U.S. patent application number 11/745625 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-06 for system and method to provide automated scripting for customer service representatives.
Invention is credited to Mary K. Griffitt, Krisinda A. Guerrero, Kurt M. Joseph, Melissa L. Oldenburg, Stanford E. JR. Pennington, Benjamin J. Schubert.
Application Number | 20070206757 11/745625 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29268889 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070206757 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pennington; Stanford E. JR. ;
et al. |
September 6, 2007 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE AUTOMATED SCRIPTING FOR CUSTOMER
SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES
Abstract
A disclosed method provides automated scripting to guide a
customer service representative (CSR) in handling a call from a
customer. Operations within the method may include displaying
products and two or more purpose classifications for selection by
the CSR. The purpose classifications may include (a) an add
classification for customer requests to add a new product to an
account and (b) a remove classification for customer requests to
remove an existing product from the account. A page generator may
receive input from the CSR selecting one of the purpose
classifications and one of the products as pertinent to the call.
In response, the page generator may automatically displaying a
customized page with scripted text for the CSR to read to the
customer. The scripted text may correspond specifically both to the
selected purpose classification and to the selected product.
Inventors: |
Pennington; Stanford E. JR.;
(San Antonio, TX) ; Oldenburg; Melissa L.;
(Palatine, IL) ; Schubert; Benjamin J.; (Schertz,
TX) ; Joseph; Kurt M.; (Austin, TX) ;
Griffitt; Mary K.; (Lee's Summit, MO) ; Guerrero;
Krisinda A.; (San Antonio, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
RAMAN N. DEWAN;JACKSON WALKER, L.L.P.
100 CONGRESS AVENUE
SUITE 1100
AUSTIN
TX
78701
US
|
Family ID: |
29268889 |
Appl. No.: |
11/745625 |
Filed: |
May 8, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10970236 |
Oct 21, 2004 |
7215757 |
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11745625 |
May 8, 2007 |
|
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10136157 |
May 1, 2002 |
6856679 |
|
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10970236 |
Oct 21, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/201.04 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 3/42068 20130101;
H04M 2242/22 20130101; G06Q 30/0601 20130101; H04M 3/5133 20130101;
H04M 3/5183 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; H04M 2201/38 20130101;
H04M 3/42059 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/201.04 |
International
Class: |
H04M 11/00 20060101
H04M011/00 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A method comprising: identifying a first party in conjunction
with a customer service communication from the first party;
obtaining information related to the identified first party;
generating a script based, at least in part, on the obtained
information; and displaying the generated script to a customer
service representative (CSR) communicating with the first party
wherein said displaying occurs while the communication is in
progress.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising concurrently
displaying information from at least two different databases and
the generated script using a consolidated interface.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein displaying the generated script
further comprises displaying links to information stored in at
least one of a plurality of different databases.
24. The method of claim 23, further comprising changing an
appearance of one or more links to indicate a likelihood that a
particular link is relevant to the communication.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein generating the script further
comprises maintaining a macro glossary defining associations
between identifiers and replacement text.
26. The method of claim 21, further comprising: modifying the
script based on information provided to the CSR during the
communication; and displaying the modified script to the CSR.
27. An information handling system comprising: at least one
processor; storage operably coupled to said at least one processor;
and a program of instructions embedded in said memory and
executable by said processor, said program of instructions
configured to execute a method comprising: identifying a first
party during a communication from first party; obtaining content
related to the identified first party; generating a script based,
at least in part, on the obtained content; and displaying the
generated script to a customer service representative (CSR)
communicating with the first party while the communication is in
progress.
28. The information handling system of claim 27, wherein the method
implemented by the program of instructions further comprises
concurrently displaying content obtained from at least two
different databases and the generated script using a consolidated
interface.
29. The information handling system of claim 27, wherein the method
implemented by the program of instructions further comprises
displaying links to content stored in at least one of the plurality
of different databases.
30. The information handling system of claim 29, wherein the method
implemented by the program of instructions further comprises
changing an appearance of one or more links to indicate a
likelihood that a particular link is relevant to the
communication.
31. The information handling system of claim 27, further comprising
modifying the script based on information provided to the CSR
during the communication; and displaying the modified script to the
CSR.
32. The information handling system of claim 31, wherein modifying
the script further comprises providing links to additional script
content based on information provided to the CSR during the
communication.
33. A computer readable medium tangibly embodying a program of
executable instructions, the program of executable instructions
comprising: a live interface module to retrieve information
pertaining to a first party in conjunction with a customer service
communication from the first party; a page generator to generate
pages based on the retrieved information and display the pages to a
customer service representative (CSR) communicating with the first
party, wherein the pages include a script suitable for being read
to the first party by the CSR.
34. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the live
interface module obtains information from at least two different
databases.
35. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the page
generator displays first party account information to the CSR in a
format that includes only products that are either currently
subscribed to by the first party or available to the first
party.
36. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the page
generator directs CSR navigation through a series of hyperlinked
pages during the communication.
37. The computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein the page
generator operable to log the CSR navigation through the series of
hyperlinked pages to a log database.
38. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the live
interface module retrieves the information pertaining to the first
party from a legacy system and refines the retrieved data to retain
key account data indicating products subscribed to by the first
party and products available to the first party.
39. The computer readable medium of claim 38, wherein the page
generator includes a search module to find macro identifiers and
links in a template, a macro processor to replace macro identifiers
with replacement text, and a link processor to evaluate link
conditions.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates in general to computer systems. In
particular, this invention relates to a system, a method, and a
program product to provide automated scripting for customer service
representatives.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Customer satisfaction is typically very important to vendors
such as telecommunications companies. Many vendors therefore employ
specially trained customer service representatives (CSRs) to help
ensure that calls from customers with questions or requests
pertaining to the products that the company provides are handled
effectively and efficiently. Effectiveness and efficiency are
typically important goals for a customer service department. To
increase the effectiveness and efficiency of CSRs, some companies
provide CSRs with paper documents to be used for guidance when
handling customer calls. Such a document may be known as a "contact
strategy document" or a "CSR script." For instance, a contact
strategy document may be designed for handling calls from customers
who want to add products to or remove products from their existing
accounts. Such as contact strategy document may guide a CSR through
steps designed save products from being cancelled and to upsell
customers.
[0003] While handling a customer call, a CSR may also interact with
various screens from an enterprise system, such as a legacy
mainframe application or database. For example, the CSR may use
function keys to navigate through various legacy application
screens to retrieve account data for the customer, data about the
company's goods and services, etc. Accordingly, for a given call,
the CSR may be required to perform the following tasks: (a)
converse with the customer; (b) navigate through multiple legacy
application screens; (c) refer repeatedly to the contact strategy
document; (d) save existing products by producing explanations that
overcome customer objections; (e) upsell available products by
describing their benefits to the customer; and (f) process customer
orders by manually entering data into various fields in the legacy
application screens.
[0004] Collectively, these tasks require significant mental effort,
and they demand the memorization of considerable amounts of
information by the CSR. These requirements may overwhelm many CSRs,
and, as a result, CSRs may navigate through the enterprise
application screens in an inefficient manner and may fail to use
the prescribed contact strategy. Consequently, overwhelmed CSRs may
fail to meet save and upsell goals, customer satisfaction may
suffer, and the service provider may lose revenue that might have
been realized, had the CSR performed as expected.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] A more complete understanding of the present invention and
advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the appended
claims and to the following description of one or more example
embodiments, with associated drawings. In the drawings:
[0006] FIG. 1 presents a block diagram of a distributed data
processing system including an example embodiment of a dynamic page
generating system according to the present invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 presents a block diagram illustrating various parts
of an example embodiment of a gateway in the dynamic page
generating system of FIG. 1;
[0008] FIG. 3 presents a block diagram of a data storage device
containing panel templates for the dynamic page generating system
of FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 4 presents a block diagram of a database containing
various collections of data for use by the dynamic page generating
system of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 5 depicts a portion of an example panel template;
[0011] FIG. 6 depicts example key account data records;
[0012] FIG. 7 depicts example transaction data records;
[0013] FIG. 8 depicts example macro identifiers and respective
replacement text strings;
[0014] FIG. 9 depicts example link conditions;
[0015] FIG. 10 presents a flowchart of an example embodiment of a
method for providing automated scripting for customer service
representatives according to the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 11 depicts an example user interface with scripted
messages generated according to the process illustrated in FIG. 10;
and
[0017] FIG. 12 depicts an example user interface with scripted
messages generated according to FIG. 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT
[0018] FIG. 1 presents a block diagram of an example embodiment of
a distributed data processing system 10 that includes many
components which cooperate to provide automated scripting for
customer service representatives according to the present
invention. In the example embodiment, a customer may use a
telephone 11 to call a customer service representative (CSR) with a
request for information about or changes to the customer's account
with a service provider. The CSR may use a workstation 12 with a
video display 15 to interact with a dynamic page generating system
(DPGS) 20.
[0019] In the example embodiment, DPGS 20 provides an "end-to-end"
series of scripted messages that increase CSR efficiency and
enhance customer satisfaction. The series of scripted messages may
be referred to as an overlay, and the overlay is considered
"end-to-end" because the series of scripted messages may guide and
support CSR functions from the beginning to the end of the customer
contact. Moreover, DPGS 20 may generate the overlay by
automatically combining information from multiple remote sources
and dynamically customizing the content presented to the CSR. For
instance, a multi-state database in an enterprise system may
contain information on thousands of products, universal service
order codes (USOCs), pricing, field identifiers (FIDs), etc.
However, DPGS 20 may filter that data and present the CSR only with
relevant portions of that data (e.g., only data relating to
products available in the state of the customer on the call).
Furthermore, DPGS 20 may provide a consolidated interface for
accessing tools required by the CSR.
[0020] DPGS 20 may reduce the mental effort and demands for
memorization required of the CSR. Thus, an end-to-end scripting
overlay according to the invention may simplify the job of the CSR
and allow CSRs that would otherwise be overwhelmed to handle
customer calls more effectively. Consequently, CSRs may enjoy
increased save and upsell performance, resulting in increased
revenue for the product provider and increased satisfaction for the
customer. For purposes of this document, (a) the term "products"
may be used to refer to goods and to services; (b) to "upsell" is
generally to convince the customer to accept a new product for the
account that provides a more favorable business result (such as
increased revenue) for the provider of that product, relative to an
existing product for the customer; (c) and to "save" a product
generally means to prevent the customer from removing the product
from the account.
[0021] In the example embodiment, the overlay has the following
properties: (a) includes customer account information scraped from
enterprise screens; (b) displays the customer account information
in a user friendly format (e.g., by showing only the products that
are either currently in a customer's subscription or available to
the customer; (c) directs CSR navigation through a series of
hyperlinked pages that are ordered based on the CRU contact
strategy; (d) provides the CSR with scripted statements or messages
about products, so the CSR may use the scripted messages, including
product benefits and prices, to overcome customer objections; (e)
populates appropriate enterprise application fields with customer
order information, so the CSR need only review the information to
complete the order; (f) logs CSR navigation through hyperlinked
pages to a database, so that usage and save/upsell reports can be
generated; and (g) allows authors or administrators to create,
modify, and delete content for the hyperlinked pages in a way that
allows pages with the new content to be delivered to CSR desktops
in real time (i.e., while the pages are being used by CSRs without
disrupting CSR operation).
[0022] However, DPGSs according to the present invention are not
limited to providing pages for CSRs, but may be used in alternative
embodiments to dynamically generate pages for other purposes. For
instance, a DPGS may be used by an automotive company to generate
pages to allow customers to choose windshield wiper replacements
for their make and model car, or to generate pages for
troubleshooting an appliance, or basically any rules-based decision
making, where key information combined with rules produces discrete
outcomes that are predictable.
[0023] For purposes of this disclosure a page is a collection of
content (e.g., an html file, an XML file, a text file, etc.) that
is ready to be delivered to a user interface module, such as a web
browser object, for presentation to a user. In the illustrated
embodiment, the overlay is implemented by dynamically generating
the pages that will form the overlay, based on a variety of
influences, such as user input from the CSR, data in DPGS 20, and
data from remote systems. Those pages may be presented to the CSR
in a display 15 of a workstation 12 within DPGS 20. For example, a
browser object 17 may be used to display the pages in a graphical
user interface, and a pointing device such as a mouse may be used
to navigate from page to page within the overlay. DPGS 20 may use
Visual Basic routines and a dynamic-html engine, for example, to
allow the CSR to access existing enterprise software or data.
[0024] Workstation 12 may include nonvolatile data storage such as
one or more disk drives 24, volatile data storage such as random
access memory (RAM) 22, one or more central processing units (CPUs)
21, and input/output (I/O) facilities 23 such as a network
interface card or module. Gateway 16 may be implemented as a
software application with various modules of computer instructions
and data. Gateway 16 may generally reside on disk drive 24, and may
be loaded into RAM 22 and executed by CPU 21 on demand. Another
workstation 50 may include generally similar components, including
gateway 16. As described in greater detail below, and an
administrator may use workstation 50 to modify various components
of DPGS 20.
[0025] As described in greater detail below, gateway 16 may
automatically and dynamically generate customized pages for the
CSR, based on data sources such as user input from the CSR, data in
remote systems 30, and data from enterprise systems such as legacy
systems 40. Remote client/server systems 30 may contain, for
example, an SQL database 32 and one or more other types of data
storage 33. Legacy systems 40 may include various applications and
related collections of data. For example, the resources in legacy
systems 40 may include an order processing application 42, a file
of product data 44, a file of customer account data 46, and other
applications or databases. Gateway 16 may communicate with
components internal and external to DPGS 20 either directly or via
a network platform such as a local area or wide area intranet 14.
Data used by DPGS 20 and components of DPGS 20 may thus reside on
different hardware devices in distributed data processing system
10.
[0026] FIG. 2 presents a block diagram illustrating various parts
of gateway 16 from FIG. 1. As illustrated, gateway 16 may include a
live interface module 76 and a page generator 28. As described in
greater detail below with reference to FIG. 10, live interface
module 76 may retrieve data pertaining to a customer from legacy
systems 40, refine that data, and retain the refined customer data
for use by page generator 28. The refined customer data may be
retained in RAM 22 or disk drive 24, and that data may be referred
to as key account data 66. For instance, gateway 16 may retain key
account data 66 for a customer in RAM 22 only while the CSR is
handling a call form that customer.
[0027] FIG. 6 depicts example records in key account data 66. As
indicated, each record may include a product description and a
status field indicating whether the customer is already subscribed
to that product (i.e., whether the product is "on" the account).
Each record may also list the cost of any associated non-recurring
charge (NRC) and monthly recurring charge (MRC). In the example
embodiment, the records identify all of the products on the
customer account and all of the products available for the customer
account.
[0028] Page generator 28 may perform most or all of the processing
required to dynamically generate the pages to be presented to the
CSR. That processing may be performed by a number of related
components, such as a search function 52, a macro processor 54, and
a link processor 56. A macro glossary 55 in macro processor 54 may
define associations between predetermined macro identifiers and
respective replacement text strings. A macro identifier and the
corresponding replacement text string may be referred to
collectively as a macro.
[0029] Link processor 56 may use a Boolean compiler 57 to evaluate
predefined link conditions. In the example embodiment, Boolean
compiler 57 may be implemented to evaluate a statement (that may be
simple or compound) using Boolean programming concepts to evaluate
if a statement is true or false. Boolean logic generally allows
several operators such as: greater than, less than, equal to, is
between two ranges, outside two ranges using operators like "AND,"
"OR" and "NOT." The relationship of Boolean compiler 57 and link
processor 56, provides additional instructions to page Generator 28
to allow the administrator to "HIDE" or "DIM" the link from the
page. The interrelationship is further enhanced with availability
to combine and process statements composed from multiple data
sources. The Boolean Compiler will recognize elements from multiple
sources such as: "Manage Products" (product data 44), customer
account data 46, data storage 33 or SQL database 32. The Boolean
compiler is accessible to the administrator from the "Manage
Conditions" and "Edit Conditions' functions." Page generator 28 may
use search function 52 to find macro identifiers and links in panel
templates, and page generator 28 may use macro processor 54 and
link processor 56 to dynamic generate customized pages from the
panel templates, as described in greater detail below.
[0030] In addition, gateway 16 may include a data sync module 58
that, when activated by an administrator, updates product data in
DPGS 20 to coincide with the product data in legacy systems 40. For
instance, data sync module 58 may keep a table of product data 78
in SQL database 32 relatively up to date with changes to product
data in legacy systems 40. In addition, when building product data
78, data sync module 58 may process or refine that data to make it
more user friendly or easier to present or understand in a user
interface. For instance, cryptic codes or abbreviations for
products may be replaced with plain text product descriptions, such
as "Call Waiting." However, data sync module 58 may be inaccessible
to CSRs.
[0031] FIG. 3 presents a block diagram of data storage 30, which
contains panel templates 62 for DPGS 20. Those templates typically
include content that may or may not be presented to the CSR,
depending on influences such as the nature of the customer contact
and the progress of the CSR through interaction with a customer, as
described in greater detail below. FIG. 5 depicts a portion of an
example panel template. As illustrated, each panel template
typically includes multiple hard-coded statements 71, macro
identifiers 73, and links 75. In one embodiment, panel templates 62
may include hundreds of individual panel templates 63. Hard-coded
statements 71 may contain standard html code, for instance, as well
as macro identifiers 73 and links 75.
[0032] FIG. 4 presents a block diagram of SQL database 32,
illustrating certain collections of data (e.g., files or tables)
used by DPGS 20. In the example embodiment, SQL database 32
includes tables for link conditions 74, refined product data 78,
and transaction records 68. FIG. 9 depicts example link conditions
74. As shown, each link condition includes a template identifier
and a condition specification. In the example embodiment, link
conditions 74 reflect the business rules and process rules for the
contact strategy, and link conditions 74 are used to help force the
CSR to use the prescribed contact strategy. For example, link
conditions 74 may cause page generator 28 to include only those
links from a panel template that match the proper steps for the CSR
to follow, according to the contact strategy. Consequently, the
resulting customized page may reduce or eliminate any likelihood
that the CSR might diverge from the proper process by, for example,
selecting a link to an inappropriate page.
[0033] FIG. 7 depicts example transaction records 68. In the
example embodiment, each transaction record includes data relating
to a particular customer call. As shown at record 26, when the
transaction record is created at the beginning of the call, some of
the fields may be empty. However, when the call ends, the records
will typically include data for fields such as User, which
identifies the CSR that handled the call, Billing Telephone Number
(BTN), which identifies the customer account involved, Starttime,
Stoptime, a Disposition code, and Navigation history identifying
the panels that were presented for the CSR, and a record key.
[0034] FIG. 8 depicts example macro identifiers and respective
replacement text strings. For instance, macro glossary 55
associates the macro id "ARLMLDXI" with the replacement text string
"$0.12." Similarly, macro glossary 55 associates the macro id "SH"
with the replacement text string "shipping and handling."
[0035] FIG. 10 depicts a flowchart of an example process for
providing automated scripting for CSRs. That process begins with a
CSR stationed at workstation 12 and with gateway 16 executing on
workstation 12. At block 200, page generator 28 causes workstation
12 to display an initial page for the CSR. The initial page may
include an input field for receiving customer identification
information. When the CSR receives a customer call, the CSR may
read a prescribed message from the initial page to greet the
customer and ask the customer for identifying information, such as
a name, address, telephone number, or account number. Upon
receiving the identifying information, the CSR may enter that
information into the initial page and then select an object on the
page such as a hyperlink to proceed to the next step.
[0036] At block 202, page generator 28 may extract the identifying
information from the page, and at block 204, page generator 28 may
create a transaction record used to save information about the
interaction between the CSR and DPGS 20. At block 206, live
interface module 76 may generate an enterprise request and retrieve
account data from legacy systems 40. Gateway 16 may then store the
account data as key account data 66. For instance, that data may
include the account number, the current services on the account,
and the services available for the account. At block 210, page
generator 28 may determine whether a new template is needed. If so,
at block 212 page generator 28 may determine which new template
should be used. Page generator 28 may retrieve that template from
panel templates 62 at block 214.
[0037] Then, after the new template is retrieved, or if it is
determined that a new template is not needed, page generator 28 may
customize a new page to be displayed at workstation 12 for the CSR.
If no new template was retrieved, the new customized page may be
based on the old panel template. To generate the new customized
page, search function 52 may examine the contents of the selected
panel template to locate links and macro identifiers. Hard-coded
statement may generally be copied over from the selected panel
template to the customized page being generated. However, when a
macro identifier is found, macro processor 54 may replace each
macro identifier with the corresponding replacement text from macro
glossary 55. For instance, with reference to FIG. 5, the macro
identifier {user.firstname} may be replaced with the first name of
the CSR.
[0038] Furthermore, when a link is found, link processor 56 may
search for a corresponding link condition in the table of link
conditions 74. If such a link condition is found, Boolean compiler
57 may be used to evaluate whether the link condition is true or
false. If the link condition is true, the link may be copied over
to the customized page. If the link condition evaluates to false,
however, the content in the panel template that corresponds to the
link may be omitted from the customized page. For instance, with
reference to FIGS. 5 and 9, when the link <a
href="ING0014.htm"> is detected, link processor 56 may evaluate
a row in the table of link conditions 74 for the template
"ING0014.htm." If that link condition evaluates as false, the
content associated with that link may be omitted from the
customized page. (In FIG. 5, the content associated with link 75 is
not expressly illustrated, although it typically would follow link
75.)
[0039] Referring again the FIG. 10, page generator 28 may then
cause workstation 12 to display the customized page at block 222.
The CSR may then use the displayed page as a guide for interaction
with the customer. For instance, the initial screen may include a
greeting for the CSR to use in response to the call from the
customer, and the first customized page may include various objects
for the CSR to use to specify the nature of the call.
Alternatively, the initial page may also be customized. For
instance, one customized page may include various purpose
classifications, including an add classification for customer
requests to add a new product to an account, and a remove
classification for customer requests to remove an existing product
from the account. In addition, that customized page or a subsequent
page may display products for selection by the CSR to indicate
which product or products are pertinent to the call. At block 224,
page generator 28 may detect that the CSR has selected an object
such as a hyperlink on the customized page, and at block 226, page
generator 28 may extract input data from the page. For example,
page generator 28 may determine which of the purpose
classifications was selected by the CSR and which of the products
was selected by the CSR.
[0040] In addition, the page generator 28 evaluates changes made to
the product or pricing tab contents based on changes discussed by
the CSR and Customer interaction. Changes made to the pricing tab
allow the CSR and Customer to determine the new monthly and
nonrecurring charges based on changes to their account. This is for
comparative reasons, allowing customers and CSR's to price several
options without submitting an order blindly. The Product tab takes
instructions from commands contained within the script pages,
allowing the CSR to rarely interact with it. However, the CSR has
access to view and change (add, remove, save) any product returned
from the legacy system. This allows the CSR to quickly make changes
without using the script or to make changes to non scripted
products.
[0041] At block 230, page generator 28 may determine whether
enterprise data is required, based on the input data from the page.
If enterprise data is required, page generator may generate an
enterprise request, use that request to retrieve the enterprise
data from legacy systems 40, and process the enterprise data as
depicted at blocks 232, 234, and 236. For example, processing the
enterprise data may include operations such as translating the
legacy account data into a format more suitable for a user
interface, storing the translated data as key account data,
determining available services for the account in question,
etc.
[0042] At block 240, if enterprise data was not required at block
230, or if enterprise data has been retrieved and processed, page
generator 28 determines whether a customer order has been
completed. For example, page generator 28 may determine whether the
CSR has selected an object associated with a command to process a
customer order. In addition, page generator 28 may require the CSR
to confirm the order, for example in a confirmation page
summarizing the suggested changes. As depicted at block 242, if a
customer order is complete, page generator 28 may generate an
enterprise request formatted as required for order processing
application 42. Page generator 28 may then submit the request for
validation at block 44, for instance by transmitting it to order
processing application 42. At block 250, if an error is received
from legacy systems 40, the process may return to block 210, with
page generator 28 determining whether a new template is needed, for
example to provide instructions for the CSR to overcome the
problems with the submitted order. However, if no error is
received, the process may pass from block 250 to block 252, and
page generator 28 may then release the order for implementation.
The order is released into the legacy system once the legacy system
is ready to accept the order and allows the CSR to submit the
transaction. Once released, the order image is distributed to
various parts of the company.
[0043] Gateway 16 may then update and close the transaction record
for this call at block 254. Then, after the transaction record is
closed or if page generator 28 determined that there was no
completed customer order to process at block 240, page generator 28
may determine whether the customer contact is complete at block
260. For instance, this determination may be made by reference to
input received from the CSR, such as the selection of a
customer-contact-complete object. If the customer contact is not
complete, the process may return to block 210, with page generator
28 deciding whether a new template is required and continuing to
provide customized pages for the CSR as described above. Otherwise,
gateway 16 may determine whether the application should be
terminated, for instance in response to input from a network
administrator. If the application is not being terminated, the
process may return to block 200, with page generator 28 displaying
the initial page in workstation 12. Otherwise, the application may
end.
[0044] FIG. 11 depicts an example user interface with scripted
messages generated according to the process of FIG. 10.
Specifically, FIG. 11 illustrates an example of output that may be
produced in display 15 when a customized page is fed into to a web
browser object in workstation 12. For instance, the customized page
may be the initial page, and the generation of that page may have
included the step of replacing a macro identifier in a
corresponding panel template with the first name of the CSR,
"Melissa."
[0045] FIG. 12 depicts another example of output that may be
produced when a customized page is fed into to a web browser
object. Is indicated by the hollow arrows at the bottom of the
screen, that page includes a number of hyperlinks. However, when
the page was generated, numerous additional hyperlinks may have
been omitted as a result of evaluation results for link conditions
associated with those links. For instance, the illustrated screen
provides guidance for upselling a customer, and it is based on a
corresponding template. If link processor 56 found any links in
that template relating to products already on the customer account,
page generator 28 may have omitted the content for those links from
the page. For example, if the template included a link to upsell
Call Waiting, but the customer account already included Call
Waiting, the link for Call Waiting would be omitted from the page.
Boolean compiler 57 in link processor 56 may use the key account
data for the customer when evaluating the link conditions in a
given panel template. Other components that may be used by Boolean
compiler 57 to evaluate link conditions include combinations of
elements such as greater than, less than, equal to, true and false,
is a product is available, subscribed to, as well as the value or
range of marketing intelligence data that may reside in data
storage 33 or SQL database 32.
[0046] One of the advantages provided by DPGS 20 is that it helps
to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of CSRs and enhance
customer satisfaction. Another advantage is that DPGS 20 uses data
from multiple different sources to automatically generate pages
with highly customized, consolidated content for a user interface.
For instance, the customized page may be based on a panel template,
but DPGS 20 may automatically omit and replace different elements
of the template when building the customized page, based on
influences such as user input, predefined business rules, etc. One
DPGS strength is suppressing non-relevant data, therefore only
presenting relevant information to the CSR, eliminating
non-value-added clutter or information, allowing the CSR to talk
freely with their customer. The DPGS combines business rules and
business process intelligence together with data to make simple and
complex decisions in real time.
[0047] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to an example embodiment, those with ordinary skill in
the art will understand that numerous variations of the example
embodiment could be practiced without departing from the scope and
spirit of the present invention. For purposes of illustration, an
example distributed system has been described. However, one of
ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that alternative
embodiments could be deployed with many variations in the number
and type of components in the network, the network protocols, the
network topology, the distribution of various software and data
components among the hardware systems in the network, and myriad
other details without departing from the present invention.
[0048] The example embodiment has also been described with
reference to objects such as hyperlinks. However, other types of
interface objects or data items may be used in alternative
embodiments to provide similar functionality. Also, although web
browsers are used to produce the user interface screens in the
example embodiment, different technologies may be used in
alternative embodiments to provide user interfaces in accordance
with the present invention.
[0049] It should also be noted that the hardware and software
components depicted in the example embodiment represent functional
elements that are reasonably self-contained so that each can be
designed, constructed, or updated substantially independently of
the others. In alternative embodiments, however, it should be
understood that the components may be implemented as hardware,
software, or combinations of hardware and software for providing
the functionality described and illustrated herein. In alternative
embodiments, information handling systems incorporating the
invention may include personal computers, mini computers, mainframe
computers, distributed computing systems, and other suitable
devices.
[0050] Alternative embodiments of the invention also include
computer-usable media encoding logic such as computer instructions
for performing the operations of the invention. Such
computer-usable media may include, without limitation, storage
media such as floppy disks, hard disks, CD-ROMs, read-only memory,
and random access memory; as well as communications media such
wires, optical fibers, microwaves, radio waves, and other
electromagnetic or optical carriers. The control logic may also be
referred to as a program product.
[0051] Many other aspects of the example embodiment may also be
changed in alternative embodiments without departing from the scope
and spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is
therefore not limited to the particulars of the illustrated
embodiments or implementations but is defined by the appended
claims.
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