Method for discovering problem agent behaviors

• US 7,809,127 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2005
• Issued: 10/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Hackbarth, Kenneth R. Jr., Jenson, Murray, Sobus, Katherine A., Kohler, Joylee E., Paddock, Henry R., Zanoni, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Quynh H
• Application Number:
  US11/193,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20060271418A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,895 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.01, 379/265.02, 379/265.06, 379/266.01, 379/309, 705/7
• US Class Current: 379/265.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing

Abstract

A contact center is provided that includes a plurality of agents for servicing incoming contacts and a target behavior identification module operable to (i) process a set of events to yield a corresponding measure; (ii) compare the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target behavior; and (iii) when the measure is defined by the a selected rule set, associate the measure with a type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set.

Claims

1. In a contact center comprising a plurality of agents for servicing contacts, a method comprising:

processing, by a computer, a set of events involving at least one agent to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions, wherein multiple events are included in the set of events, and wherein multiple dimensions are included in the set of dimensions;

comparing, by the computer, the measure to at least one rule set, the at least one rule set corresponding to a type of target behavior of an agent;

determining, by the computer, that the measure is defined by the at least one rule set;

in response to the determining step, associating, by the computer, the type of target agent behavior corresponding to the at least one rule set with the at least one agent, and wherein each rule set describes a plurality of dimensions;

threshold filtering, wherein the measure is compared to threshold values for the dimensions in the set of dimensions, wherein the measure is compared to a plurality of threshold values for at least one of the dimensions in the set of dimensions, wherein in response to at least first threshold values being exceeded in a first set of circumstances the type of target agent behavior corresponding to the at least one rule set is reported, wherein in response to said first threshold values but not second threshold values being exceeded in a second set of circumstances the type of target behavior corresponding to the at least one rule set is not reported, and wherein in response to said first and second threshold values being exceeded in said second set of circumstances the type of target behavior corresponding to the at least one rule set is reported.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of rule sets and wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each event in the set of events temporally occurred consecutively and comprising:

determining, by the computer, a reason for the target behavior based on the plurality of causally related events.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the set of events include a first event preceding the target behavior and a second event following the target behavior.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of rule sets, wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types and further comprising:

summing, by the computer and over a selected set of dimensions, the instances of each type of target behavior for each agent and for a grouping of agents.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the instances are summed across all types of target behavior.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of rules sets, wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types and further comprising:

displaying, by the computer, to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first type of target behavior; and

in response thereto, displaying, by the computer, to the user a second display comprising, for at least one of a selected agent and a grouping of agents, a number of historic instances of the first type of target behavior over prior time intervals.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of rule sets, wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types and further comprising:

displaying, by the computer, to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first agent; and

in response thereto, displaying, by the computer, to the user a second display comprising, for the selected agent, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types occurring during a selected time interval.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of rule sets, wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior, and further comprising:

selecting, by the computer, the threshold values associated with the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set;

determining, by the computer, whether at least one of a number of instances and total of durations of the number of instances has a first or a second type of relationship to the threshold;

when the first relationship exists, deeming, by the computer, the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set to have occurred during a selected time interval; and

when the second relationship exists, not deeming, by the computer, the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set to have occurred during the selected time interval.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of sets, wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior, wherein the plurality of rule sets is at least twelve rule sets and wherein the target behaviors corresponding to the plurality of rule sets comprise a plurality of the following:

long contact, short contact, long alert, long initiate, long preview, long wrap up, short wrap up, transfer from, transfer in, blind transfer, transfer to a same routing point, transfer to a same queue, conference, redirect from agent rejection, redirect from time out, cancel from agent rejection, cancel from time out, agent release first, disconnect from hold, long hold, hold time, short aux, aux time, aux working time, aux non-working time, wrap up time, direct time, internal time, short contact-then-aux, short contact-then-logout, login-then-aux, short and long contacts side-by-side, variation in active time, repeated conference with a selected person, repeated transfer to a selected person, and variation in wrap up time.

11. In a contact center comprising a plurality of agents for servicing contacts, a method comprising:

processing, by a computer, a set of events involving at least one agent to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

comparing, by a computer, the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target agent behavior;

determining that the measure is defined by a selected rule set; and

in response to the determining step;

determining, by the computer, whether a first set of threshold values for the selected rule set is exceeded by the measure in a first set of circumstances, wherein the type of target agent behavior corresponding to the selected rule set is associated with the at least one agent;

determining, by the computer, whether a second set of threshold values for the selected rule is exceeded by the measure in a second set of circumstances, wherein the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set is associated with the at least one agent; and

wherein the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set is not associated with the at least one agent when at least one of the first set of threshold values is not exceeded in the second set of circumstances or when the second set of threshold values is not exceeded in the first set of circumstances.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the set of events comprises a plurality of causally related events occurring at different times, wherein each rule set describes a plurality of dimensions, wherein each event in the set of events temporally occurred consecutively and further comprising:

determining, by a computer, a reason for the target behavior based on the plurality of causally related events.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types and further comprising:

summing, by a computer, over a selected set of dimensions, the instances of each type of target behavior for each agent and for a grouping of agents.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types and further comprising:

displaying, by a computer, to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first type of target behavior; and

in response thereto, displaying, by a computer, to the user a second display comprising, for at least one of a selected agent and a grouping of agents, a number of historic instances of the first type of target behavior over prior time intervals.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types and further comprising:

displaying, by a computer, to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first agent; and

in response thereto, displaying, by a computer, to the user a second display comprising, for the selected agent, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types occurring during a selected time interval.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

selecting, by a computer, a threshold associated with the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set;

determining, by a computer, whether at least one of a number of instances and total of durations of the number of instances has a first or a second type of relationship to the threshold;

when the first relationship exists, deeming, by a computer, the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set to have occurred during a selected time interval; and

when the second relationship exists, not deeming, by a computer, the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set to have occurred during the selected time interval.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of rule sets is at least twelve rule sets and wherein the target behaviors corresponding to the plurality of rule sets comprise a plurality of the following:

long contact, short contact, long alert, long initiate, long preview, long wrap up, short wrap up, transfer from, transfer in, blind transfer, transfer to a same routing point, transfer to a same queue, conference, redirect from agent rejection, redirect from time out, cancel from agent rejection, cancel from time out, agent release first, disconnect from hold, long hold, hold time, short aux, aux time, aux working time, aux non-working time, wrap up time, direct time, internal time, short contact-then-aux, short contact-then-logout, login-then-aux, short and long contacts side-by-side, variation in active time, and variation in wrap up time.

18. A contact center comprising:

a plurality of agents for servicing incoming contacts; and

a target behavior identification module operable to process a set of events involving at least one agent to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

compare the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target agent behavior; and

when the measure is defined by a selected rule set and a first set of thresholds is exceeded in a first set of circumstances, associate a type of target agent behavior corresponding to the selected rule set with the at least one agent;

wherein the measure is defined by the selected rule set and a second set of thresholds is exceeded in a second set of circumstances, associated the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set with the at least one agent;

where the measure is defined by the selected rule set and the first set of thresholds is not exceeded in the first set of circumstances the type of behavior corresponding to the selected rule set is not associated with the at least one agent; and

where the measure is defined by the selected rule set and the second set of thresholds is not exceeded in the second set of circumstances the type of behavior corresponding to the selected rule set is not associated with the at least one agent.

19. The contact center of claim 18, wherein the set of events comprises a plurality of causally related events occurring at different times, wherein each rule set describes a plurality of dimensions, and wherein each event in the set of events temporally occurred consecutively and wherein the target behavior identification module is further operable to determine a reason for the target behavior based on the plurality of causally related events.

20. The contact center of claim 18, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types, wherein the target behavior identification module is further operable to sum, over a selected time interval, the instances of each type of target behavior for each agent and for a grouping of agents and wherein the target behavior identification module is further operable to display to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types and the sums;

receive, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first type of target behavior; and

in response thereto, display to the user a second display comprising, for at least one of a selected agent and a grouping of agents, a number of historic instances of the first type of target behavior over prior time intervals.

21. The contact center of claim 18, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types and wherein the target behavior identification module is further operable to display to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receive, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first agent;

in response thereto, display to the user a second display comprising, for the selected agent, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types occurring during a selected time interval;

receive from the user a selection of a second field in the second display, the second field corresponding to a type of target behavior; and

, in response to the selection of the second field, display to the user a third display comprising additional details associated with the instances of the selected type of target behavior, wherein the number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types are divided into at least one of contact type and distribution method.

22. The contact center of claim 18, wherein the target behavior identification module is further operable to select a threshold associated with the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set;

determine whether at least one of a number of instances and total of durations of the number of instances has a first or a second type of relationship to the threshold;

when the first relationship exists, deem the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set deemed to have occurred during a selected time interval; and

when the second relationship exists, not deem the type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set to have occurred during the selected time interval.

23. The contact center of claim 18, wherein the plurality of rule sets is at least twelve rule sets and wherein the target behaviors corresponding to the plurality of rule sets comprise a plurality of the following:

long contact, short contact, long alert, long initiate, long preview, long wrap up, short wrap up, transfer from, transfer in, blind transfer, transfer to a same routing point, transfer to a same queue, conference, redirect from agent rejection, redirect from time out, cancel from agent rejection, cancel from time out, agent release first, disconnect from hold, long hold, hold time, short aux, aux time, aux working time, aux non-working time, wrap up time, direct time, internal time, short contact-then-aux, short contact-then-logout, login-then-aux, short and long contacts side-by-side, variation in active time, and variation in wrap up time.

24. In a contact center comprising a plurality of agents for servicing contacts, a method comprising:

processing, by a computer, a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

comparing, by the computer, the measure to at least one rule set, the at least one rule set corresponding to a type of target behavior;

when the measure is defined by the at least one rule set, associating, by the computer, the measure with the type of target behavior corresponding to the at least one rule set, wherein the set of events comprises a plurality of causally related events occurring at different times,

wherein each rule set describes a plurality of dimensions, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of rule sets, wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior, and wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types;

displaying, by the computer, to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first type of target behavior; and

in response thereto, displaying, by the computer, to the user a second display comprising, for at least one of a selected agent and a grouping of agents, a number of historic instances of the first type of target behavior over prior time intervals.

25. In a contact center comprising a plurality of agents for servicing contacts, a method comprising:

processing, by a computer, a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

comparing, by the computer, the measure to at least one rule set, the at least one rule set corresponding to a type of target behavior;

when the measure is defined by the at least one rule set, associating, by the computer, the measure with the type of target behavior corresponding to the at least one rule set, wherein the set of events comprises a plurality of causally related events occurring at different times, wherein each rule set describes a plurality of dimensions, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of rule sets, wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior, and wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types;

displaying, by the computer, to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first agent; and

in response thereto, displaying, by the computer, to the user a second display comprising, for the selected agent, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types occurring during a selected time interval.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

receiving from the user a selection of a second field in the second display, the second field corresponding to a type of target behavior; and

in response thereto, displaying, by the computer, to the user a third display comprising additional details associated with the instances of the selected type of target behavior.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types are divided into at least one of contact type and distribution method.

28. In a contact center comprising a plurality of agents for servicing contacts, a method comprising:

processing, by a computer, a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

comparing, by the computer, the measure to at least one rule set, the at least one rule set corresponding to a type of target behavior;

when the measure is defined by the at least one rule set, associating, by the computer, the measure with the type of target behavior corresponding to the at least one rule set, wherein the set of events comprises a plurality of causally related events occurring at different times, wherein each rule set describes a plurality of dimensions, wherein the at least one rule set is a plurality of rule sets, wherein each of the plurality of rule sets corresponds to a different type of target behavior, wherein the plurality of rule sets is at least twelve rule sets, and wherein the target behaviors corresponding to the plurality of rule sets comprise a plurality of the following;

long contact, short contact, long alert, long initiate, long preview, long wrap up, short wrap up, transfer from, transfer in, blind transfer, transfer to a same routing point, transfer to a same queue, conference, redirect from agent rejection, redirect from time out, cancel from agent rejection, cancel from time out, agent release first, disconnect from hold, long hold, hold time, short aux, aux time, aux working time, aux non-working time, wrap up time, direct time, internal time, short contact-then-aux, short contact-then-logout, login-then-aux, short and long contacts side-by-side, variation in active time, repeated conference with a selected person, repeated transfer to a selected person, and variation in wrap up time.

29. In a contact center comprising a plurality of agents for servicing contacts, a method comprising:

processing, by a computer, a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

comparing, by a computer, the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target behavior;

when the measure is defined by the a selected rule set, associating, by a computer, the measure with a type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types;

displaying, by a computer, to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first type of target behavior; and

in response thereto, displaying, by a computer, to the user a second display comprising, for at least one of a selected agent and a grouping of agents, a number of historic instances of the first type of target behavior over prior time intervals.

30. In a contact center comprising a plurality of agents for servicing contacts, a method comprising:

processing, by a computer, a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

comparing, by a computer, the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target behavior;

when the measure is defined by the a selected rule set, associating, by a computer, the measure with a type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types;

displaying, by a computer, to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first agent; and

in response thereto, displaying, by a computer, to the user a second display comprising, for the selected agent, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types occurring during a selected time interval.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

receiving from the user a selection of a second field in the second display, the second field corresponding to a type of target behavior; and

in response thereto, displaying, by a computer, to the user a third display comprising additional details associated with the instances of the selected type of target behavior.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types are divided into at least one of contact type and distribution method.

33. In a contact center comprising a plurality of agents for servicing contacts, a method comprising:

processing, by a computer, a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

comparing, by a computer, the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target behavior;

when the measure is defined by the a selected rule set, associating, by a computer, the measure with a type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set, wherein the plurality of rule sets is at least twelve rule sets and wherein the target behaviors corresponding to the plurality of rule sets comprise a plurality of the following;

long contact, short contact, long alert, long initiate, long preview, long wrap up, short wrap up, transfer from, transfer in, blind transfer, transfer to a same routing point, transfer to a same queue, conference, redirect from agent rejection, redirect from time out, cancel from agent rejection, cancel from time out, agent release first, disconnect from hold, long hold, hold time, short aux, aux time, aux working time, aux non-working time, wrap up time, direct time, internal time, short contact-then-aux, short contact-then-logout, login-then-aux, short and long contacts side-by-side, variation in active time, and variation in wrap up time.

34. A contact center comprising:

a plurality of agents for servicing incoming contacts; and

a target behavior identification module operable to process a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

compare the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target behavior; and

, when the measure is defined by the a selected rule set, associate the measure with a type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types, wherein the target behavior identification module is further operable to sum, over a selected time interval, the instances of each type of target behavior for each agent and for a grouping of agents and wherein the target behavior identification module is further operable to display to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types and the sums;

receive, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first type of target behavior; and

in response thereto, display to the user a second display comprising, for at least one of a selected agent and a grouping of agents, a number of historic instances of the first type of target behavior over prior time intervals.

35. A contact center comprising:

a plurality of agents for servicing incoming contacts; and

a target behavior identification module operable to process a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

compare the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target behavior; and

, when the measure is defined by the a selected rule set, associate the measure with a type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set, wherein a plurality of event sets are defined by a plurality of target behavior types and wherein the target behavior identification module is further operable to display to a user a first display comprising, for each of the plurality of agents, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types;

receive, from the user, a selection of a first field in the first display, the first field corresponding to a first agent;

in response thereto, display to the user a second display comprising, for the selected agent, a number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types occurring during a selected time interval;

receive from the user a selection of a second field in the second display, the second field corresponding to a type of target behavior; and

, in response to the selection of the second field, display to the user a third display comprising additional details associated with the instances of the selected type of target behavior, wherein the number of instances of each of the plurality of target behavior types are divided into at least one of contact type and distribution method.

36. A contact center comprising:

a plurality of agents for servicing incoming contacts; and

a target behavior identification module operable to process a set of events to yield a corresponding measure across a set of dimensions;

compare the measure to a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets corresponding to a different type of target behavior; and

, when the measure is defined by the a selected rule set, associate the measure with a type of target behavior corresponding to the selected rule set, wherein the plurality of rule sets is at least twelve rule sets and wherein the target behaviors corresponding to the plurality of rule sets comprise a plurality of the following;

long contact, short contact, long alert, long initiate, long preview, long wrap up, short wrap up, transfer from, transfer in, blind transfer, transfer to a same routing point, transfer to a same queue, conference, redirect from agent rejection, redirect from time out, cancel from agent rejection, cancel from time out, agent release first, disconnect from hold, long hold, hold time, short aux, aux time, aux working time, aux non-working time, wrap up time, direct time, internal time, short contact-then-aux, short contact-then-logout, login-then-aux, short and long contacts side-by-side, variation in active time, and variation in wrap up time.