U.S. patent application number 10/859974 was filed with the patent office on 2004-11-04 for desktop telephony application program for a call center agent.
This patent application is currently assigned to MCI Communications Corporation. Invention is credited to Atkinson, Wesley, McDuff, Richard.
Application Number | 20040218750 10/859974 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29550539 |
Filed Date | 2004-11-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040218750 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Atkinson, Wesley ; et
al. |
November 4, 2004 |
Desktop telephony application program for a call center agent
Abstract
A desktop telephony application program enables a call center
agent to handle calls. The application program may be interfaced
with an answering service. The answering service acts as an
application program interface (API) to a computer/telephony
interface server and a call distributor. The application program
produces a user interface that enables the agent to indicate when
the agent is going on break and the type of break that the agent is
taking. Additional functional elements are provided in the user
interface to enable the agent to update status information
regarding the current state of the agent. The application program
may also provide phone books that hold phone numbers grouped by
different logical grouping criteria.
Inventors: |
Atkinson, Wesley; (Woodland
Park, CO) ; McDuff, Richard; (Colorado Springs,
CO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCI, INC
TECHNOLOGY LAW DEPARTMENT
1133 19TH STREET NW, 10TH FLOOR
WASHINGTON
DC
20036
US
|
Assignee: |
MCI Communications
Corporation
Washington
DC
|
Family ID: |
29550539 |
Appl. No.: |
10/859974 |
Filed: |
June 4, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10859974 |
Jun 4, 2004 |
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08934167 |
Sep 19, 1997 |
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6782087 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/265.03 ;
379/265.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 3/42102 20130101;
H04M 3/5232 20130101; H04M 3/42323 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/265.03 ;
379/265.14 |
International
Class: |
H04M 003/00; H04M
005/00 |
Claims
1. In a computer system having a display device and an interface to
telephony resources for placing outbound calls, a method comprising
the computer-implemented steps of: storing a plurality of phone
books in the computer system having therein telephone numbers used
for placing outbound calls, wherein the plurality of phone books
are at least one of a personal phone book, a yellow pages phone
book and a call backs phone book; associating at least one
scheduled calling time with at least one of the telephone numbers;
inputting the scheduled calling time associated with the at least
one telephone number into an interface on the display; and
displaying a prompt on the display when the schedule calling time
arrives, whereby the agent is prompted with a plurality of options
regarding the scheduled calling time.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of options include
at least one of: immediately executing a call, executing the call a
predetermined time in the future, or removing the reminder.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the prompt is a reminder
window.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising displaying status
information associated with the outbound call.
5. The method of claim 3, further comprising allowing at least one
of editing and deleting of information associated with the
telephone numbers.
6. A computer system having a display device and an interface to
telephony resources for placing outbound calls comprising: means
for storing a plurality of phone books in the computer system
having therein telephone numbers used for placing outbound calls,
wherein the plurality of phone books are at least one of a personal
phone book, a yellow pages phone book and a call backs phone book;
means for associating at least one scheduled calling time with at
least one of the telephone numbers; means for inputting the
scheduled calling time associated with the at least one telephone
number into an interface on the display; and means for displaying a
prompt on the display when the schedule calling time arrives,
whereby the agent is prompted with a plurality of options regarding
the scheduled calling time.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of options include
at least one of: immediately executing a call, executing the call a
predetermined time in the future, or removing the reminder.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the prompt is a reminder
window.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising displaying status
information associated with the outbound call.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising allowing at least one
of editing and deleting of information associated with the
telephone numbers.
11. A computer system having a display device and an interface to
telephony resources for placing outbound calls comprising: a
plurality of phone books in the computer system having therein
telephone numbers used for placing outbound calls, wherein the
plurality of phone books are at least one of a personal phone book,
a yellow pages phone book and a call backs phone book, wherein a
scheduled calling time is associated with at least one of the
telephone numbers; an interface on the display by which an agent
may input the scheduled calling time associated with the at least
one telephone number; and an interface for displaying a prompt on
the display when the scheduled calling time arrives, whereby the
agent is prompted with a plurality of options regarding the
scheduled calling time.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of options
include at least one of: immediately executing a call, executing
the call a predetermined time in the future, or removing the
reminder.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the prompt is a reminder
window.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising displaying status
information associated with the outbound call.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising allowing at least
one of editing and deleting of information associated with the
telephone numbers.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates generally to telecommunication
systems, and more particularly, to a desktop telephony application
for a call center agent.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Conventional systems include desktop application programs
that control a telephone pad. These desktop application programs
are able to dial an outbound call on behalf of a user. Such desktop
application programs, however, are limited in several respects.
These desktop application programs are not configurable to be
integrated with an answering service so as to customize what calls
are received. Second, these desktop application programs do not
maintain status information about a user or agent who is using the
desktop application program. Third, such desktop application
programs either do not include a phone book or include a very
limited phone book.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention,
a method is practiced in a call center that has a call distributor
for distributing calls and a telephony server for generating events
regarding calling activities in the call system. The call center
also includes an agent station that has a telephone set and an
agent computer system. In accordance with this method, an interface
is provided that enables the computer system to interface with the
telephony server and the call distributor to collect call
information and events. A client application program is provided on
the agent computer system to receive events from the interface and
that produce a user interface on the display device for enabling
the agent to handle calls. The client application is registered
with the interface so the agent receives calls having only selected
characteristics (such as selected DNIS values). A call is then
received at the agent station that exhibits the selected
characteristics.
[0004] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
multiple phone books are provided for use by a user of a computer
system. Each phone book contains entries that list phone numbers.
The phone books include at least two phone books that include
different logical groupings of entries. Contents of a selected one
of the phone books is displayed on the display device. The user
accesses the displayed contents of the selected phone book to cause
an outbound call to be placed to a phone number that is listed in
an entry that is part of the displayed contents of the selected
phone book.
[0005] In accordance with a further aspect of the present
invention, state information is maintained regarding whether an
agent in a call center is working or on break. Information is also
maintained regarding what type of break the agent is taking. A user
interface is generated on the display device with an application
program. The user interface includes an element for the agent to
indicate that the agent is taking a break and for indicating the
type of break that the agent is taking. The state information is
updated in response to the agent using the user interface to
indicate that the agent is on break and to indicate the type of
break the agent is taking.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be
described below relative to the following figures:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram for a portion of a
telecommunications system that is suitable for practicing the
preferred embodiment in the present invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an agent station in
more detail.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an agent workstation.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a logical diagram illustrating the data flow
between the answering service and autofone.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the steps that are
performed for autofone to receive events from the answering
service.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the steps that are
performed by autofone during initialization.
[0013] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the steps that are
performed to cause the initial autofone window to be displayed.
[0014] FIG. 8A depicts the format of a new style autofone window
after an agent initially logs on.
[0015] FIG. 8B depicts the format of a old style autofone window
after an agent initially logs on.
[0016] FIG. 9 depicts the format of a new style autofone window in
the truncated state.
[0017] FIG. 10A indicates the appearance of a new style autofone
window when the agent is available to receive calls.
[0018] FIG. 10B indicates the appearance of an old style autofone
window when the agent is available to receive calls.
[0019] FIG. 11A depicts the format of a new style autofone window
after an agent has received a call.
[0020] FIG. 11B depicts the format of an old style autofone window
after an agent has received a call.
[0021] FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating the steps that are
performed to release a phone call in a preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0022] FIG. 13A depicts a new style autofone window after an agent
has released a call.
[0023] FIG. 13B depicts an old style autofone window after an agent
has released a call.
[0024] FIG. 14 illustrates the steps that are performed when an
agent decides to take a break.
[0025] FIG. 15 illustrates the steps that are performed when an
agent decides to log out.
[0026] FIG. 16A illustrates a new style autofone window after an
agent has logged out.
[0027] FIG. 16B illustrates an old style autofone window after an
agent has logged out.
[0028] FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating how an outbound call
may be initiated by clicking on a phone book entry.
[0029] FIG. 18 depicts a phone book window.
[0030] FIGS. 19A and 19B illustrate how a call back entry may be
created in the Call Backs phone book via the user interface.
[0031] FIG. 20 depicts an example call back reminder window.
[0032] FIG. 21 depicts the steps that are performed for call backs
in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 22 is a flow chart that shows the steps that are
performed to place an outbound call via a drag-and-drop
operation.
[0034] FIG. 23 is a flow chart that illustrates the steps that are
performed to place an outbound call via a call back reminder
window.
[0035] FIG. 24 is a flow chart illustrating the steps that are
performed to place an outbound call using the digit buttons in an
autofone window.
[0036] FIG. 25 illustrates the format of a yellow pages phone
book.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a
desktop application program for use by an agent in a call center.
The desktop application program controls a telephone pad and
enables the agent to receive calls and place outbound calls. The
desktop application program produces a user interface that
resembles the face of a telephone with certain functional buttons.
Through this user interface, the user may login, logout, accept
calls, place calls, log breaks, update status information and
access phone books. The user interface is configured so as to not
occupy a great deal of screen real-estate and is intuitive to
use.
[0038] The desktop application program of the preferred embodiment
of the present invention enables an agent to log breaks. In
addition, it enables an agent to log the type of break that the
agent is taking. For example, the agent may specify that the agent
is at lunch, is in a meeting, is in training, or is on a coffee
break. The break information is tied to a database that maintains
the status of agents and their breaks for use by a monitoring
system.
[0039] As was mentioned above, an agent may access a phone book via
the user interface of the desktop application program. The
preferred embodiment of the present invention provides the agent
with three types of phone books. The personal phone book stores
frequently called numbers. The yellow pages phone book stores
numbers for various businesses and customers and the Call Backs
phone book stores numbers which the agent wishes to call back at a
later time. This segregation of phone numbers into separate phone
books enables the agent to quickly locate the phone number that the
agent needs.
[0040] FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a portion of a
telecommunications network that is suitable for practicing the
preferred embodiment of the present invention. The
telecommunications network includes a call center 10 that is
connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 12 via a
voice trunk 14. The call center 10 includes an automatic call
distributor (ACD) 16 or other switching mechanism for routing
incoming calls within the call center. The ACD 16 is connected via
a voice trunk 18 to agent stations 20. Agents are stationed at the
stations 20 to handle calls on behalf of the call center. The ACD
16 is also connected via a voice trunk 22 to a voice response unit
(VRU) 24 that automates call processing. The VRU 24 may be used to
collect information from a caller. For example, the VRU 24 may be
used to collect an account number, a credit card number and/or a
service request from a caller. The VRU 24 is connected to a
computer/telephony integration (CTI) server 30 via a data link 26.
The CTI server 30 extracts call data from the ACD 16. In
particular, the CTI server 30 abstracts raw call data from the ACD
16 into useful statistical data. The CTI server 30 also distributes
data in the form of events. The CTI server 30 may run as a separate
process on a dedicated computer system. A suitable CTI server is
the T Server produced by Genesys Labs of San Bruno, Calif. The CTI
server 30 is connected to the ACD via a data link 28 and is also
connected to the agent stations 20 via a data link.
[0041] A CTI monitoring server (CTIMS) 36 is connected to the CTI
server 30 via a data link 34. CTIMS 36 may be implemented on a
shared computer with the CTI server 30 or on a. separate dedicated
computer system. CTIMS serves to compile statistical data that is
collected from the CTI server 30 into useful data for presentation
and management at the supervisor/control workstations 38. This data
is utilized by a client application program that is run on the
supervisor/control workstations 38. This client application program
is described in more detail in co-pending application entitled,
"Monitoring System Client For A Call Center," which is assigned to
a common assignee with the present application and which is
explicitly incorporated by reference herein.
[0042] CTIMS registers with the CTI server 30 to receive all events
that are output by the CTI server 30. An example of events that are
output by the CTI server 30 include events indicating calls
received, calls routed, calls answered and calls disconnected.
CTIMS 36 categorizes the events into groups, such as by agent, by
agent group, by call center, by business type, and the like. CTIMS
also calculates certain statistics such as average call handling
times. A suitable implementation of CTIMS is described in
co-pending application entitled, "Computer/Telephony Integration
Monitoring Server," which is assigned to a common assignee with the
present application and which is explicitly incorporated by
reference herein.
[0043] CTIMS 36 is connected to an automated resource management
system (ARMS) 44 via a data link 46. ARMS 44 provides management of
resource data for the call center 10. ARMS is largely a database on
a server that contains interfaces for access by CTIMS 36, by agent
stations 20 and by supervisor/control workstations 38. A suitable
implementation of ARMS 44 is described in co-pending application
entitled, "AUTOMATED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (ARMS) FOR A CALL
CENTER," which is assigned to a common assignee with the present
application and which is explicitly incorporated by reference
herein.
[0044] It should be appreciated that the data links 26, 32, 34, 40,
42 and 48 may all be implemented as local are a network (LAN)
connections. These data links may also be implemented as
non-networked links. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that
a call center 10 used to practice the present invention may have a
different configuration than that depicted in FIG. 1.
[0045] FIG. 2 depicts a logical view of an agent station 20 that is
suitable for practicing the preferred embodiment of the present
invention. The agent station 20 is connected to ACD 16 via voice
trunk 18. The agent station 20 is also connected to the CTI server
30, via a data link 32 and is connected to ARMS 44. The agent
station 20 includes a phone pad 50 that may be used to place
outbound calls. The phone pad 50 is connected via a voice trunk 54
to a headset 52 that the agent may use to listen and speak on the
telephone call. The agent station 20 also includes an agent
workstation 56, which may be implemented as a personal computer
system, a workstation or other suitable computer system (see FIG.
3). The agent workstation includes support for the Microsoft.RTM.
OLE protocol 58 from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. The
agent station 20 also includes an answering service that serves as
a single common application program interface (API) for desktop
applications to interface with the CTI server 30 and the ACD 16. A
suitable implementation of the answering service is described in
more detail in co-pending application entitled, "TELEPHONY SERVER
APPLICATION PROGRAM INTERFACE (API)," which was filed on even date
herewith, which is assigned to a common assignee with the present
application and which is explicitly incorporated by reference
herein.
[0046] The agent workstation 56 includes the desktop application
program of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, which
will be referred to hereinafter as "autofone." Autofone 62 will be
described in more detail below. The agent workstation 56 also
includes a generic sales and service application (GSSA) 64. GSSA 64
is a configurable application platform that performs customer sales
and service processing for different business clients. GSSA 64 is
used by agents to service customer calls. A suitable implementation
of GSSA is described in more detail in co-pending application
entitled, "CONFIGURABLE APPLICATION PROGRAM FOR CALL CENTER SALES
AND SERVICES," which was filed on even date herewith, which is
assigned to a common assignee with the present application and
which is explicitly incorporated by reference herein.
[0047] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the agent
station configuration depicted in FIG. 2 is intended to merely
illustrative. The present invention may be practiced with a
different configuration. Moreover, the agent workstation 56 need
not include support for Microsoft.RTM. OLE, the answering service
60 and GSSA 64. These components are shown merely as illustrative
components of the preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0048] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the architecture for the
agent workstation 56. The agent workstation 56 includes a central
processing unit (CPU) for managing an overseeing operation. The
agent workstation 56 may also include a number of peripheral
devices, including a keyboard 68, a mouse 70 and a display device
72, such as a video display device. The agent workstation 56 may
also include a modem 74 for interfacing with telephone lines and a
network adapter 76 for interfacing with a network. The agent
workstation 56 includes primary storage 78 and secondary storage
80. The primary storage 78 includes an operating system 82, such as
the Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. 95 operating system or the
Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. NT operating system. The primary
storage also holds the answering service 60, GSSA 64, and autofone
62. The secondary storage 80 may hold a number of types of data and
programs. FIG. 3 shows an instance wherein the phone books 88 are
stored in secondary storage 80. Nevertheless, the phone books may
be stored on a remote server, such as ARMS 44.
[0049] As is shown in FIG. 4, autofone 62 is run as a client of the
answering service 60, which acts as a server. Autofone 62 may be
implemented as an application program in a suitable language, such
as Visual Basic. The answering service 60 may be implemented as an
OLE automation server. Autofone 62 registers for specific dialed
number identification service (DNIS) values with the answering
service 60 by submitting registration requests 90 (see step 94 in
FIG. 5). Events 92 for the specified DNIS are subsequently sent to
autofone 62 from the answering service 60 when the events occur
(step 96 in FIG. 5).
[0050] This registration methodology provides an added degree of
configurability for autofone 62. Autofone 62 may be registered to
receive and process all calls to a given agent workstation 56. On
the other hand, autofone 62 may be registered only to receive calls
for one or more DNIS values. In the preferred embodiment of the
present invention, each DNIS value is associated with a given
business client of the call center. Thus, an agent may be
designated to receive only calls for a subset of the business
clients as specified by the DNIS values. The registration
methodology enables autofone 62 for the agent to register solely
for calls for the designated business clients when a given agent is
logged on to autofone. Moreover, a different agent can log on to
the same agent workstation but be registered to receive different
DNIS events and, thus, facilitate time sharing of the agent
workstation.
[0051] Autofone 62 utilizes two initialization files (i.e., .ini
files). These two .ini files are autofone.ini and autobook.ini.
When autofone 62 is first initialized, it reads the autofone.ini
file to configure itself and initialize itself (step 98 in FIG. 6).
The autofone.ini file contains a data source name for the ARMS 44
database, contains a user ID for the ARMS database and contains a
password for the ARMS user ID. The autofone.ini file also contains
a default style for the autofone window produced by autofone 62
(which will be described in more detail below). The autobook.ini
file contains the name of the file which stores the agent phone
book names. The autobook.ini file is read to locate the phone books
to be used by autofone 62.
[0052] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the steps that are
performed to provide the user interface for autofone 62. Initially,
a window for autofone 62 is not open and a program icon for
autofone is displayed on the desktop of the user (step 102 in FIG.
7). The icon may constitute a shortcut icon, such as found in the
Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. 95 operating system. The agent then
manipulates the icon to activate autofone (step 104 in FIG. 7).
This may entail the agent positioning a mouse cursor to point at
the icon and clicking or double clicking on the icon. The initial
autofone window is displayed (see FIGS. 8A and 8B) in response
(step 106 in FIG. 7) and the default state for the agent is set as
logged in and unavailable (step 108 in FIG. 7).
[0053] It should be appreciated that information about the state of
an agent is maintained in tables stored in ARMS 44. In general, an
agent may be in one of the following states: unavailable,
available, call work, error, or unknown. When the agent is
unavailable, the agent is not available for processing calls. When
the agent is available, the agent is not currently processing a
call and is available to process calls. When the agent is in an
error state, an error has occurred such that the state information
may not be reliable. An agent may be in an unknown state wherein
the current state of the agent is not known. An agent may be in a
call work state such that the agent is processing a call but is not
currently talking. The database in ARMS 44 also maintain
information about whether the agent is logged in, logged out, and
whether the agent is on a break or not. A table that holds break
codes representing different types of breaks is maintained in ARMS
44, and information regarding the type of break an agent takes is
also maintained within ARMS.
[0054] FIGS. 8A and 8B depict how the autofone window will appear
after the autofone window is initially opened. The autofone window
may appear in one of two styles: new or old. FIG. 8A depicts the
new style window 110 and FIG. 8B depicts the old style window 132.
Each of these autofone windows 110 and 132 includes a style button
112, which may be activated to toggle between the two styles. Thus,
an agent may toggle from the new style to the old style or from the
old style to the new style by activating the style button 112. The
style button 112, like other buttons in the autofone windows 110
and 132, may be activated by positioning a mouse cursor to point at
the button and clicking a mouse button.
[0055] The new style window 110 includes a close button 114 for
closing the window and a resizing button 116 for resizing the
window. The new window 110 also includes a book button 117 for
requesting the display of the phone books that are provided as part
of autofone 62. These phone books will be discussed in more detail
below.
[0056] The new style autofone window 110 includes a clasp button
118 that may be activated to include or exclude the bottom portion
of the window 110. FIG. 9 shows the appearance of a truncated
version of the new style autofone window 140 after the clasp button
118 has been activated. As can be seen, the bottom portion of the
new style autofone window 110, that includes the keypad 120 and
elements below it, is not depicted in FIG. 9. The agent may return
to the fully displayed new style autofone window 110 (as shown in
FIG. 8) by activating the clasp button 118 when the truncated new
style autofone window 140 (FIG. 9) is currently displayed.
[0057] The new style autofone window 110 includes a numerical
keypad 120 for entering digits. like a conventional telephone
keypad. The new style autofone window 110 additionally includes a
number of functional keys 122 that may be activated to update state
information, manipulate phone calls, and the like. For example, the
"Init Conf" key may be pressed to initiate a conference call, the
"Transfer" button may be pressed to transfer a call, and the "Hold"
button may be pressed to place a party on hold. A status window 124
holds status information regarding the agent. Initially, the status
window 124 indicates the agent is not ready to receive calls
("AgentNotReady"). A phone number display 126 is also included as
part of the window 110. Display 128 displays the number of incoming
calls. Display 130 holds information regarding the duration of
calls.
[0058] The old style autofone window 132 includes many of the same
components as the new style autofone window 110. The old style
autofone window includes a resizing button 116, a style button 112,
a book button 118, a display 128 for holding the number of incoming
calls, a display 126 for displaying phone calls, and an agent
status display 124. The old style autofone window 132, however,
holds a system menu button 134 that may be activated to display a
system menu, such as commonly found with windows in the
Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM., version 3.1, operating system. The old
style autofone window 132 is also different from the new style
window 110 with respect to the functional buttons 136 that it
contains. There is an overlap between the buttons contained in the
two styles of windows, but the buttons are also differently
arranged and the old style autofone window 132 includes additional
buttons. The old style autofone window 132 also differs in that it
has multiple break buttons 138. These break buttons 138 may be
activated to identify not only that the agent is on break but what
kind of break the agent is currently on.
[0059] After an agent is logged on, the agent may use the autofone
windows 110 and 132 to indicate that the agent is now ready to
receive calls. The agent indicates that the agent is available to
receive calls by pressing the available button 141 (FIGS. 8A and
8B). This causes the state information stored in ARMS 44 to be
updated to indicate that the agent is in the available state. FIGS.
10A and 10B depict the appearance of the new style autofone window
110 and the old style autofone window 132 in such an instance. The
message ("AgentReady") displayed within the status display 124
indicates that the agent is ready to receive calls. In addition,
the functional buttons that are available to the agent have
changed. The available button 144 has changed to an unavailable
button 144 that may be used by the agent to toggle to the
unavailable state. Furthermore, the logout button 142 has become
grayed out so as to no longer be immediately available to the
agent. In the new style autofone window 110, the break button 146
has become activated. In the old style .autofone window 132, the
meeting break button 148, the generic break button 150, and the
lunch break button 152 have become active.
[0060] The appearance of the new style autofone window 110 and the
old style autofone window 132 also changes when the agent receives
a call (i.e., a call with the agent is established). As is shown in
Figures 11A and 11B, the status display 124 indicates that a call
has been established. In addition, the transfer button 152 becomes
active to enable the user to transfer the call. Furthermore, the
release button 154 becomes active to enable the agent to release
the call.
[0061] FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating the steps that are
performed when a call is released by an agent using autofone 62. An
agent may release the call by pressing the release button 154 or,
alternatively, by the calling party hanging up (step 160 in FIG.
12). In response, the agent is put into the call work state (step
162 in FIG. 12). FIGS. 13A and 13B depict the appearance of the new
style window 110 and the old style window 132 in such an instance.
The status display 124 indicates that the agent is busy
("AgentBusy") and the end work button 170 becomes active. The agent
may exit the call work state by activating the end work button 170
(step 164 in FIG. 12). Activation of this button 170 places the
agent in the available state (step 166 in FIG. 12).
[0062] As was mentioned above, the agent may depress a break button
to indicate that the agent is going on break. In the new style
autofone window 110, the agent depresses the break button 146 to
indicate that the agent is going on break and in the old style
autofone window 133, the agent depresses one of the break buttons
138 (see FIG. 8B) to indicate that the agent is on break (step 172
in FIG. 14). With the old style autofone window 132, the agent may
press the meeting break button 148, the generic break button 150,
the lunch break button 152, or the training break button 153. As a
result of the agent activating one of the break buttons, the agent
is placed on break and is put in an unavailable state (step 174 in
FIG. 14). In particular, the tables held within ARMS 44 are updated
to indicate that the agent is on break and that the agent is in the
unavailable state. When the old style autofone window 132 is used,
the type of break being taken by the agent is also noted, and the
break type information is updated within ARMS 44. This information
may be used by the monitoring client application program that is
run on the supervisor/control workstations 38. The integration of
autofone 62 with ARMS 44 in CTIMS 36 provides an added level of
functionality that would not otherwise be available.
[0063] At the end of a agent's work shift or when the agent is
ready to go to lunch or take a coffee break, the agent may wish to
log out. The agent logs out by pressing the logout button 142 (step
176 in FIG. 15). This causes the agent to enter the logged out
state (step 178 in FIG. 15). State information regarding how long
the agent was logged in and when the agent logged out is updated in
ARMS 44 (step 180 in FIG. 15). FIGS. 16A and 16B depict the state
of the new style autofone window 110 and the old style autofone
window 132, respectively, when the agent logs out. Specifically,
the status display 124 indicates that the agent is logged out
("AgentLogout"), and the login button 182 becomes active.
[0064] As has been discussed above, autofone 62 provides a user
with multiple phone books. The agent may cause a phone book. to be
displayed by activating the book button 117. In response, the phone
book is displayed (step 184 in FIG. 17). FIG. 18 depicts an example
of a phone book window 190 that may be displayed in response to
activating the book button. The phone books window 190 includes a
tab 192 for the Personal phone book, a tab 194 for the Call Backs
phone book, and a tab 196 for the Yellow Pages phone book. In the
example depicted in FIG. 18, the Personal phone book 192 is
selected but is empty. The phone books window. 190 also includes a
Call Back section 198 that holds the date and time for any call
back. This section 198 includes a date field 200, an hour field
202, a minute field 204, and an AM/PM checkbox 206. The phone books
window 190 also includes a Number field 201 and a Name & Notes
field 203. The Call Back section 198, the Number field 201, and the
Name & Notes field 203 will be described in more detail below.
A user selects the phone book of interest by selecting the
appropriate tab 192, 194, or 196. FIG. 25 depicts an example of the
Yellow Pages phone book, which will be described in more detail
below.
[0065] A user may place an outbound call using a phone book by
clicking on an entry within the phone book (step 186 in FIG. 17).
The phone number associated with the entries is then automatically
dialed (step 188 in FIG. 17). As will be described in more detail
below, autofone 62 also facilitates other ways of placing outbound
calls.
[0066] The phone books are editable such that new entries may be
added and deleted from the phone books. As was mentioned above, the
Call Backs phone book holds entries for phone numbers that the
agent wishes to call back at a later time. FIGS. 19A and 19B
illustrate how an entry may be added to the Call Backs phone book.
FIG. 19A shows the new style autofone window 110 and the phone
books window 190. In the example shown in FIG. 19A, a call is
currently established with an agent. The status display 124
indicates that a phone call is established, and the call duration
display 130 indicates that the call has been established for 24
seconds. The phone number of the call is shown within display 128.
An entry may be added to the Call Backs phone book by selecting the
Call Backs tab 194 and double clicking on the phone number
displayed within display 128. This causes the phone number to be
displayed within the Number field 201 in the phone books window
190. The name to be included in the entry is then added in the Name
& Notes field 203. The Call Backs day and time may be then
added in fields 200, 202, 204, and 206. After this is done, and the
Add button 207 is activated, the entry 210 appears within the Call
Backs phone book. The entry includes a name 212, a phone number
214, and a Call Back time and date information 216.
[0067] It should be appreciated that entries may be added to the
Personal phone book or the Yellow Pages phone book in a similar
fashion.
[0068] The change button 209 shown in FIG. 19B may be used to edit
an entry in the phone book. A user needs to select the entry, press
the change button 209, and then edit the information for the entry.
in addition, an entry may be deleted using the delete button 211.
The entry needs to be selected (such as by positioning a mouse
cursor over the entry and clicking the mouse button). The delete
button 211 is then activated to delete the entry.
[0069] FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate the use of call backs. Initially,
a call back is scheduled 240 by creating an entry within the Call
Backs phone book. The scheduled time arrives (step 242 in FIG. 21).
A reminder window is displayed when the scheduled time arrives
(step 244 in FIG. 21). FIG. 20 depicts an example of a reminder
window 220. The reminder window indicates the name of the party
that is to be called. The reminder window includes options that the
agent may select to determine whether to execute the call back and
when to execute the call back. Option 222 may be selected to
immediately call and execute the call back. Option 224 may be
selected to perform the call back 10 minutes from the current time.
Option 226 may be selected to remove the call back and option 228
may be chosen to change the call back time to an agent-determined
time. When option 228 is chosen, the agent fills in a date field
230, an hour field 232, a minute field 234, and an AM/PM checkbox
236. The user chooses one of these options and the associated
option is performed (step 246 in FIG. 21).
[0070] FIG. 25 shows an example of an instance of the Yellow Pages
phone book 266. This phone book is displayed when the agent selects
tab 194. FIG. 25 shows an example wherein an entry 268 within the
phone book has been selected. The associated address information is
displayed within the Name & Notes field 203 and the associated
phone number is displayed within the Name field 201. The phone
number is also displayed within field 126. To dial the number, the
user needs only to activate the dial button 43.
[0071] The above discussion has already illustrated one approach to
placing an outbound call. This approach is to choose an entry
within a phone book and double click on the entry. FIG. 22
illustrates a second option for placing an outbound call. In the
second option, one of the phone books is displayed (step 248 in
FIG. 22). The agent then positions a mouse cursor over an entry,
drags the entry to be positioned over the dial button 143 and drops
the entry (step 250 in FIG. 22). This drag-and-drop operation,
causes the phone number that is associated with the entry to be
dialed (step 252 in FIG. 22).
[0072] A third means for placing an outbound call concerns a call
back. A call back reminder window is displayed (step 254 in FIG.
23). The agent then chooses the callnow option 222 (step 256 in
FIG. 23). The phone number associated with the call back is then
dialed (step 258 in FIG. 23).
[0073] A fourth option for placing an outbound call is depicted in
FIG. 24. The user clicks on the digit buttons within the keypad 120
and a new style window 110 (step 260 in FIG. 24). The user clicks
on the digit buttons to specify the phone number to be dialed. The
user then activates the dial button 143 (step 262 in FIG. 24). The
associated phone number is then dialed (step 264 in FIG. 24).
[0074] While the present invention has been described with
reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the
art will appreciate that various changes in form and detail may be
made without departing from the intended scope of the present
invention as defined in the appended claims.
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