiple agents includes determining if yet another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.

19. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact includes determining if the contact has any skill set identifier which requires a prerequisite.

20. The storage medium of claim 19, wherein determining if the contact has any skill set identifier which requires a prerequisite includes routing the contact to an agent having the prerequisite.

21. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the contact includes:

creating a software object for the contact;

analyzing the object to determine a queuing position for the object relative to at least one other object representing a contact having a similar skill set identifier; and

,

adding to the object a reference to the at least one other object.

22. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein determining if the contact can be serviced by multiple agents and determining if the another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session are established by a computing system supporting the contact center.

23. A method of managing contacts, the method comprising:

receiving a contact;

determining if the contact has a common identifier associating the contact with a larger group;

routing the contact associated with the common identifier to an agent;

identifying additional contacts having the common identifier;

routing the additional contacts having the common identifier to the agent; and

commencing a group contact session.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising queuing the common identifier to a skill set.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

assigning a plurality of skill set identifiers to the common identifier;

determining if the common identifier can be serviced by multiple agents;

routing the contact associated with the common identifier to a first agent of the multiple agents having at least one of the plurality of skill set identifiers and commencing a contact session;

identifying another agent of the multiple agents having another of the plurality of skill set identifiers; and

determining if the another agent of the multiple agents should be conferenced into the contact session.