Remote agent capture and monitoring

• US 9,462,238 B1
• Filed: 10/28/2010
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verint Americas Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Verint Americas Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Barnes, Robert John
• Primary Examiner(s): DANG, HUNG Q
• Application Number:
  US12/914,991
• Time in Patent Office: 2,168 Days
• Field of Search: 386223-224, 386239-248
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/61 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/71 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/36 Memories
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/04 Synchronising for television systems using pulse code modulation H04N7/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/29 using demagnetisation or compensation of external magnetic fields

Abstract

Methods and systems for monitoring a remote agent. An agent'"'"'s workstation may be provided with an application that receives a trigger condition at an agent workstation during a communication between the remote agent and a caller. During the communication, it may be determined if video imagery of the remote agent is required. If so, video imagery capture may be triggered. The video imagery may be associated with activities of the remote agent during the capture, and the video imagery stored at a recorder for later playback.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a remote agent, comprising:

receiving, at a monitoring server, data polls and metadata from an agent workstation remote from the monitoring server;

analyzing the metadata at the monitoring server;

identifying, in the metadata, during an ongoing conversation between an agent at the agent workstation and a caller, whether a trigger condition exists at the agent workstation; and

upon identifying by the monitoring server that the trigger condition exists;

data recording telephone and on-screen computer activities associated with the agent at the agent workstation;

capturing, during the ongoing conversation, video imagery of the agent or an environment in which the remote workstation is located,

providing a common transaction identifier that associates the captured video imagery to the activities of the agent recorded during the capturing,

identifying the agent using facial recognition,

storing the captured video imagery, the common transaction identifier, the identity of the agent, and the telephone and on-screen recordings, in a data store, and

determining whether the agent'"'"'s activities are inconsistent with predetermined parameters associated with remote agent activities by at least reviewing contents of the data store;

wherein the capturing of the video imagery is contingent upon the trigger condition being initiated, wherein the trigger condition is initiated upon screen data being entered by the agent into the agent workstation during the ongoing conversation.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising streaming the video imagery to a recorder as a continuous stream video/pictures in near real-time from the agent workstation.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring the agent in near real-time to view the agent'"'"'s interaction with the caller; and

providing coaching to the agent to address deficiencies in the agent'"'"'s interaction.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising replaying the video imagery in synchronization with the agent'"'"'s voice or screen data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising playing back the data recording and captured video imagery after synchronizing said data recording and captured video imagery.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said data recording and captured video imagery are conducted passively by capturing operating system graphics primitives from the agent workstation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said data recording and video imaging comprise screen scraping the agent workstation.

8. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions which when executed by the processor cause the system to perform a method comprising;

transmitting, to a monitoring center, data comprising records of telephone and on-screen computer activities associated with an agent at an agent workstation remote from the monitoring center, said data further comprising metadata;

analyzing, at the monitoring center, said metadata to identify whether a trigger condition exists at the agent workstation during an ongoing conversation between the agent and a caller; and

upon identifying that trigger condition exists;

capturing, during the ongoing conversation, video imagery of the agent or an environment in which the remote workstation is located,

providing a common transaction identifier that associates the captured video imagery to the activities of the agent recorded during the capture,

identifying the agent using facial recognition, storing the captured video imagery, the common transaction identifier, the identity of the agent, and the telephone and on-screen recordings, in a data store, and

determining whether the agent'"'"'s activities are inconsistent with predetermined parameters associated with agent activities by at least reviewing contents of the data store;

wherein the capturing of the video imagery is contingent upon the trigger condition being initiated, wherein the trigger condition is initiated upon screen data being entered by the agent into the agent workstation during the ongoing conversation.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises streaming the video imagery to a recorder as a continuous stream video/pictures in near real-time from the agent workstation.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises monitoring the agent in near real-time to view the agent'"'"'s interaction with the caller and providing coaching to the agent to address deficiencies in the agent'"'"'s interaction.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises replaying the video imagery in synchronization with the agent'"'"'s voice or screen data.

12. The system of claim 8, further comprising playing back the data recording and captured video imagery after synchronizing said data recording and captured video imagery.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein said data recording and video imaging are conductive passively by capturing operating system graphics primitives from the agent workstation.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein said data recording and video imaging comprise screen scraping the agent workstation.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which when executed by a system causes the system to perform a method comprising:

recording in data updates and metadata telephone and on-screen computer activities associated with an agent at an agent workstation;

identifying, at a monitoring center remote from the agent workstation, with the metadata whether a trigger condition exists at the agent workstation during an ongoing conversation between the agent and a caller; and

upon identifying that the trigger condition exists;

capturing, during the ongoing conversation, video imagery of the agent or an environment in which the remote workstation is located,

providing a common transaction identifier that associates the captured video imagery to the activities of the agent recorded during the capture,

identifying the agent using facial recognition, storing the captured video imagery, the common transaction identifier, the identity of the agent, and the telephone and on-screen recordings, in a data store, and

determining whether the agent'"'"'s activities are inconsistent with predetermined parameters associated with remote agent activities by at least reviewing contents of the data store;

wherein the capturing of the video imagery is contingent upon the trigger condition being initiated, wherein the trigger condition is initiated upon screen data being entered by the agent into the agent workstation during the ongoing conversation.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises streaming the video imagery to a recorder as a continuous stream video/pictures in near real-time from the agent workstation.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises monitoring the agent in near real-time to view the agent'"'"'s interaction with the caller and providing coaching to the agent to address deficiencies in the agent'"'"'s interaction.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises replaying the video imagery in synchronization with the agent'"'"'s voice or screen data.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising playing back the data recording and captured video imagery after synchronizing said data recording and captured video imagery.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein said data recording and video imaging are conductive passively by capturing operating system graphics primitives from the workstation.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein said data recording and video imaging comprise screen scraping the workstation.