Predictive Dialing |
Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) |
ActiveX |
Digital Recording |
Integrated Voice Response (IVR) |
OTS™ stand-alone switching system |
Call Blending |
Open Predictive Dialing |
OTS™ attached switching system |
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Automatic Call Distribution
This diagram shows a typical automated call distribution setup. Note that other computer environments may have slightly different configurations. Some of the labels below are followed by corresponding, typical pseudo-code for the agent and control applications. |
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A. A supervisorlogs on to the control application, which in turn connects to the telephony platform.
Through the control application, the supervisor can establish the campaign(s), the number of
lines needed and other parameters. The control application then sends the appropriate information
to the telephony platform to configure the campaign. Thereafter, the application can
perform all call
management and
data passing
automatically.
Make
connection via NetBIOS
or TCP/IP
START
ADD_PROJECT
SET_PROJECT_LINE
SET_INBOUND_PARAMETER
B. Agents log on to
the agent application,
which in turn connects
to the telephony
platform, indicating
user and campaign
ID numbers. The agents
can establish when
they are ready. During
calls they can also
issue first-party
control commands
to hold, transfer
or make conference
calls or terminate
the session.
Make
connection via NetBIOS
or TCP/IP
SET_USER_DATA
Receive
data from NetBIOS
or TCP/IP
PULL_NEXT_CALL
Agent
receives data
Agent
finishes conversation
TERM_VOICE_LINK
Go
to PULL_NEXT_CALL
C. Calls come into the
telephony platform
from the telephone
network.
D.
The telephony platform
gives the control
application the phone
number of the caller
(ANI) and the phone
number called (DNIS).
The control application
then determines where
to send the call
(either to a particular
agent, a group of
agents or to an IVR
script) and sends
commands to do so
to the telephony
platform. It also
tells OTS to assign
more specific information
to associate with
the call for easier
retrieval from the
database.
SET_CALL_DATA
ROUTE_CALL
E. If there is no one
available to take
the call, a recorded
message is typically
sent to the customer
and the customer
is put on hold. A
caller may hear and
key into an IVR script
during the wait,
while remaining in
the same place in
the queue.
PLAY_VOICE_MESSAGE
F. When an agent on
that campaign is
available, the call
is routed to that
agent. Two types
of communication
happen at the same
time:
F1. The customer is transferred
to the agent telephone,
establishing a voice
connection.
F2. The assigned call
data is sent from
the telephony platform
to the agent application,
which immediately
initiates a screen
pop. In multi-user
environments where
only one connection
is set up for all
agents, the call
data can include
an extra field to
denote which agent
is talking to the
customer.
G. Throughout the campaign
the control application
can issue further
instructions to the
telephony platform,
such as adding or
removing a project,
and receives messages
such as new call
received.
INBOUND_ANSWER
(OTS generated event)
REMOVE_PROJECT
ADD_PROJECT
SET_PROJECT_LINE
SET_INBOUND_PARAMETER
H. Communication among
the agent workstations,
MIS platform and
telephony platform
will be configured
according to one's
tastes and needs.
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Integrated
Voice Response
This diagram
shows a
IVR setup.
Note that
other computer
environments
may have
slightly
different
configurations.
Some of
the labels
below are
followed
by corresponding,
typical
pseudocode
for the
agent and
control
applications. |
|
The
term IVR/Voice
Processing includes
the following
features:
AUDIOTEX:
Customers hear a
menu of options and
choose one with a
touch-tone, then
hear a second menu
and choose from that
menu. This continues
until desired information
in recorded voice
is heard.
AUTO
ATTENDANT: A device
which answers a phone,
offers the customer
to choose an extension,
and rings that extension.
It can direct customers
to voice mail or
a live operator.
VOICE
MAIL: Storing and
managing recorded
messages. This can
include the ability
to forward messages
and determine how
many messages are
still saved.
HOST
IVR: Accessing a
host database for
specific, individual
information (eg.
bank balance).
The
diagram accounts
for two different
situations. One is
in which the IVR
device stands behind
a switch, PBX, or
other telephony device;
in this case the
PSTN square stands
for that device.
The other situation
is when the IVR device
is directly connected
to the PSTN; then
the telephony platform
box represents the
IVR I/O device.
A. Calls come into the
telephony platform
from the PSTN or
host switch.
Make
connection via NetBIOS
or TCP/IP
B. The
control application
is notified that
a call has come
in. It then gives
instructions to the
telephony platform/IVR
about what message
to play first. It
will thereafter
indicate what message
to play based on
the input from the
customer or give
other instructions
such as record message.
INBOUND_ANSWER
PLAY_MESSAGE
C. Voice messages are
sent to the customer.
D.The
telephony platform/IVR
device accepts touch-tone
commands or menu
selections.
GET_DTMF_DIGITS
E. In some applications
of IVR/voice processing,
a database must be
accessed by the control
application, such
as for retrieving
personal information.
Access
data
PLAY_MESSAGE
CLEAR_DTMFS
HANGUP_LINE
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Call
Blending
The following
is a general
diagram
illustrating
call blending.
The steps
needed
to initialize
a campaign
are omitted. |
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This
telephony server
is capable of
call blending,
whereby agents
can be switched
between duties
and calls can
be switched between
live operators
and IVR scripts.
The control application
would change
the agents' duties
according to
the current demands
on the call center
and according
to how busy agents
are. One example
of call blending
is to route agents
to inbound calls
during an outbound
campaign to reduce
the number of
hangups by customers.
Another scenario
is an inbound
campaign making
follow-up calls
to customers
when there is
little inbound
activity. Call
blending can
be done using
the same hardware
and software
for each task.
Separate campaigns
can be established
for each task,
using specialized
agents, or one
campaign can
be made responsible
for handling
all tasks. The
blending can
be done on a
telephony server
alone or among
a server and
switches. To
blend predictive
dialing with
a separate ACD,
you only need
the outbound
feature of OTS™.
A. During a campaign,
the control application
determines that either
agents are idle or
incoming callers
are being ignored.
B. The control application
informs the necessary
components of a need
for change.
B1. The control application
tells the telephony
platform to re-allocate
lines for campaigns
if necessary.
ESM_SET_PROJECT_LINE
B2. It tells the agent
application to switch
an agent's campaign
TERMINATE_SESSION
(Agent command)
SET_USER_DATA
(Agent command)
C. Outbound and inbound
telephone calls are
delivered to the
telephony platform
through the PSTN.
D. No matter which campaign
an agent is switched
to, the following
occur.
D1. The party is transferred
to the agent telephone,
establishing a voice
connection.
ROUTE_CALL
D2. The call data assigned
by the control application
is sent from the
telephony platform
to the agent application,
which immediately
initiates a screen
pop. In multi-user
environments where
only one connection
is set up for all
agnets, the call
data can include
an extra field to
denote which agent
is talking to the
party.
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Predictive
Dialing
This diagram
shows a
typical
predictive
dialing
setup.
Note that
other computer
environments
may have
slightly
different
configurations.
Some of
the labels
below are
followed
by corresponding,
typical
pseudo-code
for the
agent and
control
applications. |
|
A. A supervisor
logs on to the
control application,
which in turn
connects to the
telephony platform.
Through the control
application,
the supervisor
can establish
the campaign,
the number of
lines needed,
the initial pacing
data and other
dialing information.
The application
then sends the
appropriate information
to the telephony
platform to configure
the campaign.
Thereafter, the
application can
perform call
management and
data passing
automatically.
Make
connection via NetBIOS
or TCP/IP
SET_USER_DATA
(for OAPDE)
START
(for OTS)
ADD_PROJECT
B. Agents log on to
the agent application,
which in turn connects
to the telephony
platform, indicating
user and campaign
ID numbers. The agents
can establish when
they are ready. During
calls they can also
issue first-party
control commands
to hold, transfer
or make conference
calls or do things
not related to predictive
dialing.
Make
connection
SET_USER_DATA
PULL_NEXT_CALL
Receive
data from NetBIOS
or TCP/IP
C. Calls are made to
the PSTN and paced
according to the
predictive dialing
algorithm.
D. The telephony platform
does call progress
analysis to determine
whether a person
has answered.
E. Answered calls are
routed to the agent
on that campaign
who has been available
the longest on the
campaign to which
the phone number
has been assigned.
Two types of communication
are happening at
the same time:
E1. Voice is being carried
between the agent
and the telephony
platform.
E2. Data is sent from
the telephony platform
to the agent application.
This data relates
to the number dialed
and pertains to the
person/company with
that number.
The
application
looks in the
database and
initiates
a "screen
pop" with
a complete record
based on the data
provided by OTS™.
In cases where only
one connection is
set up for all agents,
data can be given
an extra field to
denote which agent
is communicating.
F. Unconnected calls,
such as calls placed
to answering machines
and SIT calls, are
reported to the control
application.
OUTBD_RESULT
(OTS generated event)
G. Throughout the campaign,
the control application
can retrieve data
on the progress of
the campaign. It
can change any aspects
of the dialing such
as the list of numbers
to dial and the pacing
rate.
SET_USER_DATA
ADD_PROJECT
(OAPDE)
ADD_DIALING_FILE
(OAPDE)
ADD_DIALING_RECORD
(OTS)
GET_PROJECT_INFO
(OTS)
GET_CALL_INFO
(OTS)
H. Communication among
the agent workstations,
MIS platform and
telephony platform
will be configured
according to one's
tastes and needs.
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Digital
Recording/Playback
The following diagram illustrates the digital recording/playback system at work.
It is possible for an IVR unit to record telephone
conversations and to play back conversations or segments to users and/or
customers. In one case there is a dedicated port connected in parallel to
each agent station through which calls are recorded and played back.
Another option is to connect the IVR/voice processor to a switch, PBX,
etc. The IVR unit accesses a conversation for recording by using the
silent supervisor monitoring feature of the switch. Two typical methods
of signaling the switch with this configuration are as follows: |
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Using
in-band signaling. The
control application
sends a command
to the IVR
instructing
it to go off
hook on the
desired port
and dial a
sequence of
DTMF tones
and possibly
other characters
such as pause
and flash.
This will cause
the switch
to connect
the IVR to
the desired
port.
Providing
an out-of-band CTI
link between
the IVR and the switch.
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Open Predictive Dialing
The diagram
shows a
typical
predictive
dialer
interfaced
(not integrated)
with a
PBX (looped
around
PBX).
Users
connect
with the
dialer
by dialing
a trunk
access
code from
their PBX
phone.
This action
connects
them with
specific
station
port on
the dialer.
This connection
remains
in effect
for the
entire
dialing
session.
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Call Center Users
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Call
Flow Scripting
Using ActiveX
Another
feature
unique
to OTS™ is
the ability
to add
sophisticated
call handling
routines
to your
OTS™ system
by using
Visual
Basic to
create
an ActiveX
control.
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Dialogic™ stand-alone
switching
system
The following
two diagrams
depict
the installation
and operation
of OTS™ as
a stand-alone
platform.
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OTS™ attached
to PBX/ACD
switching
system
The following
two diagrams
depict
possible
installation
and operation
scenarios
of OTS™ with
a switch.
Either
scenario
supports
IVR, voice
mail, and
digital
recording
via the
PBX/ACD
silent
observation
feature.
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