Granted Patent B1

US 8,345,856 · App. 13/332,490 · Granted Jan 1, 2013

Abstract

Claims (44)

1. A method for determining a number of calls to generate in an automated contact center based upon a prediction of agent occupancy in a future time period, wherein the automated contact center comprises a dialer for dialing generated calls and an agent pool where successfully connected dialed calls are handled by agents, the method comprising:

collecting and using empirical data on in-dialer duration to generate a discrete density function of in-dialer duration or a discrete distribution function of in-dialer duration, wherein an in-dialer duration is a duration during which a call was in the dialer;

collecting and using empirical data on successful in-dialer duration to generate a discrete density function of successful in-dialer duration or a discrete distribution function of successful in-dialer duration, wherein a successful in-dialer duration is a duration during which a call that successfully connected was in the dialer;

collecting and using empirical data on agent handling times to generate a discrete density function of agent handling time or a discrete distribution function of agent handling time, wherein a agent handling time is a duration during which a call was in the agent pool;

calculating an individual impact for each call presently in the dialer using the in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function, the successful in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function, and the agent handling time discrete density function or discrete distribution function, wherein an individual impact of a call in the dialer is a probability that the call would be in the agent pool in the future time period;

calculating a dialer impact using the individual impacts, wherein the dialer impact is an estimated number of calls presently in the dialer that would be in the agent pool in the future time period;

predicting a future agent occupancy in the future time period based upon the dialer impact;

determining the number of calls to generate in the automated contact center using the predicted future agent occupancy; and

generating calls based upon the number of calls to generate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the agent handling time discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the successful in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a call is in the agent pool while the call occupies an agent.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein an agent is occupied by a call while the agent processes the call and the wrap-up work for the call.

7. A system for determining a number of calls to generate in an automated contact center based upon a prediction of agent occupancy in a future time period, wherein the automated contact center comprises a dialer for dialing generated calls and an agent pool where successfully connected dialed calls are handled by agents, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations, including:

collecting and using empirical data on in-dialer duration to generate a discrete density function of in-dialer duration or a discrete distribution function of in-dialer duration, wherein an in-dialer duration is a duration during which a call was in the dialer;

collecting and using empirical data on successful in-dialer duration to generate a discrete density function of successful in-dialer duration or a discrete distribution function of successful in-dialer duration, wherein a successful in-dialer duration is a duration during which a call that successfully connected was in the dialer;

collecting and using empirical data on agent handling times to generate a discrete density function of agent handling time or a discrete distribution function of agent handling time, wherein a agent handling time is a duration during which a call was in the agent pool;

calculating an individual impact for each call presently in the dialer using the in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function, the successful in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function, and the agent handling time discrete density function or discrete distribution function, wherein an individual impact of a call in the dialer is a probability that the call would be in the agent pool in the future time period;

calculating a dialer impact using the individual impacts, wherein the dialer impact is an estimated number of calls presently in the dialer that would be in the agent pool in the future time period;

predicting a future agent occupancy in the future time period based upon the dialer impact;

determining the number of calls to generate in the automated contact center using the predicted future agent occupancy; and

generating calls based upon the number of calls to generate.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the agent handling time discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the successful in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein a call is in the agent pool while the call occupies an agent.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein an agent is occupied by a call while the agent processes the call and the wrap-up work for the call.

13. An apparatus for determining a number of calls to generate in an automated contact center based upon a prediction of agent occupancy in a future time period, wherein the automated contact center comprises a dialer for dialing generated calls and an agent pool where successfully connected dialed calls are handled by agents, the apparatus comprising:

means for collecting and using empirical data on in-dialer duration to generate a discrete density function of in-dialer duration or a discrete distribution function of in-dialer duration, wherein an in-dialer duration is a duration during which a call was in the dialer;

means for collecting and using empirical data on successful in-dialer duration to generate a discrete density function of successful in-dialer duration or a discrete distribution function of successful in-dialer duration, wherein a successful in-dialer duration is a duration during which a call that successfully connected was in the dialer;

means for collecting and using empirical data on agent handling times to generate a discrete density function of agent handling time or a discrete distribution function of agent handling time, wherein a agent handling time is a duration during which a call was in the agent pool;

means for calculating an individual impact for each call presently in the dialer using the in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function, the successful in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function, and the agent handling time discrete density function or discrete distribution function, wherein an individual impact of a call in the dialer is a probability that the call would be in the agent pool in the future time period;

means for calculating a dialer impact using the individual impacts, wherein the dialer impact is an estimated number of calls presently in the dialer that would be in the agent pool in the future time period;

means for predicting a future agent occupancy in the future time period based upon the dialer impact;

means for determining the number of calls to generate in the automated contact center using the predicted future agent occupancy; and

means for generating calls based upon the number of calls to generate.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the agent handling time discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the successful in-dialer duration discrete density function or discrete distribution function is stored as an array.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein a call is in the agent pool while the call occupies an agent.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein an agent is occupied by a call while the agent processes the call and the wrap-up work for the call.

Assignments (8)