AT&T 555-230-520 User Manual

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555-230-520 Issue 4 September, 1995

DEFINITY Generic 3

Call Vectoring/Expert Agent

Selection (EAS) Guide

Graphics ©

Contents

Table of Contents i

1 About This Document 1-1

■ Feature Availability 1-1

■ What is Call Vectoring? 1-1

■ What is Expert Agent Selection (EA S)? 1-4

■ Call Vectoring Features 1-5

■ Contents and Organization of the Guide 1-6

■ Intended Audience and Use of the Guid e 1-6

■ References 1-7

2 Tutorial 2-1

■ Introduction 2-1

■ Entering the Vector On-Line 2-1

Procedures for Basic Screen Administration 2-2

Enhanced Vector Editing (G3V4 and later

releases) 2-5

■ Constructing a Vect or: One Approach 2-5

Phase 1: Queuing a Call to the Main Split 2-6 Phase 2: Providing Feedback and Delay

Announce m ent 2-7

Phase 3: Repeating Delay Announcement and

Feedback 2-9 Phase 4: Queuing a Call to a Backup Split 2-10 Phase 5: Checking the Queue Capacit y 2-11 Phase 6: Checking for Non-Business Hours 2-13

■ Benefits of Call Vect oring 2-15

Issue 4 Septem ber 1995 iii

Contents

3 Funda men tals of Call Vectoring 3-1

■ Introduction 3-1

■ Call Management 3-1

Call Flow 3-2

Caller Control 3-3

Call Queuing to Splits 3-3

Split Queue Priority Levels 3-4 Age n t Work Mod e 3-4 Callin g Party Feedbac k 3-5 Dialed Num ber I d entification Service (DNIS) 3-6

■ Vector Processing 3-7

Vector Directory Number 3-7

VDN Override 3-9

VDN in a Coverage Path 3-10

Service Observing VDNs 3-11 Vector Control Flow 3-11

Termination vs. Stopping 3-12 Programmin g Capabilities 3-12

Command Summary 3-13

Condition Testing with in the Com mands 3-14

4 Basic Call Vectoring 4-1

■ Introduction 4-1

■ Command Set 4-2

■ Functions and Examples 4-2

Providing Call Treatments 4-3

Announcements 4-3

Delay Announcements 4-4 Forced Announcements 4-4 Information Announcements 4-5

Delays with Audible Feedback 4-5

Multiple Audio or Music Sources 4-6

Busy Tone 4-7

iv Issue 4 Septem ber 1995

Contents

Disconnect 4-7 Voice R esponse Scripts 4-8

Routing Calls 4-10

Queuing Calls to ACD Splits 4-11

Multiple Split Queuing 4-11

Leaving Recorded Messages 4-13

Option with the VDN as the Coverage Point 4-14

Sending Calls to a Vector-Programmed Number 4-15

Interflow 4-15

Service Observing 4-16

Service Observing FAC Vector 4-17

Branching/Prog ramm ing 4-18

Uncondit i onal Branching 4-18 Conditional Branching 4-18 Stop pin g Vector Proce ssing 4-19

■ Vector Chainin g 4-20

5 Call Prompting 5-1

■ Introduction 5-1

■ Command Set 5-2

■ Touch-Tone Collection Requirements 5-2

■ Call Prompting Digit Entry 5-3

Removing Incorrect Digit Strings 5-4 Entering Variable-Len gth Dig it Strings 5-4 Entering Dial-Ahead Digits 5-5

■ Functions and Examples 5-5

Treating Digits as a Destination 5-6 Using Digits to Collect Branching Information 5-7

Vector Routing Tables 5-7 Using Digits to Selec t Opti o n s 5-10 Displaying Digits on the Agent’s Set 5-10 Passing Digits to an Adjunct 5-12 Creating Service Observing Vecto r s 5-13

Remote Access Service Observing Vector 5-13

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Contents

User-Entered FAC and Extension 5-14 Preprogrammed FAC and Extension 5-14

■ Dial-Ahead Digits 5-14

■ ASAI-Requested Digit Collection 5-18

■ ASAI-Provided Dial-Ahead Digits 5-19

6 Advanced Vector Routing 6-1

■ Introduction 6-1

■ Command Set 6-1

■ Expected Wait Time (EWT) 6-2

EWT for a Split 6-2 EWT for a Call 6-3 Passing EWT to a VRU 6-3 The EWT Alg orit hm 6-4 When to Use Wait Time Predictions 6-4 Examples 6-5

Example 1 — EWT Routing and Passing Wait

to a VRU 6-5

Example 2 — Notifying Callers of Wait Time

Without a VRU 6-6

Example 3 — Using EWT to Route to the

Best Split 6-8

Factors that Effect the Value of EWT 6-9

Fact o rs that Cause EWT for a Split Priority Level

to Increase 6-9

Fact o rs that Cause EWT for a Split Priority Level

to Decrease 6-9

■ Rolling Average Speed of Answer (ASA) 6-10

Rolling ASA Split Calculation 6-10 Rolling ASA VDN Calculation 6-11 Rolling ASA Considerations 6-11 Exampl e 6-11

■ VDN Calls 6-12

Counted Calls 6-13 Exampl e 6-13

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Contents

7 ANI and II-Digits Routing 7-1

■ Introduction 7-1

■ Command Set 7-1

■ ANI Routing 7-1

ANI Routing Example 7-2 Vector Routing Tables with ANI 7 -3

■ II-Digits Routing 7-5

II-Digits Routing Examp le 7-7

8 Look-Ahead Interflow 8-1

■ Introduction 8-1

■ Command Set 8-1

■ Functions and Examples 8-2

Two Swit ch C o nfig urat ion 8-3

Sending Switch Operation 8-3

Receiving Switch Operation 8-4 Tandem Switch Configuration 8-9

Sending Switch Operation 8-10

Tandem Switch Op erati on 8-10

Far End Swit ch Operation 8-11 DNIS and VDN Override in an LAI Environment 8-11

Answering Agent’s Display 8-11

Originator’s Display 8-12 Look-Ahead Interflow with AT&T Network

Alternate Destination Red irect ion (ADR) 8-13

9 Adjunct Rout in g 9-1

■ Introduction 9-1

■ Functions an d Examples 9-1

Sending the C al l Route Request 9-2

Effects of ASAI Link Failure on Vector Processing 9-3 Awaitin g the Response to the Call Route Request 9-5

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Contents

Receiving and Implementing the Call Route 9-7

■ Multiple Outstanding Route Requests 9-8

User Scenarios 9-9

10 Expert Agent Selection 10-1

■ Introduction 10-1

■ Identifying Caller Needs 10-2

DNIS/ISDN Called Party 10-4 Call Prompting/VRU Digits 10-4 Host Data b ase Lo okup 10-5 Direct Agent Calling 10-5

■ Functions and Examples 10-5

Administering Skills 10-5

VDN Skills 10-7

Vector Directory Number (VDN) Form 10-10 Call Vector Form 10-11

Agent Skills 10-11

Delivering the Call to the Skill Queue 10-13

Proced ure Using Call Prompting 10-14 Super Agent Pool 10-15

Routing the Call to an Agent 10-18

Delivery from a Skill Hunt Grou p 10-18 ACD Login ID Dialin g 10-22

■ Interactions Involving EAS 10-25

Feature Interaction s 10-25

Abbreviated Dialing 10-25 Administration Without Hardware 10-25 Agents in Mu lti p l e Splits Featu r e 10-25 Agent Work Modes 10-26 Assist 10-26 Audible Message Wa iting 10-26 Auto-Availabl e Skills 10-26 Automatic Answering with Zip Tone 10-27 Basic CMS 10-27 Bridging 10-27 Call Coverage 10-27

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Contents

Call Forwarding 10-27

Call Park 10-27

Call Pickup 10-28

Class of Restriction 10-28

Class of Service 10-28

Dial Plan 10-28

Direct Agent Calling 10-28

Displays—Voice Terminal 10-28

Look-Ahead Interflow 10-29

Multiple Split Queuing 10-29

OCM/EAS 10-29

Commands for OCM Predictive Calls 10-30

Queue Status Indications 10-30

Service Observing 10-30

Remote Service Observing 10-31

SMDR/CDR 10-31

VDN Override 10-31

Work Mode Buttons 10-31 Adjunct Interactions 10-31

ASAI 10-31

Call Control 10-31 Feature Requests 10-32 Multiple Monitors 10-33 Value Queries 10-33 Event No tifica ti on 10-33 Adjunct-Controlled Skills 10-33

AUDIX 10-34

CMS (R3V2 and later releases) 10-34

Speech-Processing Adjuncts 10-34

■ EAS Agent LoginID Table 10-35

■ Upgrading to a G3 EAS Environment 10-38

11 C all Ve ctoring Applicat ions 11-1

■ Introduction 11-1

■ Customer Service Center 11-2

■ Automated A tt endant 11-4

■ DIVA and Data/Messag e Collection 11-5

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Contents

■ Distributed Call Centers 11-8

■ Help Desk 11-10

■ Insurance Agency/S ervice A gency 11-11

■ Warranty Service (with EAS) 11-15

■ Resort Reservation Service (with EAS) 11-20

Placing the Reservation 11-20

Specific Number Dialing 11-20 General Number Dialing 11-21

Call-Back Provisions 11-22

■ Vector Exercises 11-23

Exercise 1: Emergency and Routine Service 11-24 Exercise 2: Late Caller Treatment 11-26 Exercise 3: Messaging Opt ion 11-28

A Call Vectoring Commands A-1

■ Introduction A-1

■ Command Description/Reference A-2

■ Command / Option Summary A-3

■ Command Job Aid A-5

■ Command Directory A-14

A Adjunct Routing Command A-15

Purp ose A-15 Synta x A-1 5 Valid Entries A-15 Requirements A-15 Exampl e A-1 5 Op erat ion A-1 5 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-18 Feature Interaction s A-19 CMS Interactions A-19

x Issue 4 Septemb e r 1995

Contents

BCMS Interactions A-21 Announcement Com m and A-22 Purp ose A-22 Synta x A-2 2 Valid Entries A-22 Requirements A-22 Exampl e A-2 2 Op erat ion A-2 2 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-23 Feature Interaction s A-23 BCMS/CMS Interactions A-23 Busy Command A-24 Purp ose A-24 Synta x A-2 4 Requirements A-24 Op erat ion A-2 4 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-24 Feature Interaction s A-24 CMS Interactions A-25 BCMS Interactions A-25 Check-Backup Command A-26 Purp ose A-26 Synta x A-2 6 Valid Entries A-26 Requirements A-27 Examples A-2 7 Op erat ion A-2 7 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-28 Feature Interaction s A-28 CMS Interactions A-29 BCMS Interactions A-30 Collec t Digits Comm and A-31 Purp ose A-31 Synta x A-3 1 Valid Entries A-31

Issue 4 September 1995 xi

Contents

Requirements A-31 Exampl e A-3 1 Op erat ion A-3 1 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-34 Feature Interaction s A-34 CMS Interactions A-34 Converse-on Command A-35 Purp ose A-35 Synta x A-3 5 Valid Entries A-35 Requirements A-35 Examples A-3 5 Op erat ion A-3 6 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-39 Feature Interaction s A-39 CMS Interactions A-45 BCMS Interactions A-45 Disconnect Command A-46 Purp ose A-46 Synta x A-4 6 Valid Entries A-46 Requirements A-46 Exampl e A-4 6 Op erat ion A-4 6 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-46 Feature Interaction s A-47 CMS Interactions A-47 BCMS Interactions A-47 Goto Step Command A-48 Purp ose A-48 Syntax A-48

Conditions = available-agent, staffed-agents: A-48 Conditions = calls-queued, oldest call-wait: A-48 Condition = rolling-asa: A-48 Condition = counted-calls : A-49 Condition = expected-wait: A-49

xii Issue 4 Sept e m b er 1995

Contents

Valid Entries A-49 Requirements A-51 Examples A-5 1 Op erat ion A-5 2 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-53 Feature Interaction s A-53 CMS Interactions A-53 Goto Vec tor Com ma n d A-54 Purp ose A-54 Syntax A-54

Conditions = available-agent, staffed-agents: A-54

Conditions = calls-queued, oldest call-wait: A-54

Condition = rolling-asa: A-55

Condition = counted-calls : A-55

Condition = expected-wait: A-55 Valid Entries A-55 Examples A-5 7 Op erat ion A-5 8 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-59 Feature Interaction s A-59 CMS Interactions A-59 Messaging Command A-60 Purp ose A-60 Synta x A-6 0 Valid Entries A-60 Requirements A-60 Exampl e A-6 0 Op erat ion A-6 0 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-61 Feature Interaction s A-61 CMS Interactions A-62 BCMS Interactions A-63 Queue-to Main Com mand A-64 Purp ose A-64 Synta x A-6 4 Valid Entries A-64

Issue 4 September 1995 xiii

Contents

Requirements A-64 Exampl e A-6 4 Op erat ion A-6 4 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-65 Feature Interaction s A-65 CMS Interactions A-66 BCMS Interactions A-67 Route-to Comma nd A-68 Purp ose A-68 Synta x A-6 8 Valid Entries A-68 Requirements A-68 Example A-68 Op eration A-69

Coverage A-71 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-71 Feature Interact ion s A-71 CMS Interactions A-73 BCMS Interactions A-75 Stop Command A-76 Purp ose A-76 Synta x A-7 6 Requirements A-76 Op erat ion A-7 6 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-76 Feature Interaction s A-76 CMS Interactions A-77 Wait-time Comm a nd A-78 Purp ose A-78 Synta x A-7 8

Multiple Audio/Music Sources Syntax

(G 3V4 an d later releases): A-78 Valid Entries A-78 Requirements A-79 Exampl e A-7 9

xiv Issue 4 Sept em ber 1995

Contents

Op erat ion A-7 9 Answer Supervision Conside rations A-79 Feature Interaction s A-80 CMS Interactions A-80

A ■ Criteria for Success/Failure of Call

Vectoring Commands A-81

B Call Vectoring Management B-1

■ Introduction B-1

■ Impl eme ntation Requirem ents for the

Call Vectoring Fe atures B-1

■ Enabling the Vector Disconnect Timer B-7

■ Upgrading to a Call Vectoring Environment B-7

■ Changing and Testing the Vector B-7

C Conside rati ons fo r the Call Vectori ng Features C-1

■ Introduction C-1

■ Basic C all Vectoring Considerations C-1

■ Call Prompting Considerations C-2

■ Look-Ahead Interflow Considerations C-3

■ Adjunct Routing Considerations C-4

■ VDN Return Destination Considerations C-5

User Scenario — Remote Access with Host

Pr ovided Security C-6

User Scenario — Saving in Trunk Facilities

Between Call Center s C-8

Issue 4 September 1995 xv

Contents

D Troubleshooting Vectors D-1

■ Introduction D-1

■ Unexpected Feature Operat ions D-1

■ Unexpected Command Operations D-3

■ Converse Comman d De bugging D-9

■ Tracking Unexpected Vector Events D-12

Display Events Form D-12 Display Events Report D-13 Summary of Vector Events D-14

E Functional Differences for G2 and G3

Call Vectoring and EAS E-1

■ Introduction E-1

■ Differences in Command Function E-1

Queue-to Main Sp lit and Check-Backup Split E- 2 Goto Step and Goto Vector E-4 Route-to Numbe r E-5 Announce m ent E-6 Wait-time E-7 Busy E-7

■ General Call Vectoring Functional Differences E-8

■ Differences in Defining/Interpreting Split Flows E-10

R3 CMS Standards E-11

R2 CMS Standard s E-11

■ Differences Between G2 and G3r EAS E-12

F Interactions Bet ween Call Vecto ring/ EAS and

BCMS/CMS F-1

■ Introduction F-1

■ BCMS/CMS Tracking in a Call Vectoring Environment F-2

Defining and Interpretin g Call Flows F-2

xvi Issue 4 Sept em ber 1995

Contents

Answered and Abandons F- 2 Busies and Disconnects F-3 VDN Inflows and Outflows F-3

R3 CMS and BCMS Standards F-4

Vector Inflows and Outflows F- 4

R3 CMS Standards F-4

Split Inflows, Outflows, and Dequeues F-5

R3 CMS and BCMS Standards F-5 R2 CMS Standards F-6 Examp le s o f Split Flow Tracking F-7 Evaluating Split Performance F-12

■ Using BCMS/CMS Reports to Eval uate

Call Vectoring Activity F-14

CMS Reports F-14 BCM S Rep o rts F-15

■ Using CMS in an EAS Environment F-16

Tracking Entities F-16

Agents and their Skills F-16 Direct Agent Calls F-16 Non-ACD Calls F-17 VDN Skill Preferences F-17

G Operation Details for the Route-to Command G-1

■ Introduction G-1

H Detailed Call Flow for Converse—VRI Calls H-1

■ Introduction H-1

■ Converse Call Plac e ment H-2

■ Data Passing H-3

■ VRU Data Collection H-6

■ Script Execution H-7

■ Data Return H-7

Issue 4 Septem ber 1995 xvii

Contents

■ Script Completion H-9

■ DEFINI TY Swit ch D a ta C ollection H-10

I Security Issues I-1

■ Introduction I-1

■ Remote Access I-1

Front-Ending Remote Access I-2 Replacing Remote Access I-2

■ EAS I-3

■ Vector Initiate d Service Observing Secu rity I-3

J Setti ng Up a Call Center J-1

■ Introduction J-1

■ Call Vectoring/Non-EAS Option J-2

■ Call Vectoring/G3 EAS Option J-10

K Converting a Call Center to EAS K-1

■ Introduction K-1

■ Step 1: Pre-EAS Cutover

Adm ini st rat ion for the G3V2 (or later) Switch K-2

■ Step 2: Pre-EAS Cutover Adm ini strat ion fo r CMS K-6

■ Ste p 3: Pre-EAS Cutover Ad m ini strat ion for AUDIX K-6

■ Step 4: Pre-EAS Cutover

Adm ini st rat ion for Me s saging Server K-7

■ Step 5: Pre-EAS Cutover Adm ini strat ion fo r ASAI K-7

■ Step 6: EAS Cutover K-7

xviii Issue 4 Septemb e r 1995

Contents

L V4 Feature Avai lab ili ty L-1

M Improving Performance M-1

■ Introduction M-1

■ Looping Examples M-3

Audible Feedback M-3 Lookahead Interflow M-4 Check Backup M-6

■ Other Examples M-8

After Business Hours M-8 Lookahead Interflows M-9

■ Relative Processing Cost of Vector Comman d s M-11

N Call Vectoring System Parameters N-1

■ G3iV1.1 and G3V 2 System Parameters N-1

■ G3V3 System Parameters N-2

■ G3V4 System Paramet er s N- 3

GL Glossary GL-1

IN Index IN-1

Issue 4 September 1995 xix

About This Document

Feature Availability

Call Vectorin g is available with all Generic 3 releases. Many of the features discussed i n this manual are only available with later releases of the DEFINITY switch. Some are optional features and mu st b e purchased separately. See App endix L for informa tion a bout the availability of Ca l l Vectoring features.

What is Call Vectoring?

NOTE:

Sample vectors are provided throughout this manual. These vectors are designed to il l ustrate vectoring features and capabilities. Because they are simplified to clearly demonstrate specific features, they are not co mplete and shoul d not be use d without mo d ification at your call center.

Call Vecto ri ng p rovides DEFINITY Generic 3 users with a highly flexible ap proach for managing incoming call traffic to the DEFINITY Ge neric 3 switch. By using a series o f user-defined commands, you can direct or route internal and network calls as desired and thereby determine how these ca l ls are processed. Calls can be d irected to on- or off-network d estinations, to Auto matic Call Distribu tion (ACD) ag ents, or to various treatmen ts.C all Vectorin g also can be used in conjunction with CallVisor ASAI.

Issue 4 September 1995 1-1

About This Document

Call Vectoring works hand in hand with and, more imp o rtant ly, enhances traditional ACD call processing, which may be illustrated as follows:

TRUNK GROUP

I N C

DNIS1 DIGITS

INTERNAL ST ATION

TRUNK GROUP

L L

DID

DIGITS

N O N

P R

I O R

I T Y

P R

I O R

I T Y

1. Dialed Number I dentification Service

2. Direct Inward Dialing

Figure 1-1. Traditional ACD Call Processing

As Figure 1-1 illustrates, the traditional ACD approach is ra ther limited in the way it handles queued call s (that is, all c alls wit hin a s p ecific queue receive identical announcements, intraflow parameters, etc.). Call Vectoring, on the other hand, is flexible in that i t permits unique treatments for each call according to a number of factors, including the number the cal ler d ials, the number the caller calls from, the numb er of calls in queue, and the time of day and/or day of the week. This even applies to all c a lls that are ultimat ely handled by the same agent group.

ACD SPLIT

CALL QUEUE

IDENTICAL

CALL TREATMENTS

FOR:

Time of Day

Announcements

Intraflow Interflow

A C D

A G E N T S

Call Vectoring is comprised of three basic components, including:

■ Vector Directory Numbers

■ Vectors

■ Vector c o m ma n ds

1-2 Issue 4 Sep t e m b er 1995

What is Call Vectoring?

Working together, these components direct incoming and ASAI event reports and requests to the d esired answerin g destinations, and they specify how each call is to be processed. Call Vectoring may be illustrated as follows:

TRUNK GROUP 1

TRUNK GROUP 2

VDN3 1

VECTOR 1

VRU1 TRANSFER

DNIS2 DIGITS

INTERNAL CALL

VDN 2

VDN 3

VDN 4

VDN 5

VECTOR 2

1. Voice Response Unit

2. Diale d Num ber I d enti fication Service

3. Vector Directory Number

Figure 1-2. Call Vectorin g

As Figure 1-2 illust ra tes, an incoming c al l to the DEFINITY G3 swit c h wit h Call Vectoring enabled is first directed to a Vector Directory Number (VDN). A VDN is an internal telephone number that, in turn, directs the call to a speci fic call vector . The VDN represents the cal l type or category (for example, billing, customer service, etc.), and thus, it defines the service desired by the caller. Multiple VD Ns may point to the same or to d ifferent vectors, depending upon whether the relevant calls are to receive the same or different treatm ent.

The vector, which is the heart of Call Vectoring, is a set of commands that d e fine the processing of a call. The type of processing that a call receives depends upon the commands included within the vector. For example, a call can be queued and then routed to another destination.

Issue 4 September 1995

1-3

About This Document

Here’s an examp le of a vector:

1. goto step 3 if calls-queued in split 9 pri l < 20

2. busy

3. queue-to main split 9 pri l

4. wait-time 12 seconds hearing ringback

5. announcement 2921 (“-----“)

6. wait-time 998 seconds hearing music

Figure 1-3. Vector Example

Each individual vector can contai n up to 32 co m m and steps or instructions. Multiple vectors can be chained together to extend processing capabilities or to process calls to the same or dif ferent answerin g destinations. Any number of calls can use the same multip le vectors and process steps i n d ependently. Understanding and p lanning your Call Center before you begin writing vectors is important. A planning gu i d e is p rovided in Appendix J.

What is Expert Agent Selection (EAS)?

Expert Agent Selection (EAS) is a feature that allows Call Center managers to provide the best possible telephone service to the caller by matching the needs of the c aller wit h the Skills or talents of the agents. Caller needs and agent Skills are matched via Call Vectoring. All the Call Vectoring features described in this guide can be used with EAS.

Matching the call to an agent with the a p propria te S ki lls reduces transfers and call-holding time. Accordingly, customer satisfaction is increased. Also, since an entire agent group need not be trained at the same time for the same Skills, employee satisfaction is increased.

In addit ion to mat c h i n g the Skills required for a call to an agent with one of these Skills, EAS provides other capabilities, as follows:

■ Logical Agent associates hardware (voice terminal) with an a g e nt only

when the ag ent is lo g ged in. While the age nt is logged in, calls to the Agent LoginID are directed to the agent.

■ Direct Age nt Calling allows a user to call a particular agent and h ave the

call treated as an ACD call.

Most EAS administration can be completed prior to enabling EAS . This minimizes the down time fo r u p grading to EAS. EAS is describe d in Chapter 10.

1-4 Issue 4 Sep t e m b er 1995

Call Vectoring Features

Call Vectorin g provides the following features:

■ Basic Call Vectoring allows you to “program” the type of processing that

is given to a telephone call. You program by arranging a set of vector commands in the desired sequence. Depending upon the command, you can do the following:

— Place the call in queue until an ag ent is available to answe r the c all. — Provide a recorded information or delay announcement to the

caller. — Allow the caller to leave a recorded message. — Access a Voice Response Unit (VRU) so that a script can be

started.

■ Call Prompting allows you to collect digits and give some call cont rol to

the ca ller. Specifically, this feature allo ws the caller using a touch-tone or an internal rotary ph o ne to enter digits that are subsequently processed by the vector. A mo n g oth er tasks, Call Prompting allows the c a ller to d o the following:

— Select one or more options from a menu in order to access

recorded infor ma t io n provided by the call cente r o r be routed to the

correct split or agent. — Enter an extension to which a call can be routed . — Provide the call center with caller entered data (such as a credit

card number) that the center can use to process the call. This data

also can be disp layed on the agent’s voice terminal.

■ Advanced Vector Routing allows you to route c al l s b ased on three

additional c o n d i t ions:

— Rolling Average Speed of Answer for a split, skill, or VDN. — Expected Wait Time for a split (skill) or for a call. — The number of calls that are active in a sp ecified VDN

■ ANI/II Digits R o utin g allows you to route calls based on:

— The caller identity (ANI) or, — The t yp e of line where t h e c all was origin ated (II-digits).

■ Look-Ahead I nterfl ow all ows t he call center to intell i g e ntl y off-loa d some

or all calls to another ACD switch . When this feature is enabled, a call arriving at a vector that is unable to handle the call (due to preset limits) can interflow to a switch in a remote location whenever the latter switch is able to receive the call. By using this feature, you can establish a “load balancing” of calls among multiple locations.

Issue 4 September 1995

1-5

About This Document

To use Look-Ahe a d Interf low, Basic Call Vectoring and Integrated Services Dig it al Network-Primary Rate Interface (ISDN-PRI) must be enabled. Private Network Access (PNA) software may also be re q uired .

■ Adjunct Routing provides you with a means of evaluating calls before the

calls are processed. Sp ecifical ly, th is feat ure allows a DEFINI TY PBX to request instructions from an associated adjunct, which is a processor that performs one or more tasks for another processor (the switch , in this case). The adjunct makes a routing decision according to agent availability and/or caller information sent by the switch, and it returns the routing response to the switch. By using this featu re , the call center ensures that each call is delivered to the ap propriate destinat ion.

To use Adjunct Routing, Adjunct Switch Applications Interface (ASAI) capabilities and Basic Call Vectoring must be enabled. Adjunct Rou ting can also be used in conjunction with Call Prompting and Look-Ahead Interflow.

Contents and Organization of the Guide

The

DEFINI TY Generic 3 Call Vectoring/Expert Agent Selection (EAS) Guid e,

555-230-520 discusses all facets of Call Vectoring a nd EAS. The gu id e is o rganized as follows:

■ Overview (Chapter 1)

■ Tutorial (Chapter 2)

■ Reference (Ch a pters 3 through 11, Appendices A through N)

■ Glossary

■ Index

The gu id e first concentrates on illustrating Call Vectoring principles (Chapters 1 through 9 ). Chapter 10 presents a thorough discussion of EAS, which builds on Call Vectoring. Chapter 11 presents s ev eral Call V ectoring and EAS applications. Finally, the appendices, Glossary, and Index provide information and references to both Call Vec t oring a n d EAS top ics.

Intended Audience and Use of the Guide

The gu id e is i nt ended primarily for personnel who opt to use Call Vectoring and/or E AS. You should use this guide as an information source for impleme nting Call Vectoring and/or EAS. A knowledge of Automatic Call Distribut ion (ACD) is assumed.

1-6 Issue 4 Sep t e m b er 1995

References

The level of your expertise in Call Vectoring and/or EAS should determine how you use the guide. Users who are unfamiliar with Call Vectoring should read the overview, then study the tutorial. Users who will be using EAS should read Chapter 10. Users who want to learn more a b out Call Vect oring should review Chapters 3 through 11 in order to get a good grasp of how the Call Vectoring features function. Finally, advanced users of Call Vectoring and/ or EAS may only find it necessary to periodically reference a specific a ppendix or two (such as App endix A, which contains a set of Call Vectoring/EAS command “ m anual page s”) to get the information needed.

Users who want to set up a Call Center (EAS an d non-EAS) should read App endix J, and users who want to c o nvert a Call Cent er to EAS should read App endix K.

References

The p ublications listed in this section should b e used to supplement the information presente d in this guide:

■

DEFINI TY Communications System G eneric 3 Feature Description

555-230-204

■

DEFINI TY Communications System G eneric 3 CallVisor ASAI Technical Reference

■

DEFINITY Communications System Ge n eric 3 Version 4 Imp l e men tation

, 555-230-220

555-230-655 or

DEFINI TY Communications System G eneric 3 V2/V3 Implementation

555-230-653

■

DEFINI TY Communications System G eneric 3 Basic Call Management System (BCMS)

■

CentreVu™ Call Management Syst em Release 3 Version 4 Admini strat ion,

, 555-230-704

585-215-800

CentreVu™ Call Management Syste m Release 3 Version 4 Repo rts,

585-215-801 (or pre vious version CMS doc u m entatio n that c ame with your system)

■

GBCS Produc t s Security Handb o ok

, 555-025-600.

Issue 4 September 1995

1-7

Tutorial

NOTE:

Introduction

This chapter is intended to provide you with a ‘‘practical start’’ in using Call Vectoring. To this end, the chapter presents the b asics you need to write a representative vector an d to enter it on-line. The last section of the c hapter summarizes the benefits o f C a ll Vectoring, and it identifies example vectors in the reference section of the guide that illustrate these benefits.

Entering the Vector On-Line

A vector can be entered on-line via the following two methods:

■ Basic Screen Administration (on the Manager I or G3-MA)

■ Call Management System ( C M S)

All references to CMS in this manual, unless otherwise noted , refer to CMS Release 2, CMS Release 3 through Versio n 2 or CenterVu

The followin g section discusses the Basic Screen Administration method for entering a vector on-line at your DEFI NI TY sy st em . For co m p let e de t ails fo r creating a vector with CMS, consult the

Release 3 Version 4 Administ ra tio n,

CMS documents that you received with your system).

™

CMS.

CentreVu™ Call Management System

585-215-800, document (or earlier version

Issue 4 September 1995 2-1

Tutorial

Procedures for Basic Screen Admi nistrati on

Basic Screen Administration is a function of the DEFINITY Communications System. A vector is entered on-line via Basic S creen Ad ministration by com p letin g t he Call Vec tor Form. This form appears o n three screens, as follows:

Page 1 of 3 CALL VECTOR

Number: 20 Name:________________

Basic?y EAS?n G3V4 Enhanced?n ANI/II-Digits?n ASAI Routing?n

Prompting?n LAI?n G3V4 Adv Route?n

01 _______________ 02 _______________ 03 _______________ 04 _______________ 05 _______________ 06 _______________ 07 _______________ 08 _______________ 09 _______________ 10 _______________ 11 _______________

Figure 2-1. Call Vector Form

2-2 Issue 4 September 1995

Entering the Vector On-Line

Page 2 of 3 CALL VECTOR

12 _______________ 13 _______________ 14 _______________ 15 _______________ 16 _______________ 17 _______________ 18 _______________ 19 _______________ 20 _______________ 21 _______________ 22 _______________

Figure 2-2. Call Vector Form (Page 2 of 3)

Page 3 of 3 CALL VECTOR

23 _______________ 24 _______________ 25 _______________ 26 _______________ 27 _______________ 28 _______________ 29 _______________ 30 _______________ 31 _______________ 32 _______________

Figure 2-3. Call Vector Form (Page 3 of 3)

Issue 4 Septemb er 1995

2-3

Tutorial

The fol lowing list summa rizes how you can enter a vector on-line via Basic Screen Adm in istrat ion. For complete d et ails on this process, consult

Communications System Gen eric 3 Version 4 Imp l e men tation, DEFINI TY Communications System G eneric 3 V2/V3 Implementation,

555-230-653.

1. Access the Call Vector Form b y executing the “change vector x”

command, where PBP, G3vs PBP], or 1 and 512 [G3r]. Use the “change vector” c o mmand either to change an existing vector, or to create a new vector.

If you are not certai n of the num ber or name of a v ec tor, enter th e “ list vector” command to view a comp lete list of all vectors that have been administered for your syste m.

2. Ass i g n a name to your vector by comp leting the blank next to Name. The vector name can contain up to 15 alphanumeric characters.

NOTE:

The vector number, which a p pears next to Number, is automatically assigned by the sy stem.

is a number between 1 and 256 [G3i], 1 and 48 [G3s

DEFINITY

555-230-655

3. Look at the next fields and note where a indicate the Call Vectoring features and corresponding com mands you can use. (The Call Vectoring features are optioned from the Custome r Options Screen.) On the other hand, if an you cannot use the corresponding feature. A y in one of the fields indicates the following.

Basic You can use the Basic Call Vectoring com mands. See Chapter

4, "Basic Call Vectoring".

EAS Expert Agent Selection is enabled. See Chapter 10, "Exp ert

Agent Selection" .

G3V4 Enhanced

ANI/II-Digit s You can use the ANI and II-Dig i t s Vect or Routin g c omm and s.

ASAI Routi n g You can use the Adjunct Routing command. See Chapter 9,

Prompting You can use the Call Prompting c ommands. See Chapter 5,

You can use the G3V4 Enhanced Vector Routing commands and features. See Appendix L, "V4 Feature Availab ilit y " for an explanation of which features are included with G3V4 Enhanced Vector Routing .

See Chapter 7 , "ANI a nd II-Digits R outing". ANI/II-Digits Routing requires G3V4 Enhanced Vector Routing.

" Adjunct Routing".

" Call Prompting".

y (yes)

appears. These fields

appears in one of these fields,

LAI Look-Ahead Interflow is enabled. See Chapter 8, "Look-Ahead

Interflow".

G3V4 Adv Route

You can use the G3V4 Advanced Vecto r Rou ting command s. See Chapter 6, "A d vanced Vector Routing".

2-4 Issue 4 September 1995

Constructing a Vector: One App roach

NOTE:

4. Enter a maximum of 32 v ec tor c ommands in the blanks next to the step numbers. See Appendix A for a complete descrip t ion of all Call Vect oring commands.

You need not type every letter of each command that you enter. If you type just the first few letters of a comma n d a nd p ress RET URN or TAB, the system s p ells out the entir e co mmand .

5. Save the vect or in the system by p ressing ENTER.

Enhanced Vector Editing (G3V4 and later releases)

Enhanced Vector Editing allows you to insert and d elet e vector steps while editing a vector on the switch .

To insert a vector step complete the following procedure:

1. On the vector form, press F6 (edit)

2. At the command line, type “i” followed by a s p ace a n d the number of the step you would like to ad d. Enter the comm a n d .

3. Type the new vector ste p

When a new vector step is inserted, the system automatic ally renum b ers al l

goto

succeeding s teps and renumbers To delete a vector step complete the following procedure:

1. On the vector form, press F6 (edit)

2. At the command line, type “d” followed by a space and the number of the step you would like to d e let e. Enter the com m a n d .

When a vector step is deleted, the system automatically renumbers all succeeding s teps and renumbers

NOTE:

After editing a vector, be certain to verify that the vector will work as you intend it to. This is partic ularly im portant if you d elet e d a step that was the

goto

target of a

step.

step references as necessary.

goto

step references as necessary.

Constructing a Vector: One Approach

This section is intended to provide you with one logical approach to constructing a vector. In so doing, the section presents a starti n g vector that consists of one step and then builds upon this vector to produce a new vector that provides additional functions. This ‘‘vector building’’ process continues through several

Issue 4 Septemb er 1995

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Tutorial

phases until a final ‘‘complete’’ vector is constructed. As each phase is presented, you are introduced to one or more new ve ctor c ommands and/or ap proaches to vector processing. While it is not practical to present all such commands and approaches along the way to constructing a single ‘‘final’’ vector, those presented in this tutorial should allow you to get a good grasp of how to use Call Vectoring.

Phase 1: Queuing a Call to the Main Split

If a call cannot be immediately answered by an agent (or operator), the c a ll is usually queued until an ag ent beco mes available. A call can be connected to an available agent or queued via the following vector:

Page 1 of 1 CALL VECTOR

Number: 27 Name: base

Basic?y EAS?n G3V4 Enhanced?n ANI/II-Digits?n ASAI Routing?n

Prompting?n LAI?n G3V4 Adv Route?n

01 queue-to main split 5 pri l 02 _______________ 03 _______________ 04 _______________ 05 _______________ 06 _______________ 07 _______________ 08 _______________ 09 _______________ 10 _______________ 11 _______________

Figure 2-4. Q ueu ing Ca ll to Main Split

If an agent is available, the the call to the agent without queuing the call. However, if no agent is available, the command queues the call to the main split (or group) of agents. Once the call is sent to the main split queue, the call remains there until either it is answered by an agent or some other treatment is provided.

Each call queued to a split occupies one queue slot in that split. Calls are queued sequentially as they arrive a ccording to the assignment of the priority level. In our vector, note the priority level level establishes the order of selection for each call that is queued. A call can be

2-6 Issue 4 September 1995

q ueue-to main sp lit

low

is assigned to the call. The priority

command automatically sends

Constructing a Vector: One App roach

assigned one of four p riorit y levels: split (the main split, in our vector), calls are delivered to th e agent sequentially as they arrive to the split q ueue and according to the priority level assigned. Accordingly, calls assigned a calls that are assigned a

top

high

priority are delivered second, etc.

Finally, not e that the c a ll is q ueued to Split 5. Split numbers range from 1 to 99 [G3i], from 1 to 24 [G3s PBP, G3vs PBP], and from 1 to 255 [G3r].

Phase 2: Providin g Feedback and Delay Announcement

In the last section, we mentioned that a call remains queued until an agent becomes available to answer the call. In the m eant im e, the c aller would no doubt like to hear some feedback assuring him or her that the ca l l is b e ing processed. The followi ng vector provides one solution.

Page 1 of 3 CALL VECTOR

Number: 27 Name: base

Basic?y EAS?n G3V4 Enhanced?n ANI/II-Digits?n ASAI Routing?n

Prompting?n LAI?n G3V4 Adv Route?n

01 queue-to main split 5 pri l 02 wait-time 10 seconds hearing ringback 03 announcement 2771 04 _______________ 05 _______________ 06 _______________ 07 _______________ 08 _______________ 09 _______________ 10 _______________ 11 _______________

top, high, medium,

low

. Within a given

priority (if any) are delivered to an agent first,

Figure 2-5. P rovid ing F eedback and Delay Ann oun cement

NOTE:

Announcement 2771 could contain this message: ‘‘We’re sorry. All of our ope rators are b usy at the m oment. Please hold.’’

The

wait-time

command in Ste p 2 provides a delay of a sp ecified number of

seconds before the next vector step is processed. The time parameter m a y b e

Issue 4 Septemb er 1995

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Tutorial

assigned any even numb er in the range of 0 through 998. In our vector, the time specified is 10 seconds.

In ad d i t ion to the d e lay period, the feed ba ck. In our vector, be provided with the

ringback

wait-time

command are: silence; system music; or an

wait-time

is provided. Other types of feed back that can

command p rovides the ca ller wit h

alternate audio/music source. For more info rmation see, "Delays with Audible Feedback" on page 4-5.

Theoretically, then, the

wait-time

com ma n d in our ve ctor provides the caller with 10 seconds of ringbac k. But what happens if an agent answers the call before the

wait-time

comman d run s its c ourse? If t his h ap pens, the command is terminated (that is, the delay period is ended and the accompanying feedback is stoppe d). So, returning to our example, let’s presume the call is delivered to an agent after four seconds. In such a case, the following is true:

■ Caller d oes no t hear the remainin g six seconds o f ringback, inasmuch as

the delivery of the ca ll to the agent is the primary objective.

■ Announcement in St ep 3 (discussed next) is not played.

If the call is not answered by the time the completed, vector processing continu es with the

wait-time

command in Step 2 is

announcement

command in

Step 3.

announcement

The

command c on sists of a recorded message, and it is often used to encourage the caller to stay on the phone or to provide information to the caller. If a cal l is d elivered to an agent during the

announcement

command, th e announcement is interrupted. Otherwise, the announcement is played from beginning t o end. Thereafter, the call remains in queue until it is answered by an agent or until the caller hangs up. Multiple callers can be connected to an announcement at any time. See “Recorded Announcement” in the

Communications System G eneric 3 Feature Description

, 555-230-204, for more

DEF IN ITY

information a b out an nouncements.

2-8 Issue 4 September 1995

Constructing a Vector: One App roach

Phase 3: Repeating Delay Announcement and Feedback

The vector in the previous section provides feedback to the caller after the call is queued. However, if the announce ment in Step 3 is played, and if the agent does not answer the call soon after the announcement is complete, the caller may end up holding the line for too long a time without receiving any further feedback or treatment. The following vector provides one solution:

Page 1 of 1 CALL VECTOR

Number: 27 Name: base

Basic?y EAS?n G3V4 Enhanced?n ANI/II-Digits?n ASAI Routing?n

Prompting?n LAI?n G3V4 Adv Route?n

01 queue-to main split 5 pri l 02 wait-time 10 seconds hearing ringback 03 announcement 2771 04 wait-time 60 seconds hearing music 05 goto step 3 if unconditionally 06 _______________ 07 _______________ 08 _______________ 09 _______________ 10 _______________ 11 _______________

Figure 2-6. Repeating Delay Announcem ent and Feedback

The

wait-time

command in Step 4 of this vector provides additional fee db ack (this time, music ) to the c a l ler. If the c a ll is not answered b y the time Step 4 completes, the

goto step

command in Step 5 is processed.

Up to this point, we have discussed and illustrated Call Vectoring commands that

sequential flo w

cause current vector step to the next sequent ial vector step). The is an examp le of a Call Vectoring co m man d that causes

(that is, the passing of vector processing control from the

goto step

branching

command

(that is, the passing of vector processing control from the current vector step to either a preceding or succeeding vector step).

The

goto step

command in Step 5 allows you to establish an announcement-wait loop that continues unti l the a g ent answers the cal l. Sp ecific ally, the com mand makes an unconditional branch to the

announcement

command in Step 3. If the

call is not answered by the time the announcement in Step 3 is complete, control

Issue 4 Septemb er 1995

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Tutorial

is passed to the

wait-time

com ma nd in Step 4. If the ca l l is still not answ e re d by the time this com ma n d c ompletes, c ontrol is p a ss e d to Step 5, where the unconditional branch is once again made to Step 3. As a result of the established loop, the caller is provide d with constant feedback.

Phase 4: Queuing a Call to a Backup Split

Up to this point, we have dea lt with a c all q u eued to one split: the main sp lit. However, Call Vectoring allows a call to be q ueued to a maximum of three splits simultaneously. If a call is queued to multiple splits, the call has a better chance of being answered more quickly. Multip le split queuing is especially useful during periods of heavy call traffic.

The fol lowing vector allows a call to queue to two splits:

Page 1 of 1 CALL VECTOR

Number: 27 Name: base

Basic?y EAS?n G3V4 Enhanced?n ANI/II-Digits?n ASAI Routing?n

Prompting?n LAI?n G3V4 Adv Route?n

01 queue-to main split 5 pri l 02 wait-time 10 seconds hearing ringback 03 announcement 2771 04 wait-time 10 seconds hearing music 05 check-backup split 7 pri m if calls-queued < 5 06 wait-time 60 seconds hearing music 07 announcement 2881 08 goto step 5 if unconditionally 09 _______________ 10 _______________ 11 _______________

Figure 2-7. Q ueu ing C all to Backup Spli t

We have already discussed h ow the queues the call to the main split. If the call is not answered by the time the

command in Step 4 completes, the

time

attempts to queue the call to b ackup Split 7 at a medium priorit y. The c ondition expressed in the command ( call is to be queued to the backup split. Specifically, if the number of calls currently queued to Split 7 at a medium or higher priority is less than 5, the call is queued to the split. Not e tha t i f the call is queued, the call in t h is case is assigned

2-10 Issue 4 September 1995

qu e ue-to m ain split

check-backup split

if calls-queued < 5

command in Step 1

wait-

command in Step 5

) determ ines whet her or not the

Constructing a Vector: One App roach

medium

by the priority level in subsequent queuing steps in order to accommodate callers who have been holding the line for a p eriod of time. (We could have even assigned a

high

The

check-backup split

priority instead of a

queue-to main split

priority instea d of just a

calls-queued

condition is one of seven conditions that can be included in th e

command. The other conditions are

command in Step 1. It is a good practice to raise the

low

medium

speed of answer (rolling-asa), available agents, staffed agents, expecte d wait

and

time

G3V4 and later releases; see Ap p e n dix L, "V4 Feature Availabi lity" for information. As is true for the

split top

We are including a queuing step within the loop, thus giving the ca l l re p eat e d opportunities to queue (if necessary). The call queues to split 7 only once.

oldest call waiting

command can queue a call at one of four priorities:

. Some of these conditions are only available with

queue-to main split

Phase 5: Checking the Queue Capacity

priority, which is assigne d if the c all is queued

priority in Step 5.)

unconditionally, average

command, the

low, medium, high

check-backup

It is a good practice to check the main split queue for the number of calls already queued before allowing another call to queue to the split. The reason for this is that there is a limited num ber of queue slot s assigned to each split. The number of such slots assigned to each split is defined in the queue length field on the hunt group screen. A call that attempts to queue to a split with no available queue slots cannot be queued to that split and, accordingly, the

command fails. Vec tor processing would then continue with the next vector

split

step. The following vector contains provisions for checking queue cap acity:

q ueue-to main

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Tutorial

Page 1 of 1 CALL VECTOR

Number: 27 Name: base

Basic?y EAS?n G3V4 Enhanced?n ANI/II-Digits?n ASAI Routing?n

Prompting?n LAI?n G3V4 Adv Route?n

01 goto step 10 if calls-queued in split 5 pri l > 20 02 queue-to main split 5 pri l 03 wait-time 10 seconds hearing ringback 04 announcement 2771 05 wait-time 10 seconds hearing music 06 check-backup split 7 pri m if calls-queued < 5 07 wait-time 60 seconds hearing music 08 announcement 2881 09 goto step 6 if unconditionally 10 busy 11 _______________

Figure 2-8. Ch eck ing Queue Capaci ty

A check of split 5 is implemented by the

goto step

command in Step 1. In this

example, 21 slots are assigned to split 5 (that is, the q u e ue l ength for split 5 is

). Accordingly, the than 20 calls via the condition successful, control is passed to the

g oto st e p

com man d test s whether th e s plit c o ntai ns more

if calls-queue d in split 5 > 20 p ri l

busy

c o mmand in Step 1 0 . The

. If this test is

busy

command gives the ca ller a b usy signal and eventual ly ca uses the call to d rop. On the other hand, if 20 or fewer calls at a medium p riority are already q ueued to

the main sp lit when Step 1 executes, the

queue-to main split

command in Step 2

queues the call, and vector processing continues at Step 3.

NOTE:

Instead of providing the caller with a busy tone if the

queue-to main sp lit

step cannot queue the call, we c an q ueue th e call to another split that is designed to serve as a backup split. To do this, we can change the step parameter for the

goto Step 6.....

reads

check-backup split

goto step

step (Step 6). Inasmu ch as this queuing step is

com ma n d from 10 to 6 (so that the c omm and

). In such a case, control is passed from Step 1 to the

included wi thin a continuous loop of steps (Steps 6 through 9), continuous attempts to queue the call are now made (if necessary).

2-12 Issue 4 September 1995

Constructing a Vector: One App roach

Phase 6: Checking for Non-Business Hours

If a caller calls during non-business hours, you can still provide the caller with some information for calling back during working hours by playing the appropriate record ed m essage. The fo llowing vector illustrates one approach i n this regard. This vector would be used for a company that was open seven days a week, from 8:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M., including Saturday and Sunday.

Page 1 of 2 CALL VECTOR

Number: 27 Name: base

Basic?y EAS?n G3V4 Enhanced?n ANI/II-Digits?n ASAI Routing?n

Prompting?n LAI?n G3V4 Adv Route?n

01 goto step 12 if time of day is all 17:00 to all 8:00 02 goto step 11 if calls queued in split 5 pri l > 10 03 queue-to main split 5 pri l 04 wait-time 10 seconds hearing ringback 05 announcement 2771 06 wait-time 10 seconds hearing music 07 check-backup split 7 pri m if calls-queued < 5 08 wait-time 60 seconds hearing music 09 announcement 2881 10 goto step 6 if unconditionally 11 busy

Figure 2-9. Checking for Non-B us iness Hours (Screen 1 of 2)

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Tutorial

Page 2 of 2 CALL VECTOR

12 disconnect after announcement 3222

13 _______________

14 _______________

15 _______________

16 _______________

17 _______________

18 _______________

19 _______________

20 _______________

21 _______________

22 _______________

Figure 2-10. Checking for Non-Busines s Ho urs (Screen 2 of 2)

NOTE:

Announcement 3222 could contain this message: ‘‘We’re sorry. Our office is closed. Please call b ack any d ay b etween 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.’’)

The

goto step

command in Step 1 checks if the call arrives during non-business hours. Specifically, if the call arrives between 5:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M. on any day of the week, the comm and p asses con trol t o Step 12. The

disconnect

command in Step 12 includes and provides an announcement that first gives the caller the appropriate information and then advises him or her to call back at the ap propria te time. The command then di sconnects the caller.

On the other hand, if t he call does not arrive during the specified hours, control is passed to Step 2, and vector processing continues. On step 2, split 5 is checked for calls waiting at priority low and ab ove (t hat is, for all priorities).

NOTE:

As an alternative to di sconnecti ng callers who place a call during nonbusiness hours, you c an allow callers to leave a message by including the

messaging split

command within the vector. See Chapter 4 for more

details.

2-14 Issue 4 September 1995

Benefits of Ca l l Vect oring

Benefits of Call Vectoring

Coupled with Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), Call Vectoring enables telephone calls to be processed at a faster rate within an intelligent, “real-time” system. As a result, Call Vectoring provides an appreciable cost saving to the user.

The following table summarizes the benefits that Call Vectoring provides . The last column in the table identifies the vector(s) [via the appropriate screen(s)] in the reference portion of the manual tha t illustrat e (s) these benefits.

Issue 4 September 19 95

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Tutorial

NOTE:

If the dashed number in the last column is followed by ‘“F),” the number is a figure number.

Table 2-1. B enefits of Call Vectoring

Category Call Vectoring Benefits Figure

Call Treatment Im p lem ent s p ecial treatment based on the time of

day and the day of the week (for e xample, providing night service).

Automatically change treatment according to either how long the c a l l ha s b ee n waiting or to changing traffic or staffing conditions.

Provide ap propria te caller feedback during waiting (for example, music or announcements during heavy calling periods).

Provide multiple and/or recurring informational or delay announcements that are selected according to the time of day/day of the week, call volume, or staffing conditions.

Provide 24 hour/day, 7 day/week automa t e d information announc e m ents.

Remove selected calls (by providing busy or disconnect)

Set up an d test, in advance, special call treatments for events such as sales, a dverti sin g c a m p a i gns, holidays, snow days, et c.

Provide the c a ller wit h a menu of choices. 5-6, 5-7, 5-11,

Execute a VRU script 4-9, 11-4 Notify cal lers of thei r ex pecte d d e l ay in queue 6-3, 6-4 Provide multiple audio/music sources 4-6

4-16, 11-1

4-13, 4-15, 8-2, 8-3, 11-3, 11-4

4-7, 4-10

4-12, 4-13, 8-2, 11-1

4-4, 4-5

4-7, 4-8, 4-9, 4-11, 4-15

4-4, 4-8

11-3, 11-5

2-16 Issue 4 September 1995

Benefits of Ca l l Vect oring

Table 2-1. B enef its of Call Vectoring

Category Call V ectoring Benefits Figure

Call Routing Queue calls to up to three splits sim ult aneously,

consequently improving the average speed of answer and ag ent p roductivit y.

Implement routing to local or distant destinations. 4-13, 5-1, 5-2,

Connect callers to a voice-mail or messaging system either automatically or at their request.

Reduc e c all transfers by accurately routin g callers to the desired destination.

Provide up to four ACD q ueuing priority levels an d the ability to chang e t he queuing priority dynamically, as a result, providing fast e r service for selected callers.

Reduce agent and/or attendant staffing requirements b y: (1) automatin g some tasks; (2) reducing caller hold time; (3) having agents in one split service multiple call types.

Intelligently balance ACD call loads across multiple locations.

Determine the e x p ected wait time in ACD q u eues. 6-3, 6-5 Limit the num ber of simultaneous incoming trunk

calls to a VDN. Route calls based on the caller’s ANI or the type of

the originating line.

Information Collection

Provide customized and/or personalized call treatment vi a i nform ation collection and messaging .

Collect information for use by an adjunct or by agent display.

4-10, 11-1, 11-4

8-2, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4, 11-5

4-11, 4-12, 113, 11-5

5-1, 5-2, 11-3

11-1, 11-3, 114

4-4, 4-5, 5-1, 5-11, 5-12, 112, 11-3

8-2, 8-3, 8-5, 11-5

6-7

7-1, 7-3, 7-4

5-1, 5-6, 5-11, 11-2, 11-3, 115

5-7, 11-5

Issue 4 September 19 95

2-17

Fundamentals of Call Vector ing

Introducti on

The manner in which a call is proce s sed depends upon a nu m ber o f components within both the DEFINITY System and the Call Vectoring software. Some of these components include the following:

■ Resources available to process a call (for exampl e, age nts, s p lits,

software, hardware)

■ Vector control flow

■ Comman ds u se d within the relevant vector(s)

A prudent utilization of these components will produce an effective mea ns of processing telephone calls. This chapter discusses these com p onent s, which constitute the fundamentals of Call Vectoring.

Call Management

When a call is placed to a PBX with Call Vectoring activated, the call accesses th e approp riate vector(s) via a Vector Directory Number (VDN). A V DN is a ‘‘sof t’’ extension number not assigned to an equipment location. Each VDN maps to one vector, and several VDNs may map to the same vector. (The VDN is ful ly discussed l ater in this chapter).

Once the call goes to a vect or, the call’s routing and treatment are determined by the co mmand s in the v ec tor. Processin g start s at the fir st ste p and then proceeds usually sequentially through the vector. Any steps left blank are skipped , and the process automatically stops after the last step in the vector.

Issue 4 September 1995 3-1

Fundamentals of Call Vectoring

Call Vectoring allows the chaining of vector steps and vectors. Accordingly, one vector can direct the call to another vector or VDN, which in turn can direct the call to yet another vector, etc. Note, however, that a maximum of 1,000 vector steps can be executed for any call. When a call enters vector processing, a loop counter keeps track of the number of vector steps executed. If the loop counter exceeds 1,000, a

stop

When a call is delivered to an available agent, the agent can see the information associated with the VDN (for example, the VDN name) on his/her display (if present) and, as a result, can respond to t h e call with knowledge of the service or response required.

In the real world, of course, not every call placed to a site is immediately answered by an agent. (The customer often has fewer agent s than the maximum simultaneous call capacit y. Therefore, calls will have to be q ueued.) The following sections discuss how calls are routed and/or queued via Call Vector ing. Subsequent sections discuss agent states, priority levels, c a ller feedback, and caller control.

Call Flow

command is executed .

Calls enter a vector and execute steps sequentially beginning with step 1, unless

goto

there is a steps with

step. Most steps take microseconds to execute. The exception is

announcement, wait-time

and

collect digits

commands. A one second wait oc curs aft er every seven executed steps unless an explicit wait has occurred. Note that

wait-time

with 0 seconds is not an explicit wait.

Call Vectoring uses several call flow methods to redirect and/or queue calls. These methods involve the use of the Call Vect oring co mmands, which are described later in this chapter. The methods for queuing a n d r ed irect ing ca lls include the following:

■ Multipl e split queui ng allows a c all to queue to up to three sp l its.

■ Intraflow allows calls unanswered at a split w i thin a predefined time frame

to be redirected to one or more other splits on the same switch. If redirection depends upo n a condition to be tested, th e process is re ferred

conditional intraflow

to as

■ Interflow allo w s c a l l s d irecte d to a vector to be redirected to an external

or non-local split destination. This destination is represented by a numb er programmed in the relevant vector. Calls can be routed to an attendant (or attendant queue), a local extension, a remote [that is, Uniform Dialing Plan (UDP) ] extension, an external number, or a VDN.

■ Look-Ahead I nterfl ow c an b e implem ent e d fo r call c ente rs with mul t i p le

ACD locations connected via an ISDN-PRI. This me thod allows a call to interflow only to a remote locat ion t hat is b e t te r equipped to handle the call. Look-Ahead Inter flow (LAI) can occur only when t he proper conditions at the receiving swit c h are met.

3-2 Issue 4 September 1995

Call Management

■ Adjunct Routing allows the swit c h to request a routin g d estinat ion from

Each of these cal l c ontrol flow method s is fully discussed in the upcoming chapters.

Caller Control

Call Vectoring allows for the temporary transfer of call management control to the caller via several means, as follows:

■ Caller-Selected Routing. If Call Prompt ing is enabled, the customer c a n

an adjunct processor via ASAI. When this feature is enabled, the switch sends the ASAI adjunct a message containing information about t he calling party. The adjunct uses this information to det erm ine, from its databases, the best place for the switch to send the call. The adjunct then passes this routing information back to the switch.

prompt the caller to i n p ut inf orm ation in the form of d i aled digits from a touch-tone or loc al rotary telephone. (A recorded announcement is usually used for prompting purposes.) Once the caller inputs the digits, the call is efficiently and ac curately routed t o the correct department or destination. This procedure can significantly reduce the number of transferred cal ls and thus bet ter satisfy the ca ller’s needs.

■ Messagin g is a means of satisfying customer demand during peak calling

periods. The ca l ler c an leave a voice m essage for the customer in th e event that the call cannot be or has not yet b een answered. When messaging is enabled, control is eventually passed to the Audio Information Exchange (AUDIX) or message service split. AUDIX is a voice mail adjunct that allows a customer to record, edit, forward, and retrieve voice messages to and from callers.

Subsequent chapters discuss these procedures in more detail.

Call Queuin g to Splits

Basic C all Vec torin g is used primarily to control the ca l l activity of ACD splits. Basic C all Vectorin g can queue calls to up to three such sp lits simultaneously at any one of four p riority levels. This process is call e d first split to which a call is queued via this process is called the the second split and the third split (if necessary) are called

Multiple split qu euing

enables a better uti lizat ion of agents. A c all rema ins q ueue d until either vector processing terminates or the call reaches an agent or another destination. (Vector processing termination is discussed later in this ch a pter.)

When an agent be comes available in any split to which the call is queued, the following events take place:

multiple split queuing

main split

backup splits

. The

, while

serves to provide better service to the caller, and it also

■ Call b egins alert ing the a g ent (or connect s if it is automatically answered).

Issue 4 Septemb er 1995

3-3

Fundamentals of Call Vectoring

■ Call is removed from any other queues. Announcements, music,

ringback, or other audio source are also removed.

■ Vector processing terminates.

Note that these actions always happen call treatment (for example, hearing an announcement). (Call treatments are discussed l ater in this ch a p t er.)

Multiple split queuing is illustrated in Chapter 4, "Basic Call Vectoring".

Split Queue Prio rity Levels

If a call i s queued without Call Vectoring enabled, the call is tracked at one of two

and

Medium

Low

. Within each priority level, call s are processed sequentially as

priority levels: Vectoring, the call can be assigned one of four priority levels:

Medium,

they arrive. This is equivalent to a administ ered to queue calls at any of the four priority levels.

NOTE:

A direct agent call is always given the highest p riorit y an d , as a result, it is always deli vere d b efore a call that is directed to a split. (A direct age nt call is an ACD call that is directed to a specific ACD agent rather than to any available ACD agent in the split. See "D irect Agent Calling" on page 10-28 for more informat ion.)

NOTE:

If a c all is already q u eued to one or more splits that are currently int ended to serve as backup splits, the call could b e requeued at the new priority level indicat ed in the command step. (For further details on requeuing, see Appendix A.)

and

immediate ly

High

. On the other hand, if a call is queued via Call

, even if the caller is receiving

Top, High,

FIFO

(first-in, first-out) order. A vector can be

Agent Work Mode

Call Vectoring can make call management decisions according to real-time agent work modes. These states, appear a s co n d i t ions wit hin th e comma nds (that is, the commands can check for the number of available agents or staffed agents).

For ACD splits,

Available-agents

staffed-agents

represents the number of agents logged-in

receive an ACD call. For non-ACD hunt groups,

since hunt groups do not have any log-in, log-out, or work modes.

is the number of agents ready to receive a hunt group call.

agents

3-4 Issue 4 September 1995

available-agents

check backup split

and

staffed-agents

and

goto

Call Vectoring

represent s the nu mber of ag e nts logge d-in.

and

ready to

staffed-agents

is synonymous with

administered

Available-

, can

Call Management

For ACD calls, an agent’s state is further defined by the relevant

work mode

. The

following list describes these modes:

■

After-Call-Work M o d e

makes the agent unavailable to receive any ACD calls for any split. T his mode can be used when the a g ent is do ing ACD call-related work.

■

Auto-In Work Mod e

makes the agent available to receive calls and allows the agent to receive a new ACD call immediately after disconnecting from the previous call. When Multiple Call Handling is enabled an agent in Auto-In Work Mode can receive additional ACD calls while still acti ve on a call.

■

Auxiliary-Work Mode

makes the agent unavailab le to receive any ACD calls for the specified split. This mod e can b e used when an agent is performing non-A CD a c t ivit ies, such as going on a break.

■

Manual-In Work Mode

automatically put s the agent into the

makes the agent available to receive calls and

After Call Work Mode

after disconnecting from an AC D c all. When Multi p le Call Handling is enabled an agent in Manual-In Work Mode can receive additional ACD calls while still active on a call.

See the

DEFIN ITY Com mu nications System Generic 3 Feature Description

, 555230-204, for a more complete description of agent work modes and Multiple Call Handling.

Calling Party Feedback

The initial feedback a caller hears as the call is being processed by a vector de pe nd s upon the origin classification of the call, which can be one of the following:

■ Internal (internal call from another Generic 3 user)

■ Non-CO (incoming call over a DID or tie trunk over which incoming digits

are received)

■ CO (incoming c all over a CO or autom ati c t ype tie trunk over which no

digits are received)

For an internal or a non-CO call, the caller hears silence until one of the following vector steps is reached:

■ Wait with system music, ringback, or an alternate au d io/m usic source

(Caller hears system music, ringing, or the music or audio associated with an administered port.)

■ Announcement (Caller hears the announcem ent .)

■ Busy (Caller hears a bu sy tone.)

■ Call alertin g an a g ent or at a station (Caller hears ringing or the agent

answering the call.)

Issue 4 Septemb er 1995

3-5

Fundamentals of Call Vectoring

For a CO call, the caller hears CO ringback until o ne o f th e fo llowing vector st eps is reached:

■ Announcement (Caller hears the announcement.)

■ Wait with system music or alternate audio/music source (Caller hears

system music, or the music or audio associated with an administered port.)

■ Call answered (Caller hears the agent or voice response answering the

call.)

For a CO call for which answer supervision has already been supplied (via the processing of an announcement or the issuing of a caller may hear any of the following:

wait-time

command), the

■ Announcement when any

■ Ringback, silence, system music , or an alternate a u d io/mu si c source

when a

■ Busy when a

■ Ringback when the ca l l is alertin g a station.

wait-time

command is processed.

busy

command is processed.

announcement

Regardless of the call’s origin, the caller can expect to hear different forms of the feedback described in this section as the relevant vec tor steps are proces sed. Examples of how subseq uent caller feedback is provided in the vector appear in Chapter 4, "Basic C a ll Vect oring" and in several of the following chapters.

Dialed Number Iden ti fi catio n Service (D N IS)

In the trad iti onal A CD arran g ement , each agent in a given split is trained to answer calls relevant to one specific purpose in an efficient a n d p rofe ssio nal manner. However, ACD managers have recognized the need to enhance this arrangement in which each split is limited to a single call-answering task.

To this en d , there is now a split arrangement available in which each group of agents is proficient in deali n g wit h several types of calls. The intent is to service multiple call types with the use of fewer agents overall and with less administrative intervention by the ACD manager. Usu al economies of scale come into play here. For example, where five agents might be needed in each of three smaller splits (15 agents total) to handle three types of calls, only 11 or 12 agents might be needed in the combined sp lit.

command is processed.

To aid in pr oviding capabilities such as the o ne just presented, a network service known as Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS) is available. DNIS enables a unique multidigit number that is based on the dialed number (of usually four digits) to be associated with the call (sent to a c ustom er’s telephone, sent to a host com pu ter wit h ASAI a pplicat ions, used to provide different treatments for the call, etc .). The n u mber that is sent depends upon the telephone number dialed by the caller. Each DNIS number in the customer’s telep hone s ystem c an

3-6 Issue 4 September 1995

Vector Processing

be programmed to route to an ACD split comprised of agents who are proficient in handling several types of calls.

Call Vectorin g ta ke s the DNIS number from the network a n d in terprets this number as a VDN. When the call is delivered to the agent terminal, the unique name assigned to the partic ular VDN is displayed on the agent ’s termi nal. This allows the agent to know the specific purpose of the call. As a result, the agent can answer with the appropriate greeti ng and be immediately prepared to service the customer.

Vector Processing

If Call Vectoring is in effect , tele phone calls are processed by one or more programmed s e q uences of comma nd steps called vectors.

The followin g secti ons provide a gen eral over view of vector processing. To this end, the following topics are discussed:

■ Vector Directory Numb er (VDN)

■ Vector cont rol flo w

■ Programmi ng capabilities

Vector Directory Number

Within Call Vectoring, calls access the appropriate vector(s) via a Vector Directory Number (VDN). A VDN is a ‘‘soft’’ extension number that is not assigned to an equipment location. In effec t , th e d igits di aled by a caller or sent to the DEFINITY system from an external network are translated within the system as a VDN.

The VDN po i n ts to t h e vector, and it defines the service desired by the caller. The VDN also serves as the application number, and it allows for specific callhandling and agent-handling statistical reporting within both the DEFINITY Basic Call Management System (BCMS) and the Cent re Vu (CMS) for each application handled by the call center.

VDNs are assigned to diffe rent vectors for different servi c es or applications that require specific treatments. Any number of VDNs can be assigned to the same vector. As a result, the same sequence of treatments can be given to calls that reach the PBX/ACD via diff erent number s or from d ifferen t location s.

The VDN has several properties. These properties are a d mi nistere d by the System Manage r on the Vector Directory Number administration fo rm.

Call Management System

Issue 4 Septemb er 1995

3-7

Fundamentals of Call Vectoring

add vdn xxx Page 1 of 1

Acceptable Service Level (sec):

■ Extension . Extension number used to identify the VDN.

VECTOR DIRECTORY NUMBER

Extension:

Name:

Allow VDN Override?

COR:

TN:

Vector Number:

AUDIX Name:

Messaging Server Name:

Measured:

VDN of Origin Annc. Extension:

1st Skill:

2nd Skill:

3rd Skill:

Return Destination:

■ Name. Name that is associated with the VDN. This name, which is shown

on the ag ent ’ s d isplay, is optional an d can c o ntai n up to 15 characters.

■ Allow VDN Override. Opt ion tha t allows the name and other attributes of

a subsequently routed to VDN to be used instead of the name and attrib utes of the current VDN.

■ COR (Class of Restriction). 1- or 2-digit number that specifies the COR

of the VDN.

NOTE:

As a security measure, you can d eny inc o m ing c a llers access t o outg oin g f acilit y paths by configuring the COR of th e VDN to prohibit outgoing access. For de tails, refer to the

Handbook

■ TN. The Tenant Partition Number for this VDN.

■ Vector Number. Vector-assigned number that determines which vector is

, 555-025-600.

GBCS Products Security

act ivated when a cal l c omes into a VDN. Several VDNs may send calls to the same vector.

■ AUDIX Name. Only displayed for G3r. The nam e of t he AUD IX that i s

associated with the VDN as it appe ars on the Ad j unct Names form.

■ Messagi ng Ser ver Nam e. Only displayed for G3r. The name of t he

messa ging server as it app ears in the A d junct names form.

■ Measured. Ind i c a t es whether d a t a a bout the VDN is being measured

internally by BCMS, externally by CMS, by both BCMS and CMS, or not at all.

3-8 Issue 4 September 1995

Vector Processing

■ Acceptable Service Level. The num ber of seconds within which ca lls to

■ VDN of Origin Annc. Extension. The extension num ber of the VDN of

■ 1st/2nd/3rd Skill. Only displayed with Expert Agent Selection (EAS).

■ Return Destination. The VDN extension number to which an incoming

VDNs can be preassigned to incoming (automatic) trunk groups, or they can be sent in di g i t form to the PBX/ACD b y the p u b l i c o r a private network. The digits sent to the PBX /ACD can come from the serving Central Office (CO) or toll office via the Direct Inward Dialin g (D ID) fea ture or DNIS. The d ig its ca n also come from another PBX/ACD location via dial-repeating tie trunks, or they can be dialed by an int ernal caller. For a non-ISDN call, the last four digits of the number are sent to the PBX, while for an ISDN call, the entire 10-digit number is sent.

this V DN should b e answered.

Origin announcement. Only displayed if VDN of Origin Announce m ent is optione d .

Gives the skill numbers associated with the VDN.

trunk call will be rout e d if it returns to vector processing after the agent drops the call. Only displayed if V DN Return Destination is op t ioned.

The last four or five digits of the destination address passed to t h e PBX /AC D o n a DID/DNIS or on a dial tie-trunk call compr ise the VDN. Automatic trunks do not pass destination a dd ress digit s. Instead, each such trunk always routes to a specific incoming destination that is progra m m ed f or the corresponding auto matic trunk group. Th e destination can be an attendant queue, an extension, a hunt group number, or a VDN.

VDN Override

VDN Override is an option that allows information about a subsequently routed to VDN (if any) to be used instead of the informat ion a b o ut th e c ur rent VDN. This information includes:

■ The name of the subsequent VDN

■ Skill sets

■ Messaging split command with the “active” entry

■ VDN of Origi n Announcement

■ Tenant number

NOTE:

Throughout this d ocume nt the “ active” VDN is the a c t ive called VDN as modified by VDN override rules. The “latest” VDN is the most recent VDN to which the call was route d.

VD N Override can be used in conjunctio n w i th a vecto r that prompts the caller fo r a particular service. Let’s say, for example , a call is placed to an automobile dealer. Like any such dealer, this one consists of several d epartments, including

Issue 4 Septemb er 1995

3-9

Fundamentals of Call Vectoring

‘‘Sales’’ and ‘‘Parts.’’ Let’s presume the caller wants to talk to someone in ‘‘Sales.’’ In such a case, th e call comes i n to th e ‘ ‘ Mai n’ ’ vector (whose VDN name is ‘‘Main’’) and is eventually rout e d to the ‘‘Sales’’ vector (whose VDN name is ‘‘ Sales’’). If VDN Override is assigned to the ‘‘Main’’ VDN, the ‘‘Sales’’ VDN name appears on the agent’s d isplay when the c al l is final ly co nnected to the agent. This process is illustrated in Figure 3-1. In this example, the “Sales” VDN is the active VD N as well a s the l a t est VDN. If VDN override had not been assigned to the “Main” VDN, the agent’s display would have shown “Main. ” In t his case, “Main” woul d b e the a ctive VDN w h ile “Sal es” would b e the latest VDN.

MAIN VECTOR

INCOMING

CALL

VDN1

(VDN DISPLAY

OVERRIDE ASSIGNED)

(NAME = “MAIN”)

ROUTE TO VDN2

VDN2

(NAME = “SALES”)

QUEUE TO MAIN SPLIT

Figure 3-1. VDN Override Assigned to Originally Called VDN

SALES VECTOR

”SALES”

VDN in a Coverage Path

A VD N can be assigned as the last point in a coverage path. Whenever a VDN is assigned as such, a call goes to coverage and can then be processed by Call Vectoring or Call Prompting (if either is enabled). Accordingly, the Call Coverage treatment for the call is extended (that is, coverage can be sent to an external location, or the type of coverage can be controll e d b y the caller).

VDN in a coverage p ath is used for a number of applications, i n c ludin g:

■ Sendin g d irect agent calls o r p ersonal call s to an agent (EAS required)

■ Routing coverage calls off-premises vi a the

3-10 Issue 4 September 1995

route-to

command

Vector Processing

NOTE:

■ Serving as a coverage point for specific call operations (for example,

sending calls to a secretary during the day and to AUDIX at night).

VDN as a coverage point is illustrated in Chapter 4, "Basic Call Vectoring".

Service Observing VDNs

The Service Observing feature provides the option of being able to observe VDNs wit h G3V3 and l a t er releases. With this option an observer selects a specific VDN and bridges onto c a lls (one c a ll at a time) that have just started vector processing for that VDN. The observer hears all tones, announcements, music, and speech that the caller and the agent hear and say, including Call Prompting and caller dialing. Also, the observer hears VDN of Origin announcements. Once the system makes an observing connection to a call in vector processing, it maintains the co n nect ion throughout the life of the call until the call is disconnected or until the observ er hangs up. T h is is true even if the call is routed or transferred externally. See “Service Observing” in the

Communications System Gen eric 3 Feature Description,

complete information about Service Observing VDNs.

DEFINITY

555-230-204 for

Vector Control Flow

Vector Processing starts at the first step in the vector and then proceeds sequentially through the vector unless a steps left blank are skippe d , an d the process automatically stops af te r the l ast step in the vector.

The Call Vectoring ‘‘programming language’’ pr o vi des three types of ‘‘c o ntrol flow’’ that serve to pass vector-processing control from one vector step to another. Control flow types are described in the following list .

■ Sequential flow passes vector-processing control from the current vector

step to the following step. Most vector commands allow for a sequential flow through the vector .

■ Unconditional branching

vector step to either a preceding and/or succeeding vector step or to another vector (for exampl e ,

■ Conditional branching

vector step to either a preceding and/or succeeding vector step or to a different vector. This type of branching is based on the testing of threshold conditions (for example,

6 < 1

goto

command is encountered. Any

Any vector command that fails autom atically passes control to the following step. The success and/or failure criteria for the Call Vectoring co mmands is discussed in App endix A.

unconditionally

goto step 6 if unconditionally

conditionally

passes control from the current

goto vector 29 if staffe d-ag ents in split

Issue 4 September 19 95

3-11

Fundamentals of Call Vectoring

NOTE:

Each of these control flow types is fully d escribed in the upcoming chapters.

NOTE:

Call Vec t oring has an execution lim it of 1,000 steps. Once a call enter s vector processing, a ‘‘loop counter’’ keeps track of the number of vector steps executed. If the loop counter exce eds 1,00 0, a executed.

An implicit wait of one second is provided aft er every seven vector steps if vector processing is not sus pended during any one of these steps (see the

wait-time

Commands").

command manual p ages in App e ndix A, "Call Vectoring

Termination vs. Stopping

stop

command is

For the purposes of this guide, the expression means a call has completely left v ector processing. This occurs when the call is alerting at an agent’s station, is abandoned by the calling party, re c eives a forced disconnect or a forced busy, or is successfully route d to an extension or to an off-pre mises num ber.

It is important to differentiate between

stopping

of the final step in t he v e c tor. Whereas vector processing termination removes the cal l from the queue if th e c all i s queued, the processing of new vector steps receives feedba ck, such as ringba ck. If vector processing stops and the call is not queued, the call is dropped.

Vector processing termination and the illustrate d lat er in this guid e .

, the latter of which is caused by the

Programming Cap abi liti es

The Call Vecto rin g c omm ands can perform a num ber of functions relevant to processing telephone calls. A brief explanation for each of these func t ions follows.

■ Providing call treatments. The caller can be provided with a recorded

announce m ent e x plaini n g tha t, at the mom ent, an agent cannot answer the cal l for some reason (for example, there are no agents avail able, the work day is over, etc.). Announcements also provide the ca l ler with instruct ions and encouragement. Also, au dible feedback (silence, ringback, system music, or an alternate au d io or music source) or a busy tone can be provided to the caller. Provisions can also be m ade to delay vector processing a specific number of seconds before the next vector step is executed. Also, when necessary, the call can be disconnected. Finally, a se ssion with voice mail (AUDIX) c a n b e i ni t i ate d .

vector processing terminates

vector processing termination

stop

command or by the execution

stop

comm and pre ve nts the

but leaves the call in queue

stop

command are discussed and

and

as the calling party

3-12 Issue 4 September 1995

Vector Processing

■ Routin g call s. Calls not immediately answered by an agent can be

■ Branching/programming. Branches can be ma de from one vector step

■ Collectin g and acting on information. Optionally, touch-tone di g i t s c an

■ Executing VRU scripts. Voice scripts housed within a Voice Re s p onse

queued to one or more splits, as explained earlier in this chapter. A caller can also leave a recorded message if he or she chooses to do so. Finally, a call can be rout e d to a number p ro grammed in the vector or to digits collected from the caller.

to another such step or to another vector. This can be done unconditionally as well as conditionally. Condi t iona l b ranching is done according to a number of conditions (for example, number of available agents in a split, number of calls in a split queue, the number of the phone the c a ll is mad e fro m , e t c.). Finally, vector processing can be stop ped when necessary.

be collected and serve as the basis for further vector processing (for example, a specific agent can be reached via touch-tone digit(s) entered by the c aller).

Unit (VRU) can be executed for the caller. Voice scripts provide the caller with information or instructions, and the caller can often make an appropriate response the reto (by, for example, entering touch-tone digits).

Command Summary

This section lists an d d escribes the command s used by the Call Vectoring features. The list is meant to help fam il iarize the reader with these comman ds. The commands are explained further in Chapter 4 through Chapter 9 and also in App endix A.

■ Adjunct Routing is available only when the CallVisor ASAI capabilities

and Basic Call Vectoring are optioned. The command causes a message to be sent to an ASAI adjunct req uesting routing instructions.

■ Announcement p rovides the caller with a recorded announcement.

■ Busy gives the caller a busy signal and causes termination of vector

processing.

■ Check-Backup Split conditionally checks the status of a split for possible

terminatio n of the c all to that split. The co m mand either connects to an agent in the split or puts the call into the split’s queue (at the specified queuing priority level) if the condition specif i e d as p art of the c o m ma n d i s met. A call may be q ueued to up to three d ifferent sp lits simultaneously.

■ Collect Digits allows the user to enter up to 16 digi t s from a touch-tone

phone. An optional announcemen t may be played first.

■ Converse-on Split integrates Voice Response Units (VRUs) with the

DEFI NITY swit ch. Specifically, the comm and allows voic e response scripts to be executed while the call remains in qu e ue, an d it allows the passing of data between the DEFINITY switch a n d the VRU.

Issue 4 September 19 95

3-13

Fundamentals of Call Vectoring

■ Disconnect ends treatment of a call and removes the call from the switch.

The comm an d also allow s the op t ional assignment of an announcem ent that will p lay immed iat ely before the disconnect.

■ Goto Step is a branching step that allows conditional or unconditional

movement to a preceding or succeeding step in the vector. Conditional branching is determined by a number of factors (for example, number of calls queued in the split, number of staffed agents in the split, etc.).

■ Goto Vector is a branching step that allows conditional or unconditional

movement to another vector. Conditional branching is determined by a number of factors (for exampl e, number of calls queued in the split, number of staffed agents in the s p lit , etc.).

■ Messagin g Split allows the c al ler to leave a message for a specified

extension or the VDN extension (d efault ).

■ Queue-t o Main S p li t unconditi onally queues a call to a split and assigns a

queuing priority level to the call in case no agents are available. A call sent with this co m mand either connects to an agent in the split or enters the spl it’ s q ueue.

■ Route-to Digits routes the call to the destination specified by a set of

di gits collected from the caller by the previous

collect di g its

step.

■ Route-to Number routes the cal l to the d esti nati on specified by the

administered digit string.

■ Stop terminates the processing of any subsequent vector steps.

■ Wait-Time is used to specify whether the caller will hear ringback, system

music, silen ce, or an alternate a u d io or m usic source while the call is waiting in queue. The com m and also d e lays the processing of the next vector step by the specified delay time that is included in the command’s syntax.

NOTE:

Compl e te operati o n d et ails for th e

route-to

comma nd s are included in

Appendix G.

Condition Testing within the Commands

As was mentioned in the p revious section, a number of the Call Vectoring commands are implemented according to a tested condition tha t comprises part of the comman d . In other words, for example, if the condition expressed in the

true

command is condition expressed in the command is implemented, and the next vector step is processed.

The following list provides a set of conditions that might comprise the conditional portion of a Call Vec t oring c o mm and. The available set of co nditions is depend ent up on the DEFINITY swit c h ve rsion numb er an d th e op ti onal featu re s that have been enabled. See Appendix L, "V4 Feature Availability" for more information. Refer to Append ix A for the synt ax of each condition.

, the com ma n d a ction is exe cuted. On the other hand, if the

false

, the command acti on is

not

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Vector Processing

■ Number of staffed agents in a s p lit (exp lained earlier in th is ch a p t er )

■ Number of available agents in a split (explained earlier in this chapter)

■ Number of calls queued at a given priori ty to a sp lit

■ Amount of time that the oldest call has been waiting in a split

■ Average Speed of Answer for a sp lit or a VDN

■ Expected Wait Time for a split or for a call that has entered vector

■ Number of calls active in a VDN

■ Caller identity (ANI)

■ Type of originating line (ii-digits)

■ Digits entered by the caller

■ Time-of-day a nd day of the week that the call is placed

NOTE:

The syntax for this condition can be illustrate d by a c o uple of examples, as follows: through 5:00 P.M. Friday,’’ and P.M. a n d 8:00 A.M. on any day of the week.’’)

processing

mon 8:01 to fri 17:00

means ‘‘anytime bet ween 8:01 A.M. Monday

all 17:00 to all 8:00

means ‘‘between 5:00

Depending upon the condition, specific comparison opera tors ([ f or example, < (less than), > ( g reate r than), = ( e qual to), <= (less than or equal to), > = (greater than or equal to), <> (not equal to)]) and a threshold (that is, a range of accepted numerical entries) might be in effect. Note that some of these comparators are available only with G3V4 and lat er releases. Again, refer to Appen d ix A.

The chapters on the Call Vectoring features illustrate c ondi tion checking in more detail.

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Basic Call Vectoring

Introducti on

Basic C all Vec torin g allows you to ‘‘program’’ the type of treatment a telephone call receives. You can program accordingly by using a set of vector commands.

Vector co m ma nds can direct calls to various destination s, su c h as a djuncts and splits. The commands can also dire ct c a l ls to various treatmen ts, such as announcements, a forced disconnect, a forced busy, or a delay treatment.

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Basic C all Vectoring

Command Set

The fol lowin g t a b le illu strates the c o m ma nds used for Basic Call Vectoring.

Table 4-1. Basic Call Vectoring Comma nd Set

Command Category Action Taken Co m m and

TREATMENT Play an announcement.

announcement

Delay with audible feedback of silence, ringback, system music , or alternate audio/music source.

Play a busy tone and sto p vector processing.

Disconnect the call. Execute a Voice Response Unit (VRU)

script.

ROUTING Queue the call to an ACD split

Queue the call to a backup ACD split. Leave a message. Route the call to a number programmed

in the vector or to a Service Observing Feature Ac c es s Co de.

Send to an adj unct a message requesting routing instructions for the call.

BRANCHI NG/ PROG RAMMING

Go to a vector step. Go to another vector.

wait-time

busy

disconn ec t c onverse-on sp lit

q ueue-to main sp lit check-backup split messaging split route-t o number

adjunct routing

goto step goto vect or

Stop vector processing.

Functions and Examples

Basic C all Vectoring allows the user to emp l oy a number of d ifferent functions to process telephone calls. These functions include the following:

■ Providin g call treat m ents

■ Routing calls

■ Branching/Programmi ng

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stop

Functions an d Examples

The followin g secti ons explain these functions.

Providing Call Treatmen ts

In this guide, the term caller receives if the caller is not immediately connected to an agent, or if the call center is too busy or not in operation. Basic Call Vecto rin g provides several typ es of treat ment, as follows:

■ Announcements

■ Delays with aud ible fee db a ck

■ Busy tone

■ Disconnect

■ Voice Response Scripts

The sections that follow e xplain these treatm ent s.

Announcements

If a caller is not ab l e to connect to an agent the ca ller with a recorded message in order to accomplish one of the following, de pen ding upon the circumstances:

■ Encourage the caller to c o n tin ue to hold the line.

■ Provide the caller with information that will satisfy his or her needs, thereby

treatment

is used to indicate the type of feedback the

immediately

, it is logical to provide

keeping him or her from waiti n g a long time for service and also allowing him or her to hang up as soon as possible.

Such a recorded message is referred to as an via the

announcement

comma nd .

announcement

, and it is provided

Whenever a call is connected to an announcemen t , any prev ious treatment is discontinued, and answer supervision is sent (unless it has already been provided). If, during an announcement , the call is moved fr om w ait in g in a split’s queue to alerting or connecting to an agent’s station, the announcement is disconnected, and the caller hears rin gback. When the announcement compl e tes and is discon nect e d , the caller hears silence until either a vector step with alternate treatment is processed or the call reaches an agent’s station.

Announcements can be classified into three groups, as follows:

■ Delay announcements

■ Forced announcements

■ Information announc e m ents

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Basic C all Vectoring

announcement 2556 (‘‘All our agents are busy. Please hold.’’)

Delay Announcem ent s

Here is an example of a d elay annou ncement:

Figure 4-1. D elay A nno uncem ent

If the caller does as suggested b u t ends up waiting an appreciable amount of time without re c eiving further feedback, he or she may tire of waiting and hang up. T o keep the calle r on the phone at least a little longer, a supplementary delay announce m ent simila r to the one following migh t b e used:

announcement 2557 (‘‘Thanks for holding. All our agents are still busy. Please hold.’’)

Figure 4-2. Supplementary Delay Announcem ent

A delay announcement is usually coupled with a delay step, which is provided by the

wait - ti me

command (discussed later).

The customer should incorporate as many supplementary delay announcements as he or she deems necessary, given the resources available.

Forced Announcements

There are times when the customer may find it advantageous to have th e agents

not

answer calls. Usua lly, this option is exercised whenever the c u stom er anticipates a barrage of calls concerning an emergency or a service problem of which the customer is already aw ar e. Accordingly, th e custo m er can i ncorporate an ap p ropriat e announc e m ent as the very first step in the vector. Such an announce m ent is referre d to as a

announcement 1050 (‘‘We are aware of the current situation and are working to rectify the problem. If your call is not urgent, please call back later.’’)

forced announcement

Figure 4-3. Forced Announceme nt

. Here’s an example.

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Functions an d Examples

Information Anno unc emen ts

Under certain circumstances, the customer may find it necessary to provide the caller with recorded info rmation that, by its very content, resolves a problem with such finality that the caller feels no need to follow up on his or her call. S uch a recorded message is referred to as an follows:

disconnect after announcement 2918 (‘‘Today has been declared a snow day. Please report for work tomorrow at 8 A.M.’’)

Figure 4-4. Information Announcemen t

information anno uncement

. An example

Note that the

disconnect

announcement, the caller is disconnected, since he or she need not stay on the line any longer.

Delays with Audible Feedback

In presenting an example of a delay announcement earlier in this ch a p t er, we mentioned that this type of announcement is usually coupled with a delay step. A delay step is provided by the remain on hold for at least the number of seconds indicated in the command .

Let’s take another look at our delay announcement. However, this time, let’s couple the announcement with a delay step:

announcement 2556 (‘‘All of our agents are busy. Please hold.’’) wait-time 20 seconds hearing music

Figure 4-5. D elay w ith Audible Feedb ack

Here, the caller is allowed to wait at least 2 0 s e conds for the call to be answered by an agent. During this wait period , the caller is provided with sy stem music, which is one type of feedback available via the

command is used with the announcement. After th e

wait-time

command, which allows the caller to

wait-time

command.

If the de lay ste p is the f inal ef f e c tive ste p in the vector, the au di b le fee dback continues beyond the specified duration. (A “final effective step” in a vector is

stop

either the last vector step or a vector step that is followed by a

step.) Under normal circumstances, the audi b le feed b ack continues until the call is either answered or abandoned. However, if the c all is n ot q ueued when vector

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Basic C all Vectoring

processing stops, the cal l is dropped. Feedback also con tinues while a c all is queued to a converse split, that is, any split routed t o b y a converse-on split command, and while data is being passed to a Voice Response Unit (VRU) (see the " Voice Response Scripts" section later in this cha pter). Finally, feedback also continues during the wait period before the connection of an announcement and/or a Touch-Tone Receiver (TTR). (TTRs are used in conjunction with the Call Prompting feature and are discussed in Chapter 5.)

Multiple Audio or Music Sources

With G3V4 and later releases, you ca n s p ecify an alternative audio or music source for a ve ctor number that is administ ered on the Announcements/Audio Sources form. For instructions for entering an audio or music source on this form see

Communication System Ge neric 3 Version 4 Implementation DEFINI TY Communication Syste m G eneric 3 V2/V3 Imp lementation

555-230-653.

wait-time

step. This alternative source can be any extension

DEFINITY

, 555-230-655 or

With the Multiple Audio/Music Sources feature, you can tailor the

wait-time

feed bac k t o the interest s, tastes, o r r eq uirem ent s of the a u dience. You can provide specific types o f music or music w i th overlays o f advertising that relate to the service provided by the splits or skills that the vector serves. Or, additional advertising messages can be heard by the caller as they wait for an available agent.

Let’s look ag ain at our delay announcement. However, this time let’s assign an alternate audio/music source to the

announcement 2556 (‘‘All of our agents are busy. Please hold.’’) wait-time 20 seconds hearing 55558 then music

wait-time

step.

Figure 4-6. D elay with Multip le Audio/M us ic Sou rce Fe edback

When the wait-time step is encountered, the caller is c onnected to extension 55558 for 20 seconds. At the end of 20 s econds th e next vector step is executed. The “then” option in the wait-time step specifies what the c aller will hear if the caller cannot be connected to the s pecified source. Or, when th e call is waiting in queue, the “then” opt ion specifies what the call will hear if the call is n ot answered in 20 seconds. In this example, if the call is not answered in 20 seconds, the caller will hear system music until a subsequent

busy, collect, converse-on, disconnect

wait-time

step is encountered.

announcement,

You can specify

music

“then” option. When continue is sp ecif ie d, the caller continues to hear the

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(system music),

ringback, silence

, or

continue

for the

Functions an d Examples

alternative audio or music source until it is r eplaced by a subsequent vector step regardless of the time specified in the

Busy Tone

A busy tone and subsequent termination of vector processing are produced via

busy

the supervision has not been sent. Callers on such trunks do not hear the busy tone from the switch. Instead, these callers continue to hear ringback from the CO. The With ISDN PRI , busy tone can be provided from the network switch.

The customer usually forces a busy tone to process a call that arrives at a time when there is a large numb er of calls queued in the main sp l it, or whe n the call center is out of servi ce or closed.

The followin g vect o r illustrat es how you ca n use the

1. goto step 6 if calls-queued in split 1 pri h > 30

2. queue-to main split 1 pri h

3. announcement 4000

4. wait-time 2 seconds hearing music

5. stop

6. busy

command. An exception to this occurs on CO trunks where answer

busy

com man d eventu ally ti mes out and drops the call after 45 seconds.

wait-time

step.

busy

command:

Disconnect

Figure 4-7. P roviding Busy Tone

In th is vector, the

goto step

command in Step 1 sends call control to

busy

in Step

6 if the conditions in the former command are met. Specifically, if the number of

busy

calls queued at a high priority is greater than 30, the

command is

accessed.

The customer can opt to have a call disconnected by incorporating the

disconnect

comma n d. However, the customer should use g ood j u dg em ent in this regard lest he or she unnecessarily infuriate the caller. Also, as a courtesy to the ca ller, an ann ouncement should be given to the caller b e fore he or she is disconnected under any circumstances.

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Basic C all Vectoring

The

disconnect

example of the command when we were discussing information announcements earlier in this chapter. Here’s the examp l e a g ain:

disconnect after announcement 2918 (‘‘Today has been declared a snow day. Please report for work tomorrow at 8 P.M.’’)

Figure 4-8. Disconnecting a Call

comma nd itself has a bu ilt-in announcement option. We saw an

This example presents an ideal use of the given recor ded infor ma t io n t h at , by it s very conte n t, resolves a probl em w ith such finality that the caller feels no need to follo w up on his or her call.

Voice Respon s e Scripts

Voice Response Integration (VRI) is designed to enhance the integratio n of AT&T’s DEFINITY c all center systems and to integrate DEFINITY Call Vectoring with the ca p abilities of voice response units (VRUs), particularly AT&T’s CONVERSANT Voice Information System.

VR I c a n d o the followin g:

■ Execute a VRU script while retaining control of the call in DEFINITY vector

processing.

■ Execute a VRU script while the call remain s in the sp lit q ueue a n d retain s

its position in the queue.

■ Pool CONVERSANT ports for multiple applications (which previously was

possible only when ASAI was present .)

■ Use a VRU as a flexible external announcement device.

■ Pass da t a between the DEFINITY switch an d a VR U.

■ Tandem VRU d a ta through the DEFINITY switch to an ASAI host.

disconnect

co m m an d. The caller is

The c apabilities in the previous list are provi d e d by the command, which is an enhancement to the Basic Call Vectoring customer option. The

converse-on split

integrate a VRU with the DEFINITY Automatic Call Distri b u t ion (ACD). VR I allows VRU capabilities to be used while keeping control of the call in the DEFINITY ACD . The inclusion of VRUs with vector processing provides the following advantages:

■ Access to local and host databases.

■ Va lidatio n of caller informati on.

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converse-on sp lit

Call Vectoring step is specifically designed to

Functions an d Examples

VDN (extension=1040 name=‘‘car loans’’ vector=40) VDN (extension=1041 name=‘‘equity loans’’ vector=40) Vector 40

1. goto step 10 if calls-queued in split 1 pri h > 30

2. queue-to main split 1 pri h

3. announcement 4000

4. goto step 7 if calls-queued in split 1 pri h < 5

5. wait-time 0 seconds hearing music

6. converse-on split 11 pri h passing vdn and none

7. wait-time 20 seconds hearing music

8. announcement 4001

9. goto step 7 if unconditionally

10. busy

■ Text to s peech c apabilities.

■ Speech recognition.

■ Increased recorded announc e m ent capacity.

■ Audiotex a pplicat ions.

■ Interactive Voice Re s p onse (IVR) ap p lication s.

■ Transaction processing applications.

One of the advantages of VRI is that it allows users to make more productive use of queuing time. For example, while the call is waiting in queue, the caller can listen to product information b y using an aud iotex application or b y co m pleting an interactive voice response transaction . In some cases, it may even b e possible to resolve the customer’s questions while the c all is in q ueue . This can help reduce the queuing time for all other callers during peak intervals.

In add i t ion, when Advanced Vector Routing is enabled, the Expected Wait Time for a call can be passed to the VRU. In this way, the caller can be told how much longer they can expect to wait b efore their cal l will be answered. See "Expected Wait Time (EW T)" on pag e 6-2 for a co m pl ete d escript ion of the EWT feature.

During the execution of a VRU script, if the caller previously queued to an ACD split, the caller retains his/her p ositi on in queue. If an agent on the DEFINITY switch becomes available to service the call, the line to the VRU is imm ediat ely dropped, and the calling party is connected to the available agent.

Here’s an examp le of a vector that can access voice response scripts from a VRU.

NOTE:

Recall from Chapter 1 that one or more VDNs can access the sa me vector. This c ap ability is ap propriate for th e foll owing examp l e.

Figure 4-9. Accessing Voic e Resp ons e Scripts

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Basic C all Vectoring

For this examp l e , let’s sup pose first that a ca ller would like to hear inf ormat ion concerning car loans. Let’s also assume the call is queued to split 1 (Step 2) and that vector processing proceeds to Step 6. In such a case, the command in this step delivers the call to the converse split if there is a queue for the split and the queue is not full, or if a VRU port is available. (Otherwise, vector processing continues at the next vector step.) When the VRU port respo nds, the step then outpu l ses VDN 1040 to the VRU via the included in t he command. I n turn, the VRU executes the “car loans” voice response script for the caller. Note that it is important to provide a feedback step prior to the converse-on step in case there is a delay in reaching an available converse split port. In this example step 5 provides music for this purpose.

Now, let’s suppose another c aller wants inf ormation concerning equity loans. In such a case, if everything proceeds according to form, VDN 1041 is outpulsed to the VRU, which in turn executes the ‘‘equity loan’’ voice response script for the caller.

In either case, while interaction with the VRU is taking place, the ca ll remains in the appropriate split’s q ueue (split 1 in this example). If an agent answers the call while the voice response script is being executed, the voice response script is interrupted, the line to the VRU is d ropped, and the caller is connecte d to the available agent. Once a voice response script starts, no further vector steps are executed until the voice response sc ript is co mplete d.

passing v d n

c onverse-on spl it

paramet er

Besides VDN extensions, the VRU calling part y extensions, collected (inputted) caller digits (if Call Prompting is enabled), Expected Wait Time (if Advanced Vector Routing is enabled) call queue positions, a string of a maximum of six di g its or asterisks, a pound sign (#), or nothing . Further de tail s are included in Chapter 5, "Call Prompting", Chapter 6, "Advanced Vector Routing" and in Appendix A, "Call Vectoring Commands".

Routing Calls

Basic C all Vectoring offers several means of routin g telephone calls, as follows:

NOTE:

Refer to Appendix H for a detailed explanation of the call flow for converse—VRI ca lls.

converse-on sp lit

command can outpulse to the

NOTE:

In the previous exampl e, the

calls-queu ed

condition in the second

goto

step (St ep 4) in effect serves as a checkpoint for determining whether or not there is enough time for the voice response scrip t (act ivat e d b y the

converse-on

step) to be executed. Specifically, if five or more calls are queued to split 1, it is considered feasible to execute the voice response script.

■ Queuing ca lls to ACD splits

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Functions an d Examples

■ Leaving recorded messages

■ Sending calls to a vector-programmed number (that represents an internal

or external destination)

■ Routing calls to a Feature Access Code that will activat e Service

Obse rving

■ Adjunct Routing

The followin g secti ons discuss t hese rout ing procedures (except for ad j unct routing, which is fully described in Chapter 9).

Queuing Calls to ACD Splits

Calls that com e into the Call Vectoring system can be queued to a maximum of three ACD splits. Two c om m and s are used to queue calls to splits.

qu e ue-to m ain split

The

com ma n d que ues a call

unconditionally

. The comma nd sends a call to a split and assigns a queuing priority level to the c a l l in c a se all agents are busy.

check-backup split

The

command

conditionally

checks the status of a s plit for possible termination of the cal l to that split. The command either connects the call to an agent in the split or puts the call into the split’s queue (at the specified priority level) if the condition specified as part of the command is met.

Multiple S plit Q u eu ing

The term split at the same time. The fol lowin g vector helps to illustrate this process.

1. goto step 4 if calls-queued in split 1 pri l >= 10

2. queue-to main split 1 pri t

multiple split queuing

3. wait-time 12 seconds hearing ringback

4. check-backup split 2 pri m if calls-queued < 5

5. check-backup split 3 pri m if calls-queued < 5

6. announcement 3001

7. wait-time 50 secs hearing music

8. goto step 4 if unconditionally

refers to the qu euing of a call to more than one

Figure 4-10. M ultiple S plit Queu ing

To avoid comp leting vector processing without queuing the call to a split, it is always good practice to check a split’s queue before queuing to that split. If the queue is full, alternate treatment (such as queuing to an alternate split) should be provided. In this vector, if the main split’s queue (which has 10 q ueue slot s) is full, the

goto step

command in Step 1 skips the main split an d g oes direct ly to

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Basic C all Vectoring

step 4 to check the ba ckup sp lits. Although calls are queued in Step 2 at a top priority, a low priority is specified in step 1 so that cal ls in q ueue at all p riorit y levels are counted. If there are 10 or fewer calls in the main split, control is passed to St ep 2, where the split 1. Once the call is queued, vector processing continues at the next step.

q ueue-to main sp lit

comm a n d q ueues th e ca ll to

Step 4 cont ains a paragraph we mention that this step is branched to if the main split queue is holding 10 or more cal ls.) If the c all is not answered by the time Step 4 is reached, the second split. Specifically, the command first determines whether there are fewer than 5 cal ls queued to split 2. If so, the com mand then attempts to connect the call to an agent in the split. If such a connection cannot be ma de, the comma n d puts the call into the split’s queue (at the specified p riority level). Vector processing then c o n tin ues at the next ste p. On the other hand, if there are 5 or more calls queued to split 2, the command fails, and vector processing continues at Ste p 5.

Ste p 5 contains anot her process described in the previous paragraph is repeated, with one difference: the queuing attempt is made to split 3 instead of to split 2.

Except for the condition check, the circumstances under which the

backup split to main split

Finally, not e that whenever a call i s queued to a backup split, the call remains queued to the main split and/or to another backup split (if already queued to either or both of these splits). On c e the call is answered in a split to which it is queued, the call is automatically removed from all the other split(s) to which it is also queued.

check-backup split

check-ba ckup split

comma nd cannot queue a call are id enti cal to those for the

command.

command. (Recall that in the last

in the step at tempts to queue t h e c all to a

command an d, accordingly, the

check-

q ueue-

NOTE:

The

check-backup split, q ueue-to main sp lit,

can access considered “vector-controlled ” if Hunt Group Ad ministration Screen.

only

4-12 Issue 4 September 1995

and converse-on comma n ds

those splits that are “vector-controlled.” A split is

yes

is entered in the Vector field of the

Functions an d Examples

Leaving Recorded Messages

Basic C all Vec torin g allows the c a ller to lea ve a me ssage for th e c u stom er i f the agents at th e customer s ite are not available to take telephone calls. This is done with the help of the

1. goto step 8 if time-of-day is all 16:30 to all 7:30

2. goto step 10 if calls-queued in split 47 pri l >= 20

3. queue-to main split 47 pri m

4. wait-time 12 secs hearing ringback

5. announcement 4001

6. wait-time 60 secs hearing music

7. goto step 5 if unconditionally

8. announcement 4111(‘‘We’re sorry, our office is closed. If you’d like to leave a message, please do so after the tone. Otherwise, please call back weekdays between 7:30 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. Thank you.’’)

9. goto step 11 if unconditionally

10. announcement 4222 (“We’re sorry, all of our agents are busy, please leave a message after the tone and we will return your call.”)

11. messaging split 18 for extension 2000

12. disconnect after announcement 4333 (‘‘We’re sorry, we are unable to take your message at this time. Please call back at your convenience weekdays between 7:30 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. Thank you.’’)

messaging split

com man d. Let’s take a look at an examp l e .

Figure 4-11. L eaving Rec orded Messag e

In this vector, the

goto step

command in Step 1 checks to see if the office is open, and branches to Step 8 if the office is closed. This is done to accommodate calls that are made during non-working hours, when there are no agents available to take telephone calls. Accordingly, Step 8 provid es the caller with an appropriate announcement and an opportunity to leave a recorded message.

Step 2 checks to see if split 47’s qu e ue (which has 20 q ueue slot s ) is full, and branches to step 10 if it is. Step s 3 to 7 qu e ue the call to split 47 and then give audible feedback to the caller.

If the caller chooses to leave a message, the

messaging split

command in Step 11 is executed. Sp lit 18 in the command is the Audio Informa tio n Exchange (AUDIX) split. AUDIX is a voice mail ad j unct that allows a c ustom er to record, edit, store, forward, and retrieve voice messages to and/or from ca l lers. Extension 2000 is the mailbox for split 47 ( fr om Step 2), which represents a group of daytime agents.

Upon execution of the

messaging split

command, an att empt is made to connect the ca ller to AUDIX so he o r sh e can le ave a recorded message. If the split queue is full, or if the AUDIX link is d own, termi nati on to A UDIX is unsuccessful, and vector processing continues at the next vec tor step, which (as is the case

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Basic C all Vectoring

here) usually contains an announc ement that provides the ca l ler with the ap propriate apology and subsequent directives. If the c aller i s s uc cessful ly connected to AUDIX , vector processing terminates, and a message may be left for the s p ecified mailbox (2000, in this case).

Finally, if the supervisor or a grou p of agents has an Automatic Me ssage Waiting ( AMW) Lamp for the mailbox used, and if the l amp lights, the relevant party, upon returning, knows a caller has left an AUDIX message.

Option with the VDN as the Coverage Point

Recall from Chapter 3 that the Vector Directory Number (VDN) can be used as the last point in a coverage path. This c apability a llows the ca l l to fi r st g o to coverage and to then be processed by Call Vectoring and/ or Call Prompting. The c apability also allow s you to assign AUDIX or the Message Server to a vector-controlled hunt group and to therefore enable access to these servers via

queue-to ma in split

a call handling flexibility is enhanced .

Here’s a vector, for which the VDN serves as a final coverage point, that allows the cal ler to leave a recorded message.

check-backup split

command. The result of all this is that

VDN 1 (used in a coverage path) Vector 1

1. goto step 7 if time-of-day is mon 8:01 to fri 17:00

2. goto step 13 if staffed-agents in split 10 < 1

3. queue-to main split 10 pri 1 (AUDIX split)

4. wait-time 20 seconds hearing ringback

5. announcement 1000 (‘‘Please wait for voice mail to take your message.’’)

6. goto step 4 if unconditionally

7. goto step 2 if staffed-agents in split 20 < 1

8. queue-to main split 20 pri 1 (message server split)

9. wait-time 12 seconds hearing ringback

10. announcement 1005 (‘‘Please wait for an attendant to take your message.’’)

11. wait-time 50 seconds hearing music

12. goto step 10 if unconditionally

13. disconnect after announcement 1008 (‘‘We cannot take a message at this time. Please call back tomorrow.’’)

Figure 4-12. Leaving Recorded Messages (VDN as the

coverage point option)

In Steps 3 and 8 of the vector, th e caller is given the option of leaving a recorded message. However, in accord with our discussion at the be g inni n g of this section, the

queue-to main sp lit

com man d inste a d of the

messaging split

command is used in each case. The advantage here is that the call is actually

queued messaging split

to the AUDIX split or to the message server split. On the other hand, a

comm a nd does not queue the call to the split; instea d (if

4-14 Issue 4 September 1995

Functions an d Examples

successful), it simp l y c onnects the caller to the sp lit so the caller may leave a messa g e for the s p ecified extension. However, te rmin ation to the s pl it may turn out to be unsuccessful due to a factor that cannot b e “ c hecked” by vector processing. (For example, the AUDI X link might b e d own, or all AUDIX ports migh t b e out of service.)

As a result of t he queuing process, a wait-announcement loop can be includ ed after each

queue-to main split

step, and the appropriate loop can be executed until the call is actually terminated to either an AUDI X voice port or to an available message service agent. In this vector, Steps 4 through 6 comp rise the first waitannouncement loop, and Steps 10 through 12 comprise the second such loop.

Sending Calls to a Vector-Prog ram m ed Numb e r

Earlier in this chapter, we mentioned calls c an be queued to a maximum of three splits. Calls can also be route d to a programmed number in the vector via a process known as

interflow

Interflow

Interflow is a p ro cess that allows calls that are directed or redirected to one split to be redirected to an internal or an external d esti nat ion. For Basic Call Vectoring, this destination is rep resent e d b y a num b er p rogram med in the vector. The number is always included in the may represent any of the following destinations:

route-to numb e r

command, and it

■ Attendant (or attendant queue)

■ Local extension

■ Remote (that is, UDP) extension

■ External numbe r

■ VDN

Issue 4 September 19 95

4-15

Basic C all Vectoring

The fol lowing vectors illustrate how interflow is used:

VDN (extension=1000 name=‘‘Billing Service’’ vector=55) Vector 55:

1. announcement 3001

2. goto step 8 if oldest call-wait in split 1 pri l > 120

3. goto step 8 if calls-queued in split 1 pri l > 10

4. queue-to main split 1 pri t

5. wait-time 50 seconds hearing music

6. announcement 3002

7. goto step 5 if unconditionally

8. route-to number 2020 with cov n if unconditionally

VDN (extension=2020 name=‘‘Message Service’’ vector=100) Vector 100:

1. announcement 3900 (‘‘We’re sorry, all our agents are busy. Please leave a message. Thank you.’’)

2. messaging split 18 for extension 3000

3. disconnect after announcement 2505(‘‘We cannot take a message at this time. Please call back tomorrow.’’)

Figure 4-13. Call Interflow

In the first vector, a branch is made to S tep 8 from Step 2 if the condition in the latter step ( false, a branch is made to Step 9 from Step 3 if the condition in the latter step

calls-queued in split 1 > 10

( queued (Step 4), and a wait-anno uncement loop becomes effective (Steps 5 through 7).

If a successful branch to Step 8 is made from Step 2, the command is executed. The destination num ber (2020) in this particular command is a VDN. Accordingly, vector processing terminates in the first vector and begins at the first step of the second vector, to which the VDN points.

Once processing control is passed to the second vector , the caller is provided with the appropriate announcement (Step l). Thereafter, u p on execution of the

mes sagi ng split

to the message service split or else terminate the call to a message s er vice agent or to an AUDIX voice port. If one of these attemp t s succeeds, the caller may leave a message. If none of the attemp t s succeed, the command fails, and vector processing continues at the next vecto r c omma n d (usually an announce m ent e x plaini n g tha t the ne cessary connection could not be made).

Service Observing

Vector initiat e d Servic e O bserving is available with G3V4 and later releases. For a complete description of S ervice O bserving see the

System Generic 3 Feature Description

oldest call-wait in split 1 > 120 seconds

) is true. If the condition is

) is true. If that condition is also false, the c all is

route-to number

command in Step 2, the system attempts to either queue the call

DEFINITY Communications

, 555-230-204.

4-16 Issue 4 September 1995

Functions an d Examples

Service Observing vectors allow users to observe calls eit her from a remote location or a local station. A Service Observe button is not required. The use of a Service Observing vector limits users to listen-only or listen-talk observing. The observer cannot toggle between the two states.

Service Observing vectors can be used to observe ph ysical extensions, EAS logical a g ent L o g inI Ds, a n d VDNs.

The calling p ermissions of the COR assigned to the Serv i ce Observing VDN in conjunction with the “can be observed” settings of the COR assigned to the destination d e term ine what agent s, terminals, or VDNs can be observed. For additional information abou t the security requirements with Service Observing vectors see Appe n dix I, "Security Issues"

You can const ruct Service Observing vectors in one of four ways. Vectors can route ca lls to:

1. A Service Observing FAC

2. The Remote Access extension using Call Prompting to test against a userentered security code.

3. A Service Observing FAC and extension entered by the user with Call Prompting enabled

4. One of several Service Observing FACs and extensions program m e d into route-to number vector steps. In this case Call Prompting can be used to allow the observer to select the extension to be observed.

The first vec tor t y pe is di scussed below. See Chapter 5, "Call Prompting" for examples of Service Observing vectors that use Call Prompting.

Service Observing FAC Vector

The followin g vect o r connects the user to a Servi c e Observing FAC. Be aware that this vector does not provide securit y ch ecks an d shoul d be used with great care and only in situations where security is not a concern.

1. wait-time 0 secs hearing ringback

2. route-to number #12 with cov n if unconditionally (Listen-only FAC)

3. busy

Figure 4-14. Vector for Service Observing FAC

Issue 4 September 19 95

4-17

Basic C all Vectoring

1. goto step 8 if calls-queued in split 3 pri m > 10

2. queue-to main split 3 pri m

3. wait-time 12 seconds hearing ringback

4. announcement 3001

5. wait-time 30 seconds hearing music

6. announcement 3002

7. goto step 5 if unconditionally

8. busy

In this vector the caller is co nnect ed to a listen-only Service Observing FAC. Once connected, the user must dial the extension number to be observed. To observe in a listen/talk m o d e, the observer would dial a d i f ferent VDN.

Branching/Programming

Basic C all Vectoring provides several programmin g methods that affect the processing flow within the vector. These methods, which are implemented via Call Vectoring commands, include the following:

■ Unconditional branching

■ Conditional branching

■ Stop p ing vector processing

The fol lowing secti ons exp lain these programming methods.

Unconditional Bran chin g

Unconditional branchin g is a method that always passes control from the current vector step to either a preceding or subsequent vector step or to anot her vector. This ty p e of branching is enabled via the each with a condition of

unconditionally

g oto st e p

assigned.

and

goto vector

commands,

Unconditional branching is illustrated in the following vector.

Figure 4-15. U nc ond itiona l Branching

The unconditional b ranch statement in Step 7 establishes an apparent ‘‘endless loop’’ involving Steps 5 through 7. The loop, however, really is not endless, since vector processing terminates if an a g ent answ e rs the c a ll. Vector processing also terminates when the system recognizes the caller has abandoned the call.

Conditional Branch i ng

Conditional branching is a method that current vector step to either a preceding or subsequent vector step or to a different vector. This type of branching is enabled via the

4-18 Issue 4 September 1995

conditionally

passes control from the

goto step

and

goto

Functions an d Examples

vector

commands, each with one of the following conditions assigned and

tested :

time-of-day

available-agents, staf fed-agents, calls-queued, oldest call-waiting

. When Advanced Vector Routing is enabled, additional con d i t ions can be tested: "Ad vanced Vector Routing" for more information. When ANI and II-Digits Routing is enabled, the command. See, Chapter 7, "A N I and II-Digits Routing" for more information. If the command’s condition is not met, control is p a ss e d to the ste p tha t follows.

Conditional branching is illustrated in the following vector.

1. goto vector 100 if time-of-day is all 17:00 to all 8:00

2. goto vector 200 if time-of-day is fri 17:00 to mon 8:00

3. goto step 8 if calls-queued in split 1 pri l > 5

4. queue-to main split 1 pri l

5. announcement 4000

6. wait-time 60 seconds hearing ringback

7. goto step 5 if unconditionally

8. busy

rolling-asa, counted-calls, expected-wait

ani

and

ii-digits

conditions can also be te sted with a

. See Chapter 6,

goto

, or

Figure 4-16. Con ditional Br anching

In this vector, a conditional branch test statement appears in steps 1, 2 and 3. If the call is placed during non-business hours (bet ween 5:0 0 p .m. and 8:00 a.m.) on any day of the week, the vector 100. However, if the call is placed during business hours, control is passed to S t ep 2, where the is placed during the weekend. If this is the case, the call is routed to vector 200. If not, control is passed to Step 3, where the number of calls queued to the main split. If the number of calls is greater than 5, control is passed to queued (Step 4). Thereafter, an anno uncement-wait cycle (Steps 5 through 7) is implemented until an agent answers the call or the call is abandoned.

Stopping Vector Processing

Basic Call Vectoring provides a specific command that stops vector processing.

stop

The is not queued when vector processing stops, the call is dropped and tracked as an “abandon” by the Call Management System (CMS) and/ o r BC M S. Afte r t he

stop

and any wait treatment (silence, ringback, system music, or alternate audio/music source) is continued.

command halts the processing of any subsequent vector steps. If a call

command is processed, any calls that are already queued remain queued,

goto vector

busy

in Step 8. If the number of calls is 5 or less, the call is

comm and in Step 1 routes the call to

comma nd th ere checks whether the call

goto step

command checks for the

Issue 4 September 19 95

4-19

Basic C all Vectoring

The fol lowing vector illustrates how vector processing is stopped via the command.

1. goto step 6 if calls-queued in split 21 pri m > 10

2. queue-to main split 21 pri m

3. announcement 4000

4. wait-time 30 seconds hearing ringback

5. stop

6. busy

Figure 4-17. Stopping Vector Process ing

stop

If the

command is reached, the queued caller will continue to hear ringback. Also, if the immediately thereafter. T he latter step can be executed only if the in Step 1 succeeds.

Note that an vector will stop processing whenever 1,000 vector steps have been processed.

Vector Chaining

stop

command in Step 5 is executed, St ep 6 is not executed

implied stop

follows the last step within a vector. In addition, a

goto

command

stop

Multiple vectors can be chained together to enhance processing capabilities. In this regard, the following points involving two Basic Call Vectorin g comman d s should be noted:

■

Route-to number

. If this command is used to point to a VDN, the following

happens:

1. Vector processing continues at the first step in the vector assigned to the routed-to VDN.

2. Call (if q ueued) is dequeued.

3. Wait treatment (if any) is d isabled .

Processing then c o n tinues in the receiving vector at Step 1.

■

Goto vector

. If this command is used, the following h a ppens:

1. Vect or processing continues at the first ste p in the b ran ched-to vector.

2. Call (if q ueued) remains in queue.

3. Wait treatmen t (if any) is co ntinued.

Processing then c o n tinues in the receiving vector at Step 1.

4-20 Issue 4 September 1995

Call Prompting

Introducti on

Call Prompting provides flexible call handling based on information collected from a calling party. This information com es in the form of dialed digit s originating from an internal or external touch-tone telephone, or from an internal rotary telephone. In effect, Call Prompting allows for the temporary transfer of call management control to the caller.

With V oice Response Integration (VRI), digit s may be return ed to the swi t c h by a Voice Response Unit (VRU) script accessed via a Such digits can also be used for call management.

Call Prompting may be used in various applications to achieve a better and more flexible handling of telephone calls.

c onverse-on sp lit

comma nd .

Issue 4 Sep t ember 1995 5-1

Call Prompting

Command Set

The fol lowin g t a b le illu strates the c o m ma nds used for Call Promp tin g :

Table 5-1. Call Prompt ing C om mand Se t

Command Category Action Taken Command

INFORMATION COLLECTION

TREATMENT Play an announcement.

Collect inform ation from the calling party or from a Voice Response Unit (V RU).

collect digits

announcement

Delay with audible feedback of silence, ringback, system mu sic, or an alternate audio/music source.

ROUTING Leave a message.

Route the call to a number programmed in the vector.

Route the call to digits supplied by the calling party.

BRANCHI NG/ PROG RAMMING

Go to a vector step. Go to another vector. Stop vector processing.

Touch-Tone Collection Requirements

Before the DEFINITY sys te m can accept the touch-tone digits entered by a Call Prompting user, the switch must b e equipped with a “collection resource.” The resource used for collecting and interpretin g to uch-t one d igit s is a unit of hardware called a Touch-Tone Receiver (TTR). These TTRs are p rovided on the TN744 call classifier and TN2182 tone detector (G3V4 and later releases) , one of which is required for Call Prom p ti n g .

wait-time

messaging split route-to numb e r

route-to di g i t s

goto step goto vector stop

For new systems, the number of required TTRs is configured ac cording to two sources, as follows:

■ Customer i n p ut to the AT&T Acc o unt Team

■ Account team input to the DOSS/ATTOMS confi guration

5-2 Issue 4 Sept ember 1995

Call Prompting Digit Ent ry

For existin g systems that are a ddi n g a Call Promptin g ap p lication, the AT&T Account Team recommends the appropriate number of TTRs based on two factors, as follows:

■ Account team input to the DOSS/ATTOMS confi guration

■ App licat ion review b y the AT&T Design Center

Outside callers must have a touch-to ne phone t o enter th e digits requested via

collect di gits

the timeout takes effect, the processing continues at the next step. As a precaution, t he customer should always provide a default treatment (for example,

queue-to main split

exclusively for users of touch-tone telephones.

NOTE:

With G3V4 and later releases, the Call Prompting inter-digit timeout can be administered for any number of seconds from 4 to 10. This value is administered on the Feature-Related System Parameters form . See

DEFINITY Communications Syste m G e neric 3 Version 4 Im plem e nta tion

555-230-655 or

Implementation

command. For callers usin g rota ry d ialing , the Call Prompting

collect digits

comma n d times out, and vector

route-to

attendan t command,

command) in the vector script unless the script is created

DEFINITY Communications System Generic 3 V2/V3

, 555-230-653, for instructions.

Provisions for users of rotary phones are illustrated in the vector scripts in this chapter.

Call Prompting Digit Entry

The touch-tone d igits entered b y a Call Prompting user are collected via the

collect digits

digit s from a tou ch-ton e phone. Sixteen of these digits ma y be c o llect e d immediately, while any remaining digits are stored as dial-ahead dig its (explained later in this chapter).

Call Prompting allows some flexibility in entering digits. Specifically, the caller can do the following :

■ Remove incorrect d i git s strings

■ Enter variable-length digit strings

■ Enter dial-ahead digits

The followin g secti ons explain these processes.

comm and . This comm and allows th e system to col lect u p to 24

Issue 4 Septem b er 1995

5-3

Call Prompting

Removing Incorrect Digit Strings

The customer can (and probably should) include a n a n nouncement tha t requests the cal ler to ent e r di g its. As an o p tio n, the an nouncement can instruct the c aller to enter an asterisk (*) if he or she enters incorrect data. When the caller enters a ‘‘*,’’ the following h appens:

1. Digits collected for the cu rren t

NOTE:

Also delete d are any d i a l-ahead digits that are entered and that do not exceed the maximum digit count of 24. (Dial-ahead digits are explained later in this cha p t er.)

2. Digit collection is restarted.

3. Announcement is not replayed.

Once the caller enters ‘‘*,’’ the caller can re-enter digits for processing.

Entering Variable-L en g th Digi t String s

The maximum number of digits requested from the caller mus t be specified i n the administration of the permitted to enter fewer digits than the maximum sp ecified. In fact, the number of digits entered by the caller can vary for several variations of one command. Each such grouping of digits is called a

Call Prompting allows for variable-leng t h digit strings by providin g an end-ofdialing indicator in the form of the p o u n d sign (#). ‘‘#’’ is used to e n d any d i g i t string entered by the caller, an d it does the following:

collect di gits

collect digits

comma n d are delet ed .

command. In some cases, the caller might be

collect digits

variable-length di git string

■ Tells the PBX tha t t h e caller has finishe d entering d i gi ts

■ Causes the next vector step to be processed immediately

Whenever the caller is p ermi tte d t o enter a variable -length digit string, the announce ment portio n of the possible number of digits that can be entered. Accordingly, the customer should administer each

collect digits

maximum number of digits. The customer can have the caller enter ‘‘#’’ as part of a variable digit string entry either at the end of each variable di git string ent ered or at t h e end of each such string that, not counting ‘‘#,’’ contains than the maximum number of allowable dig its. In the first case, ‘‘#’’ should b e included in t h e count of the number of maximum digits that can be entered; in th e second case, ‘‘#’’ should

If the caller enters more digits than the maximum num ber sp ecifi ed, the additional digits are saved as “dial-ahead” digits for sub sequent commands. ( "Dial-Ahead Digits" are explained later in this chapter.) If the vector,

5-4 Issue 4 Sept ember 1995

collect digits

command should s pecif y the largest

command to collect no more than the intended

fewer

not

be included in this count.

collect digits

characters

Functions an d Examples

or vectors chained to it, do not contain another digits are discarded.

If the caller enters fewer digits than the maximum number specified com p l e te the entry with “ #,” a Call Prompti n g timeout o c curs. The ti m e o u t terminates the co m m a n d , a n d any d i g i ts co l lected pr ior to the timeout are available for subsequent vector processing.

A common application involving the entering of variable-le n g th d igit strings allows the user to d ial eit her the number for the at tendant or an extension (to reach the desired destination.) Let’s say the maximum number of digits that can be entered is three. In such a case, if the user wishes to reach the attendant, the user should d ial ‘‘0#. ’’ However, if the user ch ooses to d ial a 3-digit extension, the user should dial, for example, ‘‘748’’ and not ‘‘748#.’’ Since the maximum number of digits that can be dialed in this case is three, dialing ‘‘748#’’ would cause ‘‘#’’ to be saved as a dial-digit (explained later in this chapt e r). On th e other han d, if the caller dials ‘‘748#,’’ and if the maximum number of digits that can be entered is

four digits that can be entered in this case.

Entering Dial-Ahead Digit s

When dig it c o llection for the current processing continues at the next vector step. However, the switch continues to collect any digits that the caller subsequently dials. These “dialed-ahead” digits are saved for processing by subsequent Digits are explained fully on page 5-14.

collect digits

command, the extra

and

does not

, ‘‘#’’ is not saved as a dial-ahead digit since it is the fourth of

collect di g its

collect d igits

command com pletes, vector

comma nd s. Dial-Ahe ad

Functions and Examples

Call Prompting uses some of the functions found in Basic Call Vectoring. This becomes evident when you compare the command set table for Basic Call Vectoring in Chapter 4 with the one for Call Prompting found at the beginning of this chapter.

Call Prompting also provides some additional functions that involve di g it process ing. These functions include the following:

■ Treating digits as a destination

■ Using digits to collect branching information (including Vector Routing

Tables)

■ Using di git s to select options

■ Displaying digits on the agent’s set

■ Passing d igits to an adjunct

■ Creating Service Observing vectors

Issue 4 Septem b er 1995

5-5

Call Prompting

These functions are illustrated in the following sections.

Treating Digits as a Destination

Call Prompting allows you to route calls according to t h e digits collected from the caller. Once the digits are collected via the

com mand attempts to route the call to the destination that the digits

digits

represent. The command always routes the c a ll to the d esti nat ion tha t is indicated by the digits processed by the most recent collect digits command.

The d ig its can re pre sent any of the following desti nati ons:

■ Internal (local) extension (for example, split/hunt group, station,

announce ment , etc .)

■ VDN extension

■ Attendant

■ Remote access extension

■ External number, such as a trunk access code (TAC) or an Automatic

Alternate Route/Automatic Rou te Selection (AAR/ARS) feature ac cess code (FAC) followed by a pu blic network number (f or example, 7 digit ETN, 10 dig it DDD, etc.).

collect digits

comma nd , the

route-to

Let’s take a look at a vector that illustrat es how a call is routed via di g its th at are collected from a caller:

1. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

2. collect 5 digits after announcement 300 (‘‘You have reached Redux Electric in Glenrock. Please dial a 5-digit extension or wait for the attendant.’’)

3. route-to digits with coverage y

4. route-to number 0 with cov n if unconditionally

5. stop

Figure 5-1. T reating Digits as a Destination

In this vector, the caller is prompted to enter the destination extension of the party he or she would like to reach (Ste p 2). (The extension in this vector may contain up t o 5 d igits.) The vector collects the digits, then routes to the destination via the

If the

route-to digits

route to dig i t s

command fails (because the caller fails to enter any digits, or

because the extension number entered is inv alid), the

command in Step 3.

route-to number command

in Step 4 ro ute s the c all to the atte n d ant ( de faul t). However, as long as the destination is a valid extension, the

route-to digits

command succeeds, coverage

5-6 Issue 4 Sept ember 1995

Functions an d Examples

applies, and vector processing terminates. (Even if the dest inat ion is busy, vector processing terminates b ec ause coverage c a ll processing takes effect.)

NOTE:

From time to time, all of the system’s TTRs might be in use. As a result, you should avoid starting your main vector with a the ca ller in this case rece ives no audible feedback if he or she has to wait for a TTR to become available. A ccordingly, it is a good practice to include some treatment (for example, the initial

collect d igits

step.

wait- t i me 0 seconds hearing ringback

Using Digits to Collect Bran chi ng Info rmatio n

Call Prompting allows you to direct a call to another step or vector based on the digits entered by the caller. This branching is accomplished with a example, in the followin g vector digits are used to route ca lls to different vectors based on an assigned customer number.

collect digits

command, since

) before

goto

step. F or

1. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

2. collect 5 digits after announcement 200 (“Please enter your customer number)

3. goto vector 8 if digits = 10+

4. goto vector 9 if digits = 11+

5. goto vector 10 if digits = 12+

6. route-to number 0 with cov n if unconditionally

7. stop

Figure 5-2. Using Digits to Collect Branching Information

The wildcard “+” indicates that the two dig its c a n b e foll owed by any number of additional digits (zero or more dig i t s). So, customers with a number that begins with the di g i t s 10 are route d to vector 8, customers with a numbe r that b egins with the di g i t s 11 are route d to vector 9, and customers with a number that begins with the d igit s 12 are routed to vector 10.

Vector Routing Tables

When G3V4 Enhanced Vectoring is enabled, you can also test d ig its against entries in a Vector Routing Table.

Vector Routing Tables contain lists of numbers that can be used to test a

command. Digits collected wit h the collect digits step can be tested to see

digits

if they are either either the “+” or “?” wildcard.

goto...if

not-in

the specified table. Entries in the ta b les can include

■ The “+” represents a group of digits and c a n onl y be use d as the first or

last cha ra cter of the string.

Issue 4 Septem b er 1995

5-7

Call Prompting

Tables are entered on the Vecto r Routing Table fo r m. Each table can have up to 100 entries. See

Implementation V2/V3 Imp l em e ntat ion

Routing Tables. The fol lowing fi gure gives an example of a Vector Routing Ta b le.

■ The “?” represents a sin gle d igit . Any numb er of them can be used at any

position in the digit string.

DEFINITY Communications System Generic 3 Version 4

, 555-230-655 or

DEFINITY Communications System Generic 3

, 555-230-653 for complete instructions for creating Vector

Number: 10 Name: Premier Accts Sort? n

1: 5734020 17: 2679038 2: 8910573 18: 1345+ 3: 8738494 19: 2345+ 4: 4385702 20: _______ 5: 8768995 21: _______ 6: 7867387 22: _______ 7: 7802452 23: _______ 8: 7074589 24: _______

9: 5674902 25: _______ 10: 8789689 26: _______ 11: 4870985 27: _______ 12: 8093182 28: _______ 13: 7809130 29: _______ 14: 7890301 30: _______ 15: 7893213 31: _______ 16: 8743180 32: _______

VECTOR ROUTING TABLE

Figure 5-3. V ector Routin g Table

5-8 Issue 4 Sept ember 1995

Functions an d Examples

The followin g vect o r could be used to test a g ainst numbe rs in this table.

1. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

2. collect 7 digits after announcement 200 (“Please enter your account number)

3. goto vector 8 if digits in table 10

4. queue-to main split 5 pri l

5. wait-time 10 seconds hearing ringback

6. announcement 2771

7. wait-time 10 seconds hearing music

8. goto step 6 if unconditionally

Figure 5-4. T esting for Digits In Vector Routing Table

If the caller enters an account number that is listed in the Vector Routing Tab le the call i s ro uted to vector 8. Likewise, if the caller en ters an account number that matches the wildcard entry (for example 1345987) the ca l l is routed to ve c tor 8.

If the caller enters an account number that is not listed in th e Vect or Routi n g Table, or if the caller does not enter an account numbe r, the c all is q ueued to split 5.

Suppose that instead of c onta ining a list of premier accounts the Vector Routing Table c ont ained a list of accounts with a p o o r p aymen t record. The fol lowing vector only qu eues calls wit h a c count numbers that are not in the table. Calls in the table rout e to the collection department.

1. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

2. collect 7 digits after announcement 200 (“Please enter your account number)

3. goto step 11 if digits = none

4. goto step 6 if digits not-in table 10

5. route-to number 83456 with cov y if unconditionally (collections)

6. queue-to main split 5 pri l

7. wait-time 10 seconds hearing ringback

8. announcement 2771

9. wait-time 10 seconds hearing music

10. goto step 8 if unconditionally

11. route-to number 0 with cov n if unconditionally

12. stop

Figure 5-5. T estin g for Digits Not In Vector Routing Table

If no digits are collected, the call routes to the o p e ra tor.

Issue 4 Septem b er 1995

5-9

Call Prompting

Entries in Vector Routing Tabl es ca n also b e tested against the telephone number of the caller (ANI). See " ANI and II-Digits Routing" on page 7-1 for more information.

Using Digits to Select Option s

Call Prompting allo ws you to provide a menu of options that the caller can use to satisfy his or her information needs. The caller selects the desired opt ion b y entering the appropriate requested digit. Once the dig it is entered, a conditional branch to the a p propria te treatment is mad e. The treatment is usually provided via the

The fol lowing vector illustrates how digits are used to select options.

1. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

2. collect 1 digits after announcement 3531 (Thank you for calling Bug Out Exterminators. If you wish to learn about the services we provide, please dial 1. If you’d like to set up an appointment for one of our representatives to visit your home or place of business, please dial 2.)

3. route-to number 4101 with cov y if digit = 1

4. route-to number 4102 with cov y if digit = 2

5. route-to number 0 with cov n if unconditionally

6. disconnect after announcement none

route-to number

command.

Figure 5-6. U sin g Digits to Select Options

In Ste p 2 of this vect o r, the user is asked to enter either 1 or 2, dep ending upon the service he or she desires. If one of these digi ts is entered, the appropriate one of the next two steps (3 through 4) routes the call to the relevant extension (that is, either 4101 or 4102). If one of the digits is not entered, the call is routed to the attendant (Ste p 5).

Displaying Digits on the Agent’s Set

The customer m ay ch o ose to include the CALLR-INFO button at th e agents’ display stations to help process calls tha t are serviced b y the Call Prompting feature. However, if the ag e nt has a 2-line display set, such as a 7407 or Callmaster, th e c o llected digits are automatically displayed on the second line. These digit s remain on th is line unti l they are overwritten, eve n after the call is released by the agent. On the other hand, for other display sets, the agent must press the CALLR-INFO b ut to n to display the collected digits.

The customer might find it beneficial to instal l this but t on if he or she wishes to expedite calls by reducing the am ount of time agents spend on the telephone. For example, the button could be set up to collect speci fic information (such as a

5-10 Issue 4 September 1995

Functions an d Examples

customer account numbe r) be f ore th e c a ller i s c o nnecte d to the agent, thus eliminatin g the need for the agent to ask for this informat ion .

The CALLR-INFO b utton displays information in the following format:

where

■

is a call ap p earance letter (for example,

■

1234567890

The d ig its entered by the caller are collected by the most recent c ollect d igits command. Any digits that were ‘‘dialed ahead’’ and not explicitly requested by the most recently execut ed

Let’s assume that digit s have b e e n collected via Call Promp t ing. If the agent presses the CALLR-INFO button when the call is alerting at the agent’s station or when the station is ac tive on a call ap pearance, the following events occur:

x=I nfo: 1234567890

a, b, c,

represents the digits c o llected from the c aller

collect digits

com man d are not displayed.

etc.)

■ Ten second timer for display interval is set.

■ Status lamp (if available) asso c iat e d wit h the b u t ton is lit.

■ Display is up d ated. Specifically, the incoming call identification (calling

party ICI) is replaced with the collected digits in the format presented earlier in this section. Only those digi t s co l lected for the last

c ollect digits

com ma n d are displayed.

If all the cond i t ions to use the b utton (except for the c ollection of digits) are set, and the agent presses the but to n, the status lamp (if available) a sso ciated with the button flashes denial.

One or more events may occur during a successful execution after th e b ut ton is pushed. These events include the following:

■ Ten second timer times out

■ Incoming call arrives (at any call appearance)

■ Active call changes status (for example, another caller is added to the

conference)

If any of these events occur, the following takes place:

■ Status lamp (if available) associat e d wit h the bu t t on is turned off.

■ Display is updated (as previously described).

NOTE:

If the agent needs to display the c o l lected d igits ag ain, the CALLR-INFO button can be depressed again to repeat the operation described in this

Issue 4 September 1995

5-11

Call Prompting

section (provided the agent is active on the call or the c all is still alertin g). Also, the agent can flip between th e c ollected digits and the ICI by alternately pressing the CALLR-INFO and NORMAL buttons.

Passing Digits to an Adjunct

Call Prompting allows for the passing of info rmat ion (in th e form of collected di gits) to an adjunct for further processing. Digits are passed to the a d junct via the ASAI Adjunct Routing capability.

An adjunct is any processor that is connected to a sw i tc h via the ASAI link. The adjunct makes a routing decision via the caller information and/or agent availability, and it returns the routing response to the switch. For example, the adjunct can indi cate the cal l be routed to a specific ACD agent (direct-agent option).

adjunct routing

command according to

A maximu m of 16 Cal l Prom p ti n g d igits fr om the la st be passed to the adjunct via use of the

adjunct routing

collect digits

comma nd .

command can

The fol lowing vector illustrates how Call Prompting digits are passed to an adjunct:

1. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

2. collect 10 digits after announcement 300 (‘‘Please enter your 10-digit account number.’’)

3. adjunct routing link 50000

4. wait-time 10 seconds hearing music

5. route-to number 52000 with cov y if unconditionally

6. stop

Figure 5-7. Passing Digits to an Adjunct

In Step 2 of this vec t o r, the c a l ler i s asked to enter a 10-digit account number. Once the account number is en tered, the adjunct receives this information via the

adjunct routing

co mm an d in Step 3. This c ommand then makes the appropriate routing decision if it is ab le to d o so. If the co m ma n d succeeds within the specified wait time, th e comma n d routes the ca ll to the appropriate d esti nat ion, and the call leaves vector processing. If the command fails, vector processing continues at the next step.

NOTE:

Adjunct Routing is fully discussed in Chapter 9.

5-12 Issue 4 September 1995

Functions an d Examples

Creating Service Observing Vectors

As mentioned in Chapter 4, Service Observing vectors can be construct ed to allow users to observe calls from a remote location or local station. When combi ne d w i th Ca ll Promp ti ng, Service Observing vectors can route calls to:

■ A Remot e Access extension

■ A Service Observing Feature Access Code (FAC) and extension entered

by the user

■ A Preprogrammed FAC and extension

Remote Access Serv ice Observin g Vecto r

The followin g vect o r connects a user to Remote Access. Once c o nnecte d, the user can dial either a listen-only or listen/talk Service Observing FAC followed by the extension number to be observed. Although not r e q uired , Call Promptin g increases security by p roviding passcode protection.

1. wait-time 0 secs hearing ringback

2. collect 5 digits after announcement 2300 (“Please enter your 5-digit security code.”)

3. goto step 5 if digits = 12345 (security code)

4. disconnect after announcement 2000

5. route-to number 5000 with cov n if unconditionally

6. stop

Figure 5-8. Remote Access Service Observing Vector

Issue 4 September 1995

5-13

Call Prompting

User-Entered FAC and Extension

The fol lowing vector connects a user directly to the Service Observing FAC and extension based on digits collecte d by Call Promp ting.

1. wait-time 0 secs hearing ringback

2. collect 5 digits after announcement 2300 (‘‘Please enter your 5-digit security code.’’)

3. goto step 5 if digits = 12345 (security code)

4. disconnect after announcement 2000

5. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

6. collect 6 digits after announcement 3245 (“Please enter the number 11 for listen-only observing or the number 12 for listen/talk observing followed by the number of the extension you would like to observe”)

7. route-to digits with coverage n

8. stop

Figure 5-9. Service Observing Vector with User-Ent ered FAC

and Extension

Preprogrammed FAC and Extension

The fol lowing vector connects a user to a preprogrammed FAC and extension using Call P ro mpting to allow the observer to select the extension they would like to observe. In this examp le, the observer will be Service Observing a VDN.

1. wait-time 0 secs hearing ringback

2. collect 5 digits after announcement 2300 (‘‘Please enter your 5-digit security code.’’)

3. goto step 5 if digits = 12345 (security code)

4. disconnect after announcement 2000

5. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

6. collect 1 digits after announcement 2310 (“Enter 1 to observe sales, 2 to observe billing”)

7. route-to number 113001 with cov n if digit = 1 (11 = listen-only observe, 3001 = “Sales” VDN)

8. route-to number 113002 with cov n if digit = 2 (11 = listen-only observe, 3002 = “Billing” VDN)

9. goto step 6 if unconditionally

Figure 5-10. Service Observing Vector with Preprogrammed

FAC and Extension

Dial-Ahead Digits

Dial-ahead di gits provide the c aller wit h a means of bypassing unwanted announcement prompts on the way to acquiring the information or servicing he or

5-14 Issue 4 September 1995

Dial-Ahead Digits

she desires. These digits are available for use only b y su b se quent

collect digits

commands. The digits are never used by othe r vector commands that operate on digits (for example,

route-t o d i g it s, g ot o. .. if d igits,

etc.) until they are collected. In addition, these di g its are not d isplayed as part of the CAL LR-INFO butt on operation (see th e next section) until they are collected by a

collect digits

command. The vectors on the next several pages illustrate a situation where a caller can

enter dial-ahead digits. Note that, in this case, we are requiring the caller to have a touch-tone telephone. Typically an alternative handling sequence should be programmed in case the caller does not dial a touch tone digit before the timeout period.

VDN (extension=1030 name=‘‘Coastal’’ vector=30) Vector 30:

1. wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback

2. collect 1 digits after announcement 3000 (‘‘Thank you for calling Coastal League Baseball Hotline. You must have a touch-tone telephone to use this service. If you wish to hear the scores of yesterday’s games, please press 1. If you wish to hear today’s schedule of games, please press 2.’’)

3. route-to number 1031 with cov y if digit = 1

4. route to number 1032 with cov y if digit = 2

5. announcement 301 (‘‘Entry not understood. Please try again.’’)

6. goto step 2 if unconditionally VDN (extension=1031 name=‘‘Scores’’ vector=31) Vector 31:

1. collect 1 digits after announcement 4000 (‘‘If you wish to hear scores of games in both divisions, please press 3. If you wish to hear scores for Northern Division games only, please press 4. If you wish to hear scores for Southern Division games only, please press 5.’’)

2. goto step 7 if digits = 3

3. goto step 7 if digits = 4

4. goto step 9 if digits = 5

5. announcement 301 (‘‘Entry not understood. Please try again.’’)

6. goto step 1 if unconditionally

7. announcement 4002 (Northern Division scores)

8. goto step 10 if digits = 4

9. announcement 4003 (Southern Division scores)

10. collect 1 digits after announcement 4004 (‘‘If you wish to return to the main menu, please press 9. Otherwise, press 0.)

11. route-to number 1030 with cov n if digit = 9

12. goto step 15 if digit = 0

13. announcement 301 (’’Entry not understood. Please try again.‘‘)

14. goto step 10 if unconditionally

15. disconnect after announcement none

Figure 5-11. D i al-Ahead Digits

Issue 4 September 1995

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Call Prompting

VDN (extension=1032 name=Schedule vector=32) Vector 32

1. collect 1 digits after announcement 5000 (‘‘If you wish to hear today’s schedule of games in both divisions, please press 6. If you wish to hear today’s schedule of games in the Northern Division only, please press 7. If you wish to hear today’s schedule of games in the Southern Division only, please press 8.’’)

2. goto step 7 if digits = 6

3. goto step 7 if digits = 7

4. goto step 9 if digits = 8

5. announcement 301 (‘‘Entry not understood. Please try again.’’)

6. goto step 1 if unconditionally

7. announcement 5002 (Northern Division schedule)

8. goto step 10 if digits = 7

9. announcement 5003 (Southern Division schedule)

10. collect 1 digits after announcement 4004 (‘‘If you wish to return to the main menu, please press 9. Otherwise, press 0.)

11. route-to number 1030 with cov n if digit = 9

12. goto step 15 if digits = 0

13. announcement 301 (’’Entry not understood. Please try again.‘‘)

14. goto step 10 if unconditionally

15. disconnect after announcement none

Figure 5-12. D i al-Ahead Digits

Step 2 in the first vector gives the caller two options, e a c h of which provides diff erent inf orm ati on. The caller i s p rompted to enter either 1 or 2, dep en ding on what information he or she wishes to hear. Once th e cal ler enters a digit, the digit is collected by the

route-to numbe r

collect digits

command to route the c a l l to the a p propriate v ec tor (Step 3 or

4). If the cal ler ente rs a d igit other than

command. Thereafter, an attempt is made by the

or 2, the appropriate announcement is

provided (Step 5), and the digit entry cycle is repeated (Step 6).

Let’s suppose that the caller, when prompted, enters

. In such a case, the

second vector is accessed. In Step 1 of this vector, the c a l ler is g i ven three op tio n s that s u p plement the

original opt ion p ro vided in the first v e c tor. The caller i s p rom pte d to ent er eith er

3, 4

, or 5, depending on what information he or she wishes to hear. If the caller enters an incorrect digit, the customary digit correction routine is implemented (Steps 5 and 6). Once a n appropriate digit is entered, the call is routed—this time via use of a

goto step

command (Step 2, 3, or 4)—to the ap p ropriate

announce m ent (Step 7 or Step 9). In Step 10 of the second vector, the caller is once again prompted . Specifically,

the cal ler i s g iven the c h o ice of returning to the main menu provided in the first

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Dial-Ahead Digits

vector or of terminating the p hone call. If the caller sele c t s the form er op ti on (by entering repeated.

Note the third vector is similar in design to the second vector. The major difference is the information provided and the requested di g it entries.

In our example, we have just seen that the ca l ler has to g o throug h at least two sets of optio ns to g et the information he or she wants. Each option set is introduced by an announcement. However, be c ause of the “dial-a head” digit capability, the call er can bypass t he announcements if he or she so c hooses. Thus, in our example, the caller could enter hear yesterday’s Southern Division scores.

The caller may enter digits while he or she is being queued for an announcement or while the announcement is playing. If digits are entered during an announcement, the announcement is disconnected or removed from the queue.

Collection of dial-ahead di gits continues unt il one of the following occurs:

■ Vector processing stops or is terminated.

), the call is routed to the first vector, a n d the ent ire process is

and 5 within a matter of seconds to

■ Sum of the digits collected for the current

collect digits

command plus the dial-ahead digits exceeds the switch storage limit of 24. Any additional digits are discarded unt il storage is freed up by a subsequent

command.

digits

collect

NOTE:

Any asterisk (*) and pound sign (#) digits dial ed ahead count toward the 24 digit limit, as do any dial-ahead digi ts entered after the asterisk or pound sign digit.

■ The TTR required by the user to collect digits has been disconnected. This

happens whenever one of the following conditions is true:

— Successful or unsuccessful

during vector processing,

route-to number

except

where the number routed to is a

step is encountered

VDN extension.

— Successful or unsuccessful

route-to di g it s

step is encountered during vector processing, except where the number route d to is a VDN extension.

— Successful or unsuccessful

adjunct routing

step is encountered

during vector processing.

— Successful or unsuccessful

converse-on

step is encountered

during vector processing.

— Call Prompting timeout occurs, during which time the caller has not

dialed any a ddit ional d igit s, ast erisks (*) or po und signs (#).

— Vector processing stops or is terminated.

Issue 4 September 1995

5-17

Call Prompting

NOTE:

When the TTR is disconnected due to a

digit s, converse-on

will be discarded. This means that following a faile d

converse

always requires the user to enter digi t s.

The caller who enters dial-ahead digits no doubt knows which digits to enter ahead of time due to his or her familiarity with the service provid e d . Once the caller masters the digit sequence relevant to a particular service, the dial-ahead dig it c a pabilit y saves time an d also eliminat es much of the redundancy associated with automatic telephone servicing.

or an

adjunct routin g

ASAI-Requested Digit Collection

The ASAI-requested digit collection feature gives an adjunct the ability to request that a DTMF tone de t e c t or (TN744 or TN 2182) be connected for the purpose of detecting user-entered digits. The digits collected as a result of this feature are passed to AS AI monitoring and/or controlling a d j uncts for action. The switch handles these digits like dial-ahead digits. This feature all ows the caller to request Sequence Dialing after th e c all has been rout e d to the final destination and has resulted in an unanswered call (busy, no answer, etc).

route-to number, route-to

adjunct routing

step, a subsequent

step, all dial-ahead di gits

route-to,

c ollect di gits

step

Note that these digits are not ne cessarily collect ed while th e c a ll is in vector processing. They are sent to an ASAI adjunct, and/or they may be used by Call Prompting features.

ASAI Adjunct Routing and Call Prompting features must be enabled on the switch for this feature to work.

5-18 Issue 4 September 1995

ASAI-Provided Dial-Ahead Digits

The ASAI - provided digits fea ture all ows an a djunct to include digits in a

cap a b i lit y. These digit s are treat e d as d i al-ahead di gits fo r th e c all. Dial-

Select

Route

ahead digits are stored in a dial-ahead di git buffer and can be collected (one at a time or in groups) using the “collect di git s” ve ctor com m and(s). Although the adjunct may send more than 24 digit s in a Route Select, only the first 24 (or 24-x) digits are retained as dial-ahead digit s specify the di g i t s that the switc h sh o uld pass to the VRU as part of the

vector step.

. An application can use this capability to

c onverse-

* The maximum number of dial-ahead digits that can be stored in the buffer is dependent

on the number of digits alrea dy coll ected for the call by a pr e vious “collect digits” vector command. If ’x’ digits were collected by vector processing prior to executing an “adjunct routing” vector command, the ’x’ digits collected reduces the maximum number of digits that can b e st ored as dial-ah ead digits as a result of a Route Select. The rest is be discard ed.

Issue 4 September 1995

5-19

Advanced Vector Routing

Introducti on

Advanced Vecto r Rout ing adds significantly to the conditional routing capabilities of Basic C all Vectoring. Specifically, it ad d s th e follo wing conditions for routin g c al ls.

■ Expected Wait Time (expected-wait)

■ Rolling Average Speed of Answer (rolling-asa)

■ VDN Calls (counted-calls)

Command Set

The followin g ta b le illustrat es the c o m mands used in Advanced Vector Routing.

Table 6-1. Advanced Vector Routing Comm and Set

Command Category Action Taken Command

ROUTING Queue the call to a backup ACD split.

BRANCHING/ PROGRAMMING

Go to a vector step. Go to another vector.

check-backup split

goto step goto vector

Issue 4 September 1995 6-1

Advanced Vector Routing

Expected Wait Time (EWT)

EWT Rou ting allows you to make routing decisions based on the time t hat a caller can expect to wait in queue . This wait time can be pr e dicted for a split or for a call. When predicted for a split, the wait time indicates the amount of time the caller can expect to wait if the call is queued to the specified split. When predicted for a ca ll, the wait time ind icates the time remaining that the caller can expect to wait in queue until the call is serviced from the queue. The expec t ed wait time can also b e passed to a VRU so that a caller can be notified of his or her expected time in queue. The

goto

either the Call vectoring offers several conditiona ls that can be used to estimate the time a

caller will be delayed waiting in queue, for example, EWT, rolling ASA and Oldest Call Waiting (OCW). EWT is the most accurate of these conditionals. It takes into account more real-time an d historical inform at ion th an the other predictors. For example, priority level, p ositi on i n q ueue , number of working agents, etc.

EWT is very responsive to changing call center conditions. For example, it adjusts instantly to any staffing changes in the sp lit; if an agent moves into or out of auxiliary work mode, the wait time predictions adjust immediately.

check-backup

expec ted-wai t

comma nd s.

conditional can be used with

EWT d oes not include the time in a call vector before the c al l ente rs a queue. It also does not include the time the call rings at a voice terminal after it is removed from the queue.

See "When to Use Wait Time Predictions" later in this chapter for a description of when the predictions are most accurate and the circumstances that will limit their accuracy.

EWT for a Split

The EWT for a split is the time that a new call would be expected to remain in queue if it were q u eued to the split at the sp ecifi ed p riorit y level. It is g enerall y used to determine if a call should be queued to the split.

For example, the followin g vector uses EWT for a split to d e term ine if a ca ll should be q ueued to that split.

Figure 6-1. EWT for a Split

1. goto step 3 if expected-wait for split 1 pri l < 600

2. busy

3. queue-to main split 1 pri l

4. announcement 3001

5. wait-time 998 secs hearing music

If there are agents available, EWT is zero.

6-2 Issue 4 September 1995

Expected Wait Time (EWT)

EW T is infinite if:

■ There are no lo gg ed-in a gents

■ All logged-in agents are in AUX work mode

■ The split queue is full

■ There is no sp lit q ueue a nd all agents are b usy

■ The split queue is locked

EWT for a Call

EWT for a call is the remaining time a caller can expect to wait before his or her call is serviced from queue. If the call is queued to multiple splits, the remaining queue time for each of the splits is calculated, and the shortest of these is taken as th e call’s EWT.

For a call to have an expected wait time it must be queu ed t o at least one sp lit. If it is not queued, or if it is queued to splits that are not staffed , the EWT value is infinite.

The following exam ple uses EWT for a call to determine the treatment the call will receive.

1. queue-to main split 1 pri m

2. check-backup split 2 pri m if expected-wait < 30

3. goto step 5 if expected-wait for call < 9999

4. busy

5. announcement 3001

6. wait-time 998 secs hearing music

Figure 6-2. EWT for a Call

Passing EWT to a VRU

As stated, th e Expected Wait Time for a call can be passed to a VRU so that a caller can be notified of his or her expected tim e in queue. EWT is passed to the VR U with the VRU is the expected wait time of the call in seconds. The VRU can then convert the seconds to a spoken messa ge probably rounding up to minutes or converting to minutes and seconds. The expected wait is calculated after the VRU port answers the call, so queuing to a converse split do es not adversely impact the EWT value p assed to the VRU.

The wait time passed to the VRU is the most accurate prediction possible. On the average 50% of the time the actual wait time will be shorter and 50% of the time it will be longer. It is recommended tha t VRU applications make an u p wards adjustment of the prediction so that the majority of callers receive a predicted wait time that i s equal t o or greater tha n their a c t ual wait time.

converse-on

command as “ wait” dat a. The value outpu l sed to the

Issue 4 S e p t em ber 1995

6-3

Advanced Vector Routing

The VRU can also announce e xpec t e d wait time to a caller periodically throughout the time that a call is in queue. In this way, the caller can o b serve his or her progress up the que ue. However, this approach should b e used with caution. Circumstances such as a reduct i on in th e n umber o f agent s o r a s udden influx of higher priorit y c a lls could cause the caller’s expected wait time to increase from one announcement to the next.

If the call is not queued or if it is queued only to splits that are unstaffed or spl its where all ag ents are in AUX work mode, the end-of-string character “#” is the only data item outp u l se d .

The EWT Alg orith m

EWT is calculated using an algorit hm t hat is based on the number of calls in a queue at a particular priority level and the rate of service of calls from the queue at that p riority level. It adjusts for many other factors such as multi ple split queuing, call handling times, and the i mpact of direct agent calls on the wait time of other calls to the split. The a l gorithm a d just s EWT immedi atel y fo r ch anges in staffing , s u c h as a g e nts l o g ging in or taking breaks in AUX work mode.

Since changes oc cur constantly in a call center, an d since EWT cannot predict the future, the accuracy of the EWT predictions will be in proportion to the rate at which call s are serviced from the queue and the level of stability achieved in the call center between t he time that the prediction is made and the time that the call is serviced from queue .

When to Use Wait Ti me P redic tio ns

W a it time predictions are best suit e d for mediu m or high volume call scenarios. In general, the potential accuracy of a wait time predictor increases as t he rate of removal from queue increases. It is recommended that EWT be used when the rate of removal from qu e ue at a given split priority level is at least one c all every 30 seconds.

Predictions can be made for a split with multiple priority levels in use as long as the majority of calls are delivered to the lower priority levels. If the majority of calls are queued at the higher priority levels, any predictions m ade for the lower priority levels may not be accurate.

The fol lowin g list d escribes circumstances that will limit the accuracy of the wait time predictions.

■ Imme d i atel y afte r a system restart or wh en a new s pl it is ad m ini stered.

The EWT al gorithm uses a c o m b inat ion of historical and real-time information to make predictions. When no historical information exists, such as when a new split is added or a reset system 3 or 4 is com p let e d , there is the p ote nti al for inaccuracies.

6-4 Issue 4 September 1995

AT&T 555-230-520 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Table of Contents i

About This Document

Feature Availability

What is Call Vectoring?

What is Expert Agent Selection (EAS)?

Call Vectoring Features

Contents and Organization of the Guide

Intended Audience and Use of the Guide

References

Tutorial

Introduction

Entering the Vector On-Line

Procedures for Basic Screen Admi nistrati on

Constructing a Vector: One App roach

Enhanced Vector Editing (G3V4 and later releases)

Phase 1: Queuing a Call to the Main Split

Phase 4: Queuing a Call to a Backup Split

Phase 5: Checking the Queue Capacity

Phase 6: Checking for Non-Business Hours

Benefits of Ca l l Vect oring

Fundamentals of Call Vector ing

Introducti on

Call Management

Call Flow

Caller Control

Call Queuin g to Splits

Split Queue Prio rity Levels

Agent Work Mode

Calling Party Feedback

Dialed Number Iden ti fi catio n Service (D N IS)

Vector Processing

Vector Directory Number

VDN Override

VDN in a Coverage Path

Service Observing VDNs

Vector Control Flow

Termination vs. Stopping

Programming Cap abi liti es

Command Summary

Condition Testing within the Commands

Basic Call Vectoring

Introducti on

Command Set

Functions and Examples

Providing Call Treatmen ts

Announcements

Delay Announcem ent s

Forced Announcements

Information Anno unc emen ts

Delays with Audible Feedback

Multiple Audio or Music Sources

Busy Tone

Disconnect

Voice Respon s e Scripts

Routing Calls

Queuing Calls to ACD Splits

Multiple S plit Q u eu ing

Leaving Recorded Messages

Option with the VDN as the Coverage Point

Sending Calls to a Vector-Prog ram m ed Numb e r

interflow

Service Observing

Service Observing FAC Vector

Branching/Programming

Unconditional Bran chin g

Conditional Branch i ng

Stopping Vector Processing

Vector Chaining

Call Prompting

Introducti on

Command Set

Touch-Tone Collection Requirements

Call Prompting Digit Ent ry

Removing Incorrect Digit Strings

Entering Variable-L en g th Digi t String s

Functions an d Examples