Method and apparatus for assessing the status of work waiting for service

• US 9,025,761 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2008
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Flockhart, Andrew D., Roybal, Larry J., Steiner, Robert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEANE JR, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US12/142,565
• Publication Number:
  US 20080275752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,511 Days
• Field of Search: 37926501-26514, 37926601-2661, 379/309
• US Class Current: 379/266.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for assessing the status of work waiting for service in a work queue or a work pool. Work items are placed in the work queue or work pool and have a service time goal. The work items in the work queue or work pool are scanned and a required queue position for each work item is calculated according to the amount of time remaining prior to the expiration of the service time goal and weighted advance time for servicing of work items in the work queue or pool. An array of counters has elements which correspond to required queue positions. Upon the calculation of the required queue position for a work item, the counter corresponding to the required queue position is incremented. When all of the work items are scanned, the array of counters is analyzed to predict a future state of the work queue or work pool.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a contact server that tracks an identity of at least two work items, and

wherein the contact center server uses an ordered list having entries associated with a plurality of elements for storing a count of the number of work items having a required queue position, RQP, wherein at least two of the work items have different RQPs based on at least two service time goals wherein each element is assigned by the contact center server, to a predetermined range of RQPs and wherein a size of a predetermined range of RQPs is different for at least some of the elements; and

a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) that;

receives the at least two work items; and

holds the at least two work items until the contact center server instructs

the PBX to distribute the at least two work items to one or more workstations.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the entries indicate required queue positions and an element associated therewith for the at least two work items.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

a size of a first range of RQPs is one and a size of a second range of RQPs is greater than one.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the predefined range of required queue positions for each entry in the ordered list is where the number of the entry is N, is 2^N-1<

RQP≦

2^N.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the RQP for each work item is also based a weighted advance time of a queue containing the work items.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the ordered list is used to predict a state of a common queue.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the state of the common queue comprises a future risk state.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the ordered list is analyzed to determine if there are additional items in the ordered list and setting a state to on target when there are no additional items in the ordered list.

9. A method comprising:

identifying by a contact center server at least two work items, wherein the contact center server uses an ordered list having entries associated with a plurality of elements for storing a count of the number of work items having a required queue position, RQP, wherein at least two of the work items have different RQPs based on at least two service time goals, wherein each element is assigned, by the contact center server, to a predetermined range of RQPs and wherein a size of a predetermined range of RQPs is different for at least some of the elements;

receiving, by a Private Branch Exchange (PBX), the at least two work items; and

holding, by the PBX, the at least two work items until the contact center server instructs the PBX to distribute the at least two work items to one or more workstations.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the entries indicate required queue positions and an element associated therewith for the at least two work items.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein:

a size of a first range of RQPs is one and a size of a second range of RQPs is greater than one.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the predefined range of required queue positions for each entry in the ordered list is where the number of the entry is N, is 2^N-1<

RQP≦

2^N.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the RQP for each work item is also based on a weighted advance time of a queue containing the work items.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the ordered list is used to predict a state of a common queue.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the state of the common queue comprises a future risk state.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the ordered list is analyzed to determine if there are additional items in the ordered list and setting a state to on target when there are no additional items in the ordered list.