Method and system for hierarchy based contact routing

• US 8,588,398 B1
• Filed: 08/11/2011
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Concentrix CVG Customer Management Delaware LLC (Synnex Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Convergys Customer Management Delaware LLC (Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Irwin, Scott, Korimilli, Kishore
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US13/208,052
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.1, 379/265.11
• US Class Current: 379/265.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 with waiting time or load prediction arrangements

Abstract

Resource allocation in a contact center can be performed using a network of nodes. Such a network of nodes can be organized according into resource nodes, domain nodes, and service nodes, with paths from the domain nodes, through the service nodes, to the resource nodes being used in the allocation.

Claims

1. A method for allocating resources in a contact center comprising:

a) maintaining a network of nodes, said network of nodes comprising;

a plurality of service nodes; and

a plurality of resource nodes;

wherein;

i) the network of nodes is a hierarchical network;

ii) each service node from the plurality of service nodes has no more than one parent node; and

iii) each service node from the plurality of service nodes has one or more child nodes;

b) enqueuing a first contact at a first service node from the plurality of service nodes based on a routing recommendation for said first contact, wherein said routing recommendation is based at least in part on a set of real time resource availability data stored in a computer readable medium;

c) dequeuing said first contact from said first service node to a first resource node from said plurality of resource nodes based at least in part on a path between said first service node and said first resource node;

d) updating said set of real time resource availability data stored in said computer readable medium to reflect that said first contact has been dequeued to said first resource node;

e) servicing said first contact using a resource corresponding to said first resource node; and

f) after the first contact has been serviced, updating said set of real time resource availability data stored in said computer readable medium to reflect that the resource corresponding to the first resource node is no longer servicing said first contact;

wherein the path between the first service node and the first resource node is a path between nodes in the hierarchical network; and

wherein the path between said first service node and said first resource node comprises a second service node.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

a) providing a set of context information to a decision engine, wherein said context information comprises a plurality of characteristics of said first contact; and

b) determining the routing recommendation by applying said set of context information to a set of business rules using said decision engine.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the routing recommendation comprises determining a priority for said first contact.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein:

a) the second service node is an ancestor node of the first service node; and

b) dequeuing said first contact from said first service node to the first resource node comprises intermediately enqueuing the first contact at the second service node.

4. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a set of computer executable instructions stored thereon, said set of computer executable instructions operable to configure a computer to perform a set of acts comprising:

a) maintaining a network of nodes, said network of nodes comprising;

a plurality of service nodes; and

a plurality of resource nodes;

wherein;

i) the network of nodes is a hierarchical network;

ii) each service node from the plurality of service nodes has no more than one parent node; and

iii) each service node from the plurality of service nodes has one or more child nodes;

b) enqueuing a first contact at a first service node from the plurality of service nodes based on a routing recommendation for said first contact; and

c) dequeuing said first contact from said first service node to a first resource node from said plurality of resource nodes based at least in part on a path between said first service node and said first resource node;

wherein the path between the first service node and the first resource node is a path between nodes in the hierarchical network; and

wherein the path between said first service node and said first resource node comprises a second service node.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 4 wherein the set of acts further comprises:

a) providing a set of context information to a decision engine, wherein said context information comprises a plurality of characteristics of said first contact; and

b) determining the routing recommendation by applying said set of context information to a set of business rules using said decision engine.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 4, wherein determining the routing recommendation comprises determining a priority for said first contact.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 4 wherein:

a) the second service node is an ancestor node of the first service node; and

b) dequeuing said first contact from said first service node to the first resource node comprises intermediately enqueuing the first contact at the second service node.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a set of computer executable instructions stored thereon, said set of computer executable instructions operable to configure a computer to perform a set of acts comprising:

a) maintaining a network of nodes, said network of nodes comprising;

a plurality of service nodes; and

a plurality of resource nodes;

wherein;

i) the network of nodes is a hierarchical network;

ii) each service node from the plurality of service nodes has no more than one parent node; and

iii) each service node from the plurality of service nodes has one or more child nodes;

b) enqueuing a first contact at a first service node from the plurality of service nodes based on a routing recommendation for said first contact; and

c) dequeuing said first contact from said first service node to a first resource node from said plurality of resource nodes based at least in part on a path between said first service node and said first resource node

wherein dequeuing said first contact from said first service node to the first resource node based at least in part on the path between said first service node and said first resource node comprises preferentially dequeuing the first contact from the first service node based on the path between the first service node and the first resource node being shorter than a path between a second service node and the first resource node.

10. A method for allocating resources in a contact center comprising:

a) maintaining a network of nodes, said network of nodes comprising;

a plurality of service nodes; and

a plurality of resource nodes;

wherein;

i) the network of nodes is a hierarchical network;

ii) each service node from the plurality of service nodes has no more than one parent node; and

iii) each service node from the plurality of service nodes has one or more child nodes;

b) enqueuing a first contact at a first service node from the plurality of service nodes based on a routing recommendation for said first contact, wherein said routing recommendation is based at least in part on a set of real time resource availability data stored in a computer readable medium;

c) dequeuing said first contact from said first service node to a first resource node from said plurality of resource nodes based at least in part on a path between said first service node and said first resource node;

d) updating said set of real time resource availability data stored in said computer readable medium to reflect that said first contact has been dequeued to said first resource node;

e) servicing said first contact using a resource corresponding to said first resource node; and

f) after the first contact has been serviced, updating said set of real time resource availability data stored in said computer readable medium to reflect that the resource corresponding to the first resource node is no longer servicing said first contact;

wherein dequeuing said first contact from said first service node to the first resource node based at least in part on the path between said first service node and said first resource node comprises preferentially dequeuing the first contact from the first service node based on the path between the first service node and the first resource node being shorter than a path between a second service node and the first resource node.

11. A method for allocating resources in a contact center comprising:

a) enqueuing a contact in a first queue, wherein the queue is comprised in a hierarchical network comprising a plurality of queues, wherein the plurality of queues comprises a set of queues, wherein, for each queue in the set of queues, the queue has zero or more parents in the hierarchical network and one or more children in the hierarchical network;

b) after enqueuing the contact in the first queue, determining whether to enqueue the contact at a second queue based on a path between the first queue and the second queue hierarchical network;

c) dequeuing the contact from the first queue; and

d) after dequeuing the contact from the first queue, enqueuing the contact in the second queue.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second queue corresponds to a resource node in the hierarchical network.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the second queue is an ancestor of the first queue in the hierarchical network.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising dequeuing the contact from the second queue to a resource node in the hierarchical network based on a path between the second queue and the resource node in the hierarchical network, wherein the path between the second queue and the resource node comprises a path between the first queue and the resource node.

15. The method of claim 11, comprising dequeuing the contact to a resource node in the hierarchical network, enqueuing a second contact at a third queue in the hierarchical network, and dequeuing the second contact to the resource node, wherein the third queue is not an ancestor of the first queue, and wherein the first queue is not an ancestor of the third queue.