Cisco Systems ICM Software User Manual

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Cisco ICM Software Supervisor Guide

ICM Software Version 4.5

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Modifying the equipment without Cisco’s written authorization may result in the equipment no longer complying with FCC requirements for Class A or Class B digital devices. In that event, your right to use the equipment may be limited by FCC regulations, and you may be required to correct any interference to radio or television communications at your own expense.

You can determine whether your equipment is causing interference by turning it off. If the interference stops, it was probably caused by the Cisco equipment or one of its peripheral devices. If the equipment causes interference to radio or television reception, try to correct the interference by using one or more of the following measures:

• Turn the television or radio antenna until the interference stops.

• Move the equipment to one side or the other of the television or radio.

• Move the equipment farther away from the television or radio.

• Plug the equipment into an outlet that is on a different circuit from the television or radio. (That is, make certain the equipment and the television or radio are on circuits controlled by different circuit breakers or fuses.)

Modifications to this product not authorized by Cisco Systems, Inc. could void the FCC approval and negate your authority to operate the product.

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All other brands, names, or trademarks mentioned in this document/website are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any of its resellers. (0008R)

Cisco ICM Software Supervisor Guide

Preface........................................................................................ xiii

Purpose...................................................................................................xiii

Audience..................................................................................................xiii

Organization............................................................................................xiii

Typographic Conventions....................................................................... xiv

Other Publications...................................................................................xv

1. Overview................................................................................. 17

iii

Contents

1.1. What is the Intelligent Call

1.1.1. Where Does the ICR Fit In? .......................................................19

1.1.2. Call Routing................................................................................20

1.1.3. Pre-

1.1.4. Post-

1.1.5. Enterprise CTI ............................................................................21

1.1.6. Call Routing Scripts....................................................................22

1.1.7. Reporting and Monitoring...........................................................22

1.1.8. Network ICR...............................................................................23

1.2. The Call Center Enterprise...................................................................23

1.2.1. Services and Skill Groups..........................................................24

1.2.2. Agents and Agent Teams...........................................................27

1.2.3. Trunk and Network Trunk Groups..............................................27

1.2.4. Service Arrays............................................................................28

1.2.5. Routes........................................................................................29

1.2.6. Other Parts of the Enterprise .....................................................30

1.3. Peripheral-Specific Terminology.........................................................32

Routing

................................................................................21

...............................................................................21

Router

?....................................................18

2. The Admin Workstation ........................................................ 37

2.1. The GEOTEL Admin Workstation Group..............................................38

2.2. Distributor and Client Admin Workstations.......................................39

2.2.1. Real-Time and Historical Data...................................................40

2.2.2. Historical Database Server (HDS) .............................................40

iv Contents

2.2.3. Monitor-Only AW ....................................................................... 40

2.2.4. Admin Workstation Users.......................................................... 41

2.2.5. Open Database Architecture ..................................................... 41

2.3. Monitor ICR Reporting......................................................................... 41

2.3.1. Enterprise and Peripheral Reporting ......................................... 42

2.3.2. Agent Reporting......................................................................... 43

2.4. Monitor ICR Reporting Scenario......................................................... 44

2.4.1. Viewing Multiple Reports........................................................... 44

2.4.2. Analyzing the Data.....................................................................45

2.4.3. Correcting the Situation .............................................................46

2.4.4. Monitor ICR Reporting Terms.................................................... 46

2.5. Web View...............................................................................................47

3. Creating a Report...................................................................49

3.1. The Report Example.............................................................................50

3.2. Starting Monitor ICR ............................................................................ 52

3.2.1. Controller Time ..........................................................................52

3.3. Setting Up the Template Launcher..................................................... 53

3.4. Launching the Report .......................................................................... 56

3.4.1. What the Report Shows............................................................. 58

3.4.2. The Status Bar........................................................................... 59

3.5. Retrieving the Latest Historical Data ................................................. 59

3.6. Printing the Report............................................................................... 59

3.7. Saving the Report.................................................................................59

3.8. Opening the Report.............................................................................. 61

3.9. Setting Thresholds............................................................................... 61

3.10. Adding Drill-Downs............................................................................ 64

3.11. Saving Your Workspace .................................................................... 67

Contents v

4. Reporting Basics................................................................... 69

4.1. The GEOTEL Admin Workstation Group..............................................70

4.2. Starting Monitor ICR.............................................................................71

4.2.1. Toolbar Options..........................................................................72

4.2.2. On-Line Help ..............................................................................73

4.2.3. Controller Time...........................................................................74

4.2.4. Command Prompt Startup Options............................................75

4.3. Working with the Template Launcher.................................................75

4.3.1. Category and Scope...................................................................77

4.3.2. Date and Time............................................................................80

4.3.3. Items...........................................................................................83

4.3.4. Templates ...................................................................................84

4.3.5. Launching Templates.................................................................85

4.4. Working with Reports...........................................................................86

4.4.1. Saving Report Definitions...........................................................86

4.4.2. Single- and Multiple-Component Reports..................................88

4.4.3. Shuffle Mode ..............................................................................90

4.4.4. Working with Several Reports....................................................92

4.4.5. Status Bar...................................................................................93

4.4.6. Retrieving Historical Data...........................................................93

4.4.7. Pausing the Screen Refresh......................................................93

Contents

4.5. Reconnecting to the Central Database...............................................94

4.6. Printer Setup .........................................................................................94

4.7. Printing Reports ....................................................................................96

4.7.1. Printing Multiple-Component Reports........................................96

4.8. Opening Saved Reports.......................................................................96

4.9. File Association ....................................................................................97

4.10. Saving Your Workspace.....................................................................98

4.11. Modifying Report Definitions.............................................................99

4.12. Deleting Report Definitions .............................................................100

4.13. Exporting Report Data......................................................................101

4.14. Setting Workstation Preferences....................................................102

4.14.1. Event Feed Warning.................................................................105

4.15. User Information ...............................................................................105

vi Contents

5. Setting Thresholds and Drill-Downs ..................................107

5.1. Setting Thresholds in Reports.......................................................... 108

5.1.1. Setting Thresholds in Multiple-Component Reports................109

5.1.2. Saving Threshold Settings....................................................... 110

5.2. Using Drill-Downs in Reports............................................................ 110

5.2.1. Drill-Down Hierarchy................................................................ 110

5.2.2. Adding Drill-Downs ..................................................................111

5.2.3. Saving Drill-Down Assignments............................................... 113

5.2.4. Invoking Drill-Downs ................................................................ 113

5.2.5. Saving Drill-Downs as Separate Reports ................................ 115

6. Scheduling Reports.............................................................117

6.1. ICR Job Scheduler ............................................................................. 118

6.1.1. Job Scheduler Printing Requirements..................................... 118

6.1.2. Scheduling Reports to Print..................................................... 119

6.1.3. Changing Scheduled Jobs....................................................... 122

6.1.4. Deleting Scheduled Jobs......................................................... 123

6.1.5. Inspecting the Job Scheduler Log ........................................... 123

6.1.6. Closing the ICR Job Scheduler................................................124

7. Available Data ......................................................................125

7.1. Skill Group Data ................................................................................. 126

7.1.1. Skill Group Agent Data............................................................ 126

7.1.2. Percent Utilization.................................................................... 127

7.1.3. Call Handling............................................................................ 127

7.2. Agent Data...........................................................................................128

7.2.1. Agent Tables............................................................................128

7.2.2. Agent Status ............................................................................ 129

7.2.3. Agent Activity........................................................................... 129

7.2.4. Agent Performance.................................................................. 130

7.3. Agent States and Time Allocations.................................................. 132

7.3.1. ICR Agent State Terminology..................................................134

7.3.2. ICR Agent State Mapping To Peripherals ...............................137

7.4. Service Data........................................................................................ 141

7.4.1. Call Counts ..............................................................................141

7.4.2. Service Level ...........................................................................142

7.4.3. Queues and Delays .................................................................144

7.4.4. Agent Time Allocations............................................................ 145

7.5. Enterprise Data................................................................................... 145

7.5.1. Enterprise Calculations............................................................ 146

Contents vii

7.6. Trunk Group Data ...............................................................................146

7.7. Network Trunk Group Data................................................................147

7.8. Service Array Data..............................................................................147

7.9. Route Data...........................................................................................148

7.9.1. Service Level............................................................................149

7.10. Peripheral Data..................................................................................149

7.11. Application Gateway Data................................................................150

7.12. Call Type Data ...................................................................................151

7.13. Routing Client Data ..........................................................................151

7.14. Schedule Import Data.......................................................................152

8. Template Reference ............................................................ 153

8.1. Real-Time and Historical Templates.................................................154

agteam01_agent_status_by_position ...................................................155

agteam02_agent_status_by_skillgroup.................................................156

agteam03_logout_status_by_team.......................................................157

agteam04_daily_agent_activity.............................................................158

agteam05_agent_daily_perf..................................................................160

agtper01_agent_status_by_position.....................................................163

agtper02_agent_status_by_skillgroup ..................................................164

agtper03_logout_status_by_peripheral.................................................165

agtper04_daily_agent_activity...............................................................166

agtper05_agent_daily_perf ...................................................................168

agtskg01_agent_status_by_position.....................................................171

agtskg02_agent_status_by_skillgroup..................................................172

agtskg03_logout_status_by_skillgroup.................................................173

agtskg04_daily_agent_activity..............................................................174

agtskg05_agent_daily_perf...................................................................176

apgate11_status_by_half_hour.............................................................179

caltyp01_status_grid .............................................................................180

caltyp02_count_graph...........................................................................181

entskg01_status_#_graph.....................................................................182

entskg02_status_grid ............................................................................183

entskg03_status_%_graph....................................................................185

entskg04_status_grid_to5.....................................................................186

entskg05_utilization_graph....................................................................188

entskg06_halfhour_aht_grid..................................................................189

entskg07_daily_aht_grid.......................................................................191

entskg08_halfhour_perform_grid..........................................................193

Contents

viii Contents

entskg09_normalized_agt_state........................................................... 195

entsvc01_queue_delay_status............................................................. 196

entsvc02_calls_status........................................................................... 197

entsvc03_effect_of_aban_on_servicelevel........................................... 198

entsvc04_calls_trend_analysis............................................................. 199

entsvc05_calls_offered_half_pie .......................................................... 200

entsvc06_serv_level_monitor_graph.................................................... 201

entsvc07_now_to5_grid........................................................................ 202

entsvc08_gate_realtime_status_grid.................................................... 204

entsvc09_svc_array_now_to5_grid...................................................... 206

entsvc11_calls_analysis_daywise........................................................ 208

entsvc12_calls_analysis_half_hour...................................................... 209

entsvc13_calls_offered_daywise_graph...............................................211

entsvc14_calls_handled_daywise_graph.............................................212

entsvc15_calls_abandoned_daywise_graph........................................ 213

entsvc16_calls_history_daywise_graph ............................................... 214

entsvc17_calls_offered_half_hour........................................................ 215

entsvc18_gate_half_hourly_status_grid............................................... 216

nettrk01_status_grid .............................................................................218

nettrk02_grid_last_half_hour................................................................ 219

nettrk12_grid_half_hour........................................................................ 220

peragt01_agent_status_by_position..................................................... 221

peragt02_agent_status_by_skillgroup.................................................. 222

peragt03_logout_status_by_agent ....................................................... 223

peragt04_daily_agent_activity.............................................................. 224

peragt05_agent_daily_perf................................................................... 226

peragt06_daily_agent_detail................................................................. 229

periph01_peripheral_status_report.......................................................230

periph02_galaxy_software_status........................................................ 231

periph03_galaxy_hardware_status....................................................... 232

perskg01_status_#_graph.................................................................... 233

perskg02_status_grid............................................................................ 234

perskg03_status_%_graph ................................................................... 236

perskg04_status_grid_to5 .................................................................... 237

perskg05_utilization_graph................................................................... 239

perskg06_halfhour_aht_grid................................................................. 240

perskg07_daily_aht_grid....................................................................... 242

perskg08_halfhour_perform_grid.......................................................... 244

perskg09_normalized_agt_state........................................................... 246

perskg10_forecast_agents_status_grid................................................ 247

persvc01_queue_delay_status............................................................. 248

persvc02_calls_status........................................................................... 249

persvc03_effect_of_aban_on_servicelevel .......................................... 250

persvc04_calls_trend_analysis............................................................. 251

persvc05_calls_offered_half_pie.......................................................... 252

persvc06_serv_level_monitor_graph.................................................... 253

persvc07_now_to5_grid........................................................................ 254

persvc08_gate_realtime_status_grid....................................................256

persvc09_forecast_aht_offer_grid........................................................ 258

persvc11_calls_analysis_daywise........................................................ 259

Contents ix

persvc12_calls_analysis_half_hour ......................................................261

persvc13_calls_offered_daywise_graph...............................................263

persvc14_calls_handled_daywise_graph .............................................264

persvc15_calls_abandoned_daywise_graph........................................265

persvc16_calls_history_daywise_graph................................................266

persvc17_calls_offered_half_hour........................................................267

persvc18_gate_half_hourly_status_grid ...............................................268

routes01_queue_delay_status..............................................................270

routes02_calls_status............................................................................271

routes03_effect_of_aban_on_servicelevel............................................272

routes04_calls_trend_analysis..............................................................273

routes05_calls_offered_half_pie...........................................................274

routes06_serv_level_monitor_graph.....................................................275

routes07_now_to5_grid.........................................................................276

routes11_calls_analysis_daywise.........................................................278

routes12_calls_analysis_half_hour.......................................................280

rtecli11_status_by_five_minutes...........................................................282

schimp01_name_time_numbers...........................................................283

trkgrp01_alltrunkbusy_graph.................................................................284

trkgrp02_idle_inservice_status..............................................................285

trkgrp03_trunkgroup_status_grid..........................................................286

trkgrp11_trunkgroup_performance_grid................................................287

Contents

Glossary..................................................................................... 289

Index .......................................................................................... 319

x Contents

Figures

Figure 1: ICR Call Routing.................................................................................. 18

Figure 2: Intelligent Call

Figure 3: ICR Call Flow Diagram........................................................................ 20

Figure 4: Service and Skill Group Hierarchy.......................................................24

Figure 5: Enterprise and Peripheral Ser vices..................................................... 25

Figure 6: Enterprise and Peripheral Sk ill Gro ups ...............................................26

Figure 7: Agent Hierarchy................................................................................... 27

Figure 8: Network and Peripheral Trunk Groups................................................ 28

Figure 9: Service Arrays ..................................................................................... 29

Figure 10: Routes ............................................................................................... 30

Figure 11: Enterprise and Peripheral Reporting.................................................42

Figure 12: Sample Report...................................................................................45

Figure 13: Web View Report ............................................................................... 47

Figure 14: Enterprise Service Calculation Examples....................................... 146

Router

Overview........................................................... 19

Contents xi

Tables

Table 1: Aspect, Lucent, and Nortel—ICR Terminology Mapping......................33

Table 2:

Table 3: Alcatel, NEC, and Ericsson—ICR Terminology Mapping .....................34

Table 4: Features Not Supported for Specific Peripherals..................................35

Table 5: Agent Report Types..............................................................................43

Table 6: Monitor ICR Toolbar..............................................................................72

Table 7: Default ICR Subdirectories....................................................................87

Table 8: File Format Options.............................................................................102

Table 9: Drill-Down Hierarchy...........................................................................111

Table 10: Agent States and Time Allocations ...................................................135

Table 11: Agent State Terminology—Aspect, Lucent, and Nortel ....................137

Table 12: Agent State Terminology—Rockwell and Siemens ..........................139

Table 13: Agent State Terminology—Alcatel, NEC, and Ericsson....................140

Rockwell and Siemens—ICR Terminology Mapping ............................34

Contents

xii Contents

xiii

Preface

Purpose

This manual describes how to monitor enterprise call center activity with the real-time and historical reporting features of the G CallRouter (ICR).

Audience

This document is intended for the Intelligent CallRouter supervisor. The supervisor has an understanding of call center management and the specific types of data that are used to report on call center activity and resources.

This document assumes that you have some familiarity with Microsoft Windows™ applications and common tasks such as moving and resizing windows and using a mouse.

Organization

Chapter 1, “Overview”

Chapter 2, “The Admin Workstation”

Chapter 3, “Creating a Report”

Chapter 4, “Reporting Basics”

Chapter 5, “Setting Thresholds and Drill-Downs”

Preface

EOTEL Intelligent

Introduces the Intelligent CallRouter and the ICR call center enterprise.

Introduces the Admin Workstation (AW) with a special emphasis on call center reporting and the Monitor ICR reporting application.

Guides you through the process of creating a simple report using the predefined report templates of Monitor ICR.

Describes how to use the basic features of Monitor ICR.

Describes how to set threshold values and drill-down templates in Monitor ICR reports.

xiv Preface

Chapter 6, “ Scheduling Reports”

Describes how to schedule reports to print automatically by using the ICR Job Scheduler tool.

Chapter 7, “Available Data”

Describes the most commonly used data available in the ICR databases.

Chapter 8, “Template Reference”

Documents the predefined report templates that come with Monitor ICR.

Typographic Conventions

This manual uses the following conventions: Boldface type is used for emphasis; for example:

Real-time information is not stored in the central databas e.

Italic type indicates one of the following:

 A newly introduced term; for example:

A skill group is a collection of agents who share similar skills.

 A generic syntax item that you must replace with a specific value;

for example:

IF (

condition, true-value, false-value

)

 A title of a publication; for example:

For more information, see the Intelligent CallRouter Database Schema Handbook.

Sans serif type with small caps represents keys on your keyboard; for example:

Press the

An arrow (→) indicates an item from a pull-down menu. For example, the Save command from the File menu is referenced as File→Save.

Text you must type is shown in a sans serif type. For example:

Date and Time

SHIFT key to select a range of items.

Other Publications

 Intelligent CallRouter Custom Screen Builder Tutorial  Intelligent CallRouter Database Schema Handbook  Intelligent CallRouter Installation Guide

Preface xv

 Intelligent CallRouter Planning Guide  Intelligent CallRouter Product Description  Intelligent CallRouter Quick Start Guide  Intelligent CallRouter Supervisor Guide  Intelligent CallRouter System Manager Guide  GEOTEL

For information about the G

following documents:

•

Web View Administrator Guide

EOTEL•Network ICR product, see the

 Network ICR Product Description  Network ICR User Guide

Preface

xvi Preface

1. Overview

The GEOTEL Intelligent CallRout er (ICR) improves the level of customer service offered by geographically distributed call centers. The Intelligent CallRouter’s main function is to route toll-free calls to the

most appropriate agent or answering resource available. The system also provides a set of computer telephony integration (CTI), reporting, monitoring, and scheduling tools that help you to manage a distributed call center enterprise.

This chapter provides an overview of the Intelligent CallRouter and describes its role in a multiple call center environment.

1. Overview

18 Overview

1.1. What is the Intelligent Call

The Intelligent CallRouter (ICR) is a software-based call processing system that provides call-by-call routing to geographically distributed call centers. The ICR links agents from multiple call centers to create a virtual call center.

In the virtual call center model, agents from distributed call centers can be grouped logically according to their areas of expertise. For example, a financial company might have call centers in several cities across the country. Each call center has groups of agents organized into skill groups.

The agents in these skill groups are trained to handle certain types of calls. Basic calls can be routed to skill groups that are trained to provide general services. Callers who have more complicated transactions can be routed to more specialized skill groups.

Figure 1 shows how calls are routed to the best available agents in the call center enterprise.

Router

Figure 1: ICR Call Routing

What happens if several callers require the services of a specialized agent? For example, you might have several callers who need the assistance of a financial planner. This type of specialized agent may not always be immediately available at one call center. However, since the Intelligent CallRouter is aware of the status of the entire enterprise, it can quickly find financial planners at other call centers and route the calls accordingly.

What is the Intelligent CallRouter? 19

1.1.1. Where Does the ICR Fit In?

The Intelligent CallRouter works directly with call centers and the interexchange carrie r (IXC ) tha t supp lies the to ll-free service. The IXC is a long-distance telephone company that offers toll-free call routing services. Figure 2 shows how the Intelligent CallRout er operates between the IXC network and distributed call centers.

Intelligent

Router

SCP

Service Control Point

Calls

Toll-Free Callers

Call

Call Associated

Signaling Network

Call Associated

Switched Network

Data

Public

Agent, Queue,

CTI data

Calls

ACD, PBX,

VRU

Agent

Groups

Call Centers

1. Overview

Figure 2: Intelligent Call

Router

Overview

The IXC signaling network controls how calls are routed in the public switched network. In addition to connecting to the signaling network, the ICR has data connections to each call center peripheral. A peripheral may be an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), Private Branch Exchange (PBX), or Voice Response Unit (VRU). The data connections to each peripheral provide the ICR with real-time data on agent group and call activity.

The ICR has two main functions in the call center enterprise: routing calls and collecting management information. The management information is used to make informed decisions on where to route calls. It is also used to monitor and report on call center performance. In a G

EOTEL•Enterprise CTI environment, management data can also used

in a variety of integrated desktop and server CTI applications.

20 Overview

1.1.2. Call Routing

A typical ICR-routed call goes through the following stages. Figure 3 illustrates these stages in detail.

 The Intelligent CallRouter is constantly receiving data from call

ô A caller dials the toll-free number. í The Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) passes the call to the IXC.

centers on agent availability, queue status, and call handling performance.

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Figure 3: ICR Call Flow Diagram

÷ The IXC signaling network sends call information from its computer

(the Service Control Point (SCP)) to the ICR in the form of a routing request.

û The ICR, using the information from the IXC routing request and

the data it has been receiving from call centers, determines the best agent group based on skills, current agent availability, and queue status.

ø The ICR returns a routing label (destination) for the call to the IXC. ù The IXC then connects the call to the ACD where an appropriate

agent is located.

What is the Intelligent CallRouter? 21

1.1.3. Pre-

Routing

The Intelligent CallRouter uses Pre-Routing® to ensure that incoming calls reach the appropriate agent resource the first time. In Pre-Routing, the ICR executes routing decisions before the call terminates at a call center.

As shown in Figure 3, every time a caller dials the toll-free number, the IXC passes a routing request through the signaling network to the Intelligent CallRout er. Th e interexchange c arrier act s as a routing client, while the Intelligent CallRouter acts as the routing server.

The IXC routing request includes information about the call such as

 Number dialed.  Calling Line ID (CLID) or Automatic Number Identification (ANI).  Caller Entered Digits (CED).

The final routing decision, or the call’s destination, is contained in a routing label which the ICR returns to the interexchange carrier. The carrier is then responsible for connecting the call and maintaining the voice path.

1.1.4. Post-

Routing

Optionally, the ICR can perform the same routing functions used in Pre-Routing for transfers and internal calls (that is, for calls originating at a call center or another agent location). The ICR uses Post-Routing to make these “secondary” routing decisions. Post-Routing also lets you implement intelligent transfer applications in which calls are routed between agents and VRUs. Post-Routing ensures that subsequent call transactions are routed in a timely manner to an appropriate resource.

In Post-Routing calls, the ICR uses the same routing scripts and call processing as it does in Pre-Routing calls. The difference is that the peripheral (ACD, PBX, or VRU) generates the routing request rather than the IXC. The Intelligent CallRouter processes the routing request, returns a destination address (routing label), and then directs the peripheral to send the call to the best resource available.

1. Overview

1.1.5. Enterprise CTI

As an enterprise call routing system, the ICR collects data from different systems and telecomm unications env ironments throughout the call center enterprise. Often these systems are implemented on heterogeneous hardware and software platforms and distributed across multiple sites. G transaction data from these dissimilar systems and makes it available to agent desktop and CTI server applications.

EOTEL•Enterprise CTI gath ers enter pr ise cal l and

22 Overview

See also:

For more information on Enterprise CTI, see the Intelligent CallRouter Product Description.

1.1.6. Call Routing Scripts

To determine the best destination for a call, the ICR processes routing requests through call routing scripts. A routing script is a graphical, flowchart-like diagram that specifies how to route a call. A script usually has several branches that can be followed depending on current conditions at the call centers.

In order to make a routing decision, the script uses the information contained in the routing request along with real-time information on the status of resources at each call center. The system manager typically defines a number of routing scripts to use in the ICR system.

Scripts can be scheduled as required to route calls among call centers based on the type of service the caller needs, the time of day the call is being placed, and where suitably qualified agents are available to handle the call.

See also:

For more information on the routing scripts, see the Intelligent CallRouter System Manager Guide.

1.1.7. Reporting and Monitoring

The ICR uses real-time, near real-time, and historical data on agent and call center status to make its routing decisions. To make the best routing decision possible, the ICR constantly collects information about agen t activity at each call center, such as:

 Current agent state  Logon duration  Number of agents available  Number of agents talking  The time agents spend in particular call handling states

The ICR also collects information about calls coming into the call centers, such as

 Number of calls in progress  Number of calls handled and finished  How calls were routed  How long callers were on hold

The Call Center Enterprise 23

Although this management data is essential to call routing, it is also important for monitoring and reporting on agent and agent group performance. The ICR stores the management data in industry-standard historical and real-time relational databases.

The Intelligent CallRouter provides many ways for you to analyze trends and gauge service levels using real-time and historical management data. The main ICR reporting tool, called Monitor ICR, allows you to generate many types of reports on agent and call activity. Monitor ICR is described in more detail later in this chapter.

1.1.8. Network ICR

GEOTEL•Network ICR is the carrier-class version of the Intelligent CallRouter. It allows a network service provider to offer virtual call center services to its customers. The Network ICR functions much like a Service Control Point (SCP) by distributing incoming calls to individual network service customers based on the number dialed, the call’s point of origin, and caller-entered digits.

The Network ICR product uses a two-tiered architecture in which one ICR passes route requests to a second ICR. The first ICR, called the Network ICR or NICR, typically receives routing requests from a carrier network. The NICR can either return a label itself or pass the route request to a second ICR, called the Customer ICR or CICR.

Each CICR can processes all calls for one or more customers. The CICR receives the route request, runs its own routing scripts to determine the destination for the call, and returns a routing label to the NICR. The NICR then returns the label to the original carrier network. This architecture lets a service provider perform simple routing (within the NICR) for some customers while providing full ICR functionality (in a CICR) for other customers.

See also:

For more information about Network ICR, see the Network ICR Product Description.

1. Overview

1.2. The Call Center Enterprise

An Intelligent CallRouter treats a customer’s multiple distributed call centers as a single enterprise. You can think of the call center enterprise as an entire company or agency that spans many call centers. The enterprise typically includes all call centers served by an ICR.

You can create different organizational entities within a call center enterprise. For example, you might organize distributed groups of agents into a shared resource pool that spans call centers. You might also create entities that are tied to specific peripherals. The term peripheral refers to the individual switch (ACD, PBX, or VRU) that distributes incoming calls at each call center.

24 Overview

From a reporting perspective, you can view agent and call routing statistics on an enterprise-wide or peripheral-by-peripheral basis. Enterprise reporting gives you a view of performance across the entire call center enterprise. Peripheral reporting focuses your reports on specific areas of the call center enterprise.

To become more familiar with the ICR call center enterprise, it might help to review the types of organizational entities you can define.

See also:

Table 1, later in this chapter, provides information on how ICR call center terms map to the terms used by ACD vendors.

1.2.1. Services and Skill Groups

A service is a particular type of call processing that the caller requires. In most cases, a service can be thought of as a certain type of call. For

example, in a software company’s call center, callers who have questions about installing software might be directed to the Technical Support service.

A skill group, on the other hand, is a set of agents who handle similar types of calls or have a common set of skills. A skill group might contain agents who are able to handle a particular type of call (for example, calls from customers who speak Spanish). Figure 4 shows the hierarchy of services and skill groups within a call center enterprise.

Enterprise Service

Peripheral

Services

Peripheral

Skill Groups

Agents

Agents Agents

Peripheral

Skill Groups

Agents

Agents Agents

Enterprise Skill Group

Peripheral

Skill Groups

Agents

Agents Agents

Figure 4: Service and Skill Group Hierarchy

As shown in Figure 4, you can group services and skill groups to create enterprise services and enterprise skill groups. These are simply collections of services and skill groups that span call centers.

A peripheral service is a service that is tied to a specific ACD or PBX. You might have several Sales peripheral services. Each Sales peripheral service is tied to, or associated with, a specific peripheral somewhere in the call center enterprise. The Sales services can be logically grouped

The Call Center Enterprise 25

across peripherals to form an enterprise Sales service. Figure 5 shows the relationship between enterprise and peripheral services.

Enterprise Services

Sales Technical Support

Peripheral Services

Denver Sales Denver Tech. Support Denver Info. Services

ACD

These peripheral services are logically combined to form the enterprise service, Sales.

Dallas Sales Dallas Tech. Support Dallas Info. Services

Information Services

Boston Sales Boston Tech. Support Boston Info. Services

ACD

Figure 5: Enterprise and Peripheral Services

Peripheral services typically include a number of skill groups, each of which can be set up to handle specific types of calls. For example, within a Sales peripheral service you might have Spanish and Japanese skill groups to support Sales calls from callers who speak these languages.

Peripheral skill groups are skill groups that are tied to a specific ACD or PBX. Each skill group contains a number of agents. Agents can be assigned to one or more peripheral skill groups. Like services, skill groups can be combined on an enterprise basis.

1. Overview

26 Overview

Figure 6 shows the relationship between enterprise and peripheral skill groups.

HelpDesk HelpDesk Pri. HelpDesk Sec.

Denver.HelpDesk Denver.HelpDesk.Pri Denver.HelpDesk.Sec Denver.Spanish Denver.Spanish.Pri Denver.Spanish.Sec

Enterprise Skill Groups

Spanish Spanish Pri. Spanish Sec.

Peripheral Skill Groups

Boston.HelpDesk Boston.HelpDe sk.Pri Boston.HelpDesk.S ec Boston.Spanish Boston.Spanish.Pri

ACD

Dallas.HelpDe sk Dallas.HelpDesk.Pri Dallas.HelpD esk.Sec

ACD

Dallas.Spanish Dallas.Spanish.Pri Dallas.Spanish.Sec

These peripheral skill groups are logically combined to form the enterprise skill group, HelpDesk Pri.

Boston.Spanish.Sec

ACD

Figure 6: Enterprise and Peripheral Skill Groups

On Lucent DEFINITY ECS ACDs running in EAS mode, and on Rockwell Galaxy ACDs, each skill group has primary and secondary subgroups. The ICR emulates this by automatically creating additional skill groups for these peripheral types. For example, if you configured a HelpDesk skill group for a Galaxy ACD, the ICR would automatically create HelpDesk.Pri and HelpDesk.Sec skill groups in addition to the base HelpDesk skill group.

In routing and reporting, you can reference the .Pri and .Sec skill groups directly or you can refer to the base skill group. In Figure 6, the base skill groups are Denver.HelpDesk, Boston.HelpDesk, and Dallas.HelpDesk. These base skill groups include the .Pri and .Sec HelpDesk skill groups configured on the ACD. These base skill groups can be combined to form the enterprise skill group, HelpDesk, which would include all HelpDesk skill groups across the enterprise.

The Call Center Enterprise 27

1.2.2. Agents and Agent Teams

Within the call center enterpri se, an agent is anyone who can answer incoming phone calls. A peripheral agent is an agent who is associated with a particular peripheral (ACD, PBX) in the call center enterprise. A peripheral agent can be a member of one or more skill groups. (Some peripheral types limit each agent to one skill group assignment.) Figure 7 shows how agents are organized in a call center enterprise.

Agent Teams

Agents

Agents Agents

Enterprise Service

Peripheral

Services

Enterprise Skill Group

Peripheral

Skill Groups

Figure 7: Agent Hierarchy

Peripheral agents are grouped first into peripheral skill groups. You can group peripheral skill groups into services or enterprise skill groups. Optionally, you can group peripheral agents into agent teams. Agent teams are groups of peripheral agents configured on the same peripheral to meet a business need. You can have an agent team that includes agents at the call center and agents who work at home. Although these agents are at different locations, they are associated with a particular ACD at the call center. Members of an agent team can also be members of one or more skill groups.

1. Overview

1.2.3. Trunk and Network Trunk Groups

A trunk group is a collection of trunks (that is, telephone lines). Trunk groups typically contain trunks that are used for a common purpose. The ICR routes calls to specific trunk groups; not to specific trunks. Within Monitor ICR, you can monitor activity for a specific trunk group, but not for a specific trunk.

A simple trunk group is associated with a single peripheral and typically

reflects the peripheral’s view of the trunks (that is, how the peripheral organizes its trunks). However, trunks can also be viewed from the routing client’s perspective. A routing client is an entity that sends routing requests to the ICR.

28 Overview

A network trunk group is a group of trunks organized to reflect the

routing client’s view of trunks. A network trunk group can map to one or more peripheral trunk groups. For example, say you have two VRUs at a call center site in Dallas. Each VRU has two T1 circuits (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Network and Peripheral Trunk Groups

The VRU may divide its trunk groups differently than the routing client (for example, the IXC). In this example, the VRUs view each T1 circuit as a trunk group (two trunk groups on each VRU). To the routing client, however, the four T1 circuits might represent a single pool of 96 trunks. The routing client can deliver calls with the same Dialed Number Information Service (DNIS) to any of these 96 trunks, so it treats this pool of trunks as a single entity—a network trunk group.

The use of network trunk groups simplifies the configuration of trunk groups for some types of ACDs. Rather than deliver calls to specific trunk groups and peripherals, the routing client need only deliver the call to a network trunk group. The peripheral can then choose a target that matches the DNIS and thereby classify the call.

Network Trunk

Routing Client

(IXC, PG)

Group

Trunks

T1’s

NY.Megacom.Trkgrp1 NY.Megacom.Trkgrp2

T1’s

NY.Megacom.Trkgrp103 NY.Megacom.Trkgrp104

ACD1

ACD2

Peripheral Trunk

Groups

1.2.4. Service Arrays

Service arrays are closely tied to network trunk groups. Typically, service arrays are defined in instances where you have similar peripheral services defined on multiple VRUs and the VRUs all share the same network trunk group. By grouping the services of multiple VRUs into a service array, you can send calls to a single target (a service array) and let the network deliver the call to any one of the peripheral services that make up the service array.

The Call Center Enterprise 29

Figure 9 shows an example of how service arrays relate to peripheral services and network trunk groups.

Network Trunk

Group

Routing Client

(IXC, PG)

DAL

Trunks

T1’s

Dal_VRU2.Sales Dal_VRU3.Sales Dal_VRU4.Sales Dal_VRU2.Help Dal_VRU3.Help Dal_VRU4.Help

VRU2

VRU4VRU3

Serv ice

Array

Dal_VRU1.Sales Dal_VRU1.Help

VRU1

Figure 9: Service Arrays

When several VRUs each support a peripheral service, as shown in Figure 9, you can define a service array for those VRUs. You can define one or more peripheral services on a VRU. Each VRU can have more than one service array defined.

Service arrays also give you flexibility in reporting on call center performance by providing a separate view into the performance of peripheral services on VRUs. For example, in Figure 9 a peripheral service report would provide data for one VRU. An enterprise service report would provide data for an arbitrary collection of VRUs and ACDs. A service array report, however, would provide data on one group of VRUs that are sharing a network trunk group.

1.2.5. Routes

A route is a value that is returned by a routing script. The value maps to a target at a peripheral. This target can be a service, skill group, agent, or translation route. More simply, a route is the destination of the call after the ICR has made its routing decisions.

1. Overview

30 Overview

Routes are associated with a single peripheral and are not organized on an enterprise-wide basis. Figure 10 shows some examples of routes and how they map to individual peripheral targets.

Figure 10: Routes

The ICR converts the route value that is re turn ed by the routing scrip t to a routing label. This routing labe l is then retu rned to the routing client. The routing client uses the routing label to deliver the call to the appropriate trunk group and DNIS combination.

See also:

The Intelligent CallRouter System Manager Guide contains a more in-depth discussion of routes and how they are mapped to specific targets.

Denver Sales Denver.Sales.Pri Agent 325 Denver.Trunks + DNIS

ACD

Routes

ACD

Boston Sales Boston.S ales.Sec Agent 123 Boston.Trunks + DNIS

Dallas.Sales Dallas.Sales.Pri Agent 81 Dallas.Trunks + DNIS

ACD

1.2.6. Other Parts of the Enterprise

In addition to viewing data for services, skill groups, agents, trunk groups, and routes, you can view data for the following call center entities:

Application Gateways

You can report on data related to the Application Gateways set up in the system. The G host systems that are running other call center applications.

The Application Gateway is implemented via a node in the ICR Script Editor. A routing script that contains an Application Gateway node can query an application running on a host system in order to obtain data to use in call routing. The ICR can then base subsequent routing decisions on the results obtained from the query.

EOTELìGateway feature allows the ICR to interface to

The Call Center Enterprise 31

Call Types

A call type is a category of incoming calls. Calls are categorized based on dialed number (DN), caller-entered digits (CED), and calling line ID (CLID). Each call type has a schedule that determines which routing script or scripts are active for that call type at any time. In reports, you might want to display data such as the number of calls of a certain call type that used default routing during a specified interval.

Peripherals

A peripheral is the switch (for example, ACD, PBX, or VRU) that receives the calls routed by the ICR. In the course of managing the call center enterprise, you might want to view switch-specific hardware and software status data along with call and agent information. You can view this type of data for any supported peripheral in the call center enterprise.

Routing Clients

A routing client is an entity that sends routing requests to the ICR. A routing client typically corresponds to a subsystem within an interexchange carrier or to a peripheral (ACD, VRU, PBX) that is performing Post-Routing. You can report on statistics for the different routing clients defined in the ICR system. For example, you might want to report on the maximum delay of route responses to the routing client for a specified interval.

1. Overview

Schedules

The G

EOTEL•Schedule Link option allows the Intelligent CallRouter to

import schedule data from an external workforce management system. The Intelligent CallRouter can then use the workforce scheduling data to make call routing decisions.

You can also generate reports on staffing schedule data that has been imported from a third-party workforce management system. The

ICR

Workforce Management System is an optional tool for the AW that allows you to import schedule data and store it in Schedule_Import tables in the ICR database. For example, you might create a report that compares scheduled agent states to actual real-time states monitored by the ICR (for example, Logged In, Ready, Closed Key). You can also export data for use in ACD reports.

32 Overview

1.3. Peripheral -Specific Terminology

The ICR supports several models of call center peripherals. Specifically, the ICR supports the following ACDs:

 Alcatel 4400  Aspect CallCenter  Ericsson ACP1000  Lucent DEFINITY ECS  NEC NEAX 2400  Nortel DMS-100, SL-100  Nortel Meridian  Rockwell Galaxy  Rockwell Spectrum  Siemens Hicom 300E (Release 9006)  Siemens Rolm 9751CBX (Release 9005)  VRUs from AT&T, Brite, Edify, IBM, InterVoice, Lucent,

Microlog, Periphonics, Tandem, and VoiceTek.

See also:

For more information on VRU support, see the Intelligent CallRouter Product Description.

Each of these peripherals has its own terminology to describe the call center. In most cases, the ICR terms map very closely to the corresponding ACD terms. In some cases, the mapping of ICR to ACD terms is not as precise. For example, although it might make sense to associate each VDN on a DEFINITY ECS with an ICR service, you could also map each hunt group to a service. Tables 1, 2, and 3 summarize the mapping of ICR call center terminology to ACD-specific terminology.

On Rockwell Galaxy ACDs, and on Lucent DEFINITY ECS ACDs running in EAS mode, each skill group has primary and secondary subgroups. The ICR emulates this by automatically creating additional skill groups for these peripheral types. In reports and scripts, you can reference the .pri and .sec skill groups directly or you can refer to the base skill group. The base skill group is an inclusive skill group that organizes related primary and secondary subgroups.

Peripheral-Specific Terminology 33

Table 1 : Aspect, Lucent, and Nortel—ICR Terminology Mapping

GEOTEL ICR

Service Application Vector Directory

Aspect CallCenter

Lucent DEFINITY ECS

Number (VDN)

Nortel DMS100/ SL-100 Nortel Meridian

Primary or supplementary ACD DN

ACD Directory Number (ACD DN) or ACD Controlled Directory Number (ACD CDN)

Skill Group Agent group Skill group or hunt

group

ACD group ACD DN

Agent Agent Agent Agent Agent Trunk Group Trunk group Trunk group None

Trunk Instrument Peripheral

Target

Trunk group and DNIS

Trunk None Member of route Trunk group and

DNIS

Primary or supplementary

Route

Trunk group and DNIS

ACD DN

1. Overview

Without Customer Controlled Routing (CCR), o ne or more services map to an

ACD DN. With CCR, one or more services map to an ACD CDN.

If Expert Agent Selection (EAS) is configured, a skill group maps to an ECS

skill group; otherwise, it map s to a hunt group.

One network trunk group and one associated trunk group are defined for each

DMS-100 ACD.

A CallCenter instrument can be a trunk, a teleset, or a workstation.

The CallCenter maps a trunk group and DNIS to a Call Control Table (CCT).

The DEFINITY ECS uses the trunk group and DNIS for incoming calls. It

uses the VDN extension for other calls. A DNIS can refer to either a VDN extension or hunt group extension.

34 Overview

Table 2: Rockwell and Siemens—ICR Terminology Mapping

GEOTEL ICR

Service Application Gate ACD Routing Table

Skill Group Agent group Primary,

Agent Agent Agent Agent Agent Trunk

Group Trunk Trunk Trunk group Trunk Trunk Peripheral

Target

Rockwell Spectrum

Trunk group Trunk group Trunk group Trunk group

Trunk group and DNIS

Rockwell Galaxy

secondary, and tertiary groups for a gate.

DNIS Destination ACD

Siemens HICOM 300E (9006)

(ART)

ACD Group ACD Group

Number (DNIT)

Siemens Rolm 9751 CBX (9005)

Pilot Number associated with ART

Destination ACD Number (DNIT)

Table 3: Alcatel, NEC, and Ericsson—ICR Terminology Mapping

GEOTEL ICR Alcatel 4400 NEC NEAX 2400 Ericsson ACP1000

Service Pilo t CCV number Trunk group/cal led

number Skill Group Agent PG Split number Agent group Agent Agent Agent Agent Trunk Group None Trunk group Trunk group Trunk None Trunk Trunk Peripheral

Target

DNIS Pilot number Trunk group or queue

Peripheral-Specific Terminology 35

The ICR comprises a set of the functions of the supported peripherals. Because the features of each ACD vary, one type of ACD cannot take advantage of every capability the ICR offers. Some ACDs have limitations that prevent them from making full use of specific features of the ICR. Table 4 summarizes these limitations.

Table 4: Features Not Supported for Specific Peripherals

Peripheral Type Restrictions

Aspect CallCenter Only one skill group assig nment per agent. Alcatel 4400 No trunk group monitoring. Ericsson ACP1000 Only one skill group assignment per agent. Nortel DMS-100/

No trunk gro up monitoring.

SL-100

Nortel Meridian Limited trunk group monitoring

. No peripheral service level reporting. Ring time for a call is included in either queue time or

delay time. Cannot specifically track agents as Talking Out (this

time is included in Talking Other).

Rockwell Galaxy No Post-Routing or translation routing.

EOTEL• EOTEL•

Enterprise CTI not supported. Agent Reporting not supported.

No duplexed PG operation. No Longest Available Agent (LAA) routing. Can route only to services; not to specific agents or

skill groups. (The ACD chooses the best group or agent to provide the service.)

No real-time agent state data (but accumulated times in each state are reported).

1. Overview

(continued)

The Meridian ACD supports a subset of trunk group real-time and half-hour

data in the ICR database schema.

36 Overview

Peripheral Type Restrictions

Rockwell Spectrum No trunk group monitorin g.

Duplexed PG operation supported only for TCP/IP Transaction Link configurations.

Siemens HICOM 300E (9006)

Siemens/Rolm 9751CBX (9005)

No trunk gro up monitoring. Limited conference call monitoring. No Post-Routing or tra nsl ation routing.

EOTEL•

Enterprise CTI not supported. Agent Reporting not supported.

No Automatic Configuration. No Longest Available Agent (LAA) routing. No routing to a specific agent. No trunk gro up monitoring. No termination call detail data. Limited real-time service and skill group routing.

2. The Admin Workstation

The Admin Workstation (AW) is the human interface to the Intelligent CallRouter. The Admin Workstation is a PC running G on the Microsoft Workstations can be located throughout the call center enterprise.

Using the Admin Workstation, you can

Windows NT™ operating system. Admin

 Monitor the performance of agents, skill groups, services, routes,

and trunks.

 Generate historical reports.  Provide web access to ICR reports and scripts.

EOTEL software

 Change the ICR system configuration.  Define, modify, and view call routing and administrative scripts.  Monitor the execution of scripts.

This chapter introduces the Admin Workstation (AW) with a special emphasis on call center reporting.

See also:

For information on ICR system configuration or call routing scripts, see the Intelligent CallRouter System Manager Guide. For information on system maintenance tasks, see the Intelligent CallRo uter Administrator Guide.

2. Admin Workstation

38 The Admin Workstation

2.1. The GEOTEL Admin Workstation Group

Each Admin Workstation contains the GEOTEL Admin Workstation group. When open, the G follows:

Not all AWs have an identical sets of tools. The tools on each AW may vary depending on the ICR features you ordered. In general, the following programs are available:

 Application Wizard. Lets you setup the configuration elements

need to route a call from a routing client to a target at a peripheral.

EOTEL Admin Workstation group appears as

 AW Select. Lets you start and stop the services needed to run

Admin Workstation applications.

 Bulk Configuration. Lets you efficiently add or modify multiple

rows in certain ICR configuration tables.

 Call Tracer. Lets you send test calls to the ICR and see how they

are processed and the target chosen for the call.

 Check Routes. Lets you validate the configuration of routes

referenced by a script.

 Configure ICR. Lets you set up and maintain your GEOTEL

environment. The configuration includes the hardware within the system, the services provided by the system, and the agents who provide them.

 Custom Screen Builder. Lets you create your own report templates

for use in the Monitor ICR reporting application.

 Glossary. Defines terms related to the ICR.  Initialize Local Database. Lets you copy current information from

the ICR’s central database to the local database on the Distributor Admin Workstation. (Normally, this is done automatically.)

 Job Scheduler. Lets you schedule reports to be generated and

printed at a later time.

Distributor and Client Admin Workstations 39

 Lock Admin. Lets you check or change the status of locks in the

ICR central database.

 Monitor ICR. Lets you view graphs and reports to monitor the

performance of specific agents, skill groups, services, and other groups within the ICR call center enterprise.

 Print Server. Works with the Job Scheduler to allow you to

automatically print reports at specific times.

 Route Explorer. Displays the associations between dialed numbers,

labels, peripheral targets, services, and routes.

 Router Log Viewer. Displays information about calls processed by

the ICR and any errors encountered in processing them.

 Scheduled Target Manager. Lets you configure and manage

scheduled targets.

 Schema Help. Describes the structure of the ICR databases.  Script Editor. Lets you create, modify, and schedule routing scripts.

The ICR executes these scripts to determine where to route each call.

 Send Home. Lets you report issues or submit orders directly to

EOTEL Customer Support.

 Service Control. Lets you stop and start ICR-related services.

2. Admin Workstation

 Setup. Lets you modify ICR setup parameters.  Translation Route Wizard. Lets you configure and manage

translation routes.

 Workforce Management Integration System. Lets you exchange

data between the ICR and an external workforce management system. It also lets you define custom or periodic schedules.

These tools are covered in detail in the ICR product documentation.

2.2. Distributor and Client Admin Workstations

One Admin Workstation at each site maintains a connection directly with the Intelligent CallRout er central controller. The ICR central controller contains the call routing logic for the system. It also acts as historical and real-time data server for the system.

The connection between the ICR central controller and an AW is referred to as the real-time feed. The real-time feed connection is used to send real-time monitoring data to a Distributor AW. The Distributor Admin Workstation receives the real-time data and acts as a data distributor to all other AWs at the site. Admin Workstations that do not serve as data distributors are called Client Admin Workstations.

40 The Admin Workstation

Each Distributor AW has its own local database that contains a copy of

data from the central database. The ICR’s Update AW background process automatically keeps the local database synchronized with the central database.

2.2.1. Real-Time and Historical Data

The ICR collects real-time and historical data from each call center to determine where to route each call. The real-time data provides current information about specific skill groups, services, trunk groups, routes, and scripts. Real-time data are stored in the Distributor AW’s local database where it is constantly overwritten by new data. The historical data are stored in the ICR central database in summary five-minute and half-hour intervals. The ICR also saves call detail records in the central database for each call routed.

2.2.2. Historical Database Server (HDS)

A Distributor AW may optionally serve as an Historical Data Server (HDS). In this configuration, the ICR Logger (the system’s database

server) automatically forwards historical data to the Distributor AW where it is stored in a special HDS database. Other AWs at the site can read historical data from the Distributor AW rather than from the central database.

2.2.3. Monitor-Only AW

Some Intelligent CallRouter systems might incorporate a monitor-only version of the Admin Workstation. This is a scaled-down client AW that allows you to use the ICR’s reporting tools on desktop PCs running Windows 95 or Windows NT. The monitor-only AW is used exclusively for reporting and does not have the tools necessary for changing call routing and system configuration data, or scheduling reports for printing.

See also:

The monitor-only AW comes with on-line help that explains the workstation’s features in more detail.

Monitor ICR Reporting 41

2.2.4. Admin Workstation Users

Three kinds of people use the Admin Workstation:

 System Manager. Uses the Admin Workstation to update the ICR

system configuration, create and edit call routing scripts, and download Admin Workstation configuration information from the central database.

 Supervisor. Uses the Admin Workstation to monitor call center,

agent, and agent group performance and produce real-time and historical call center management reports. The tool of most importance to the Supervisor is Monitor ICR.

 Administrator. Uses the Admin Workstation to maintain the ICR

databases, register new users in Windows NT, and view system event log files.

2.2.5. Open Database Architecture

The ICR employs an open database architecture. Monitor ICR is just one of many tools you can use to access the ICR central and local databases. Other third-party tools can be used to manage the data in these databases.



Applications like Microsoft Powersoft InfoMaker



reports. You are also free to use other standard Windows tools to access data. For example, you can access data directly from the ICR databases using Microsoft SQL Server and Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) tools.

Note: Although you can read any data you want from the ICR databases,

EOTEL recommends that you do not directly modify data in the central

database by using third-party tools. Modifying data with third-party tools can cause disruptions in the system. Use the ICR tools when modification is necessary.

Excel, Microsoft Visual Basic, and

allow you to access the databases and create

2. Admin Workstation

2.3. Monitor ICR Reporting

Monitor ICR is the reporting and monitoring tool of the Admin Workstation. It is an integral part of the AW and is the main subject of

Monitor ICR

this manual. Monitor ICR features an extensive set of predefined report templates. The ICR report templates allow you to quickly generate reports of the call center and agent performance data that are stored in the ICR databases.

See also:

Chapter 8, “Template Reference,” provides details on each report template that comes with Monitor ICR.

42 The Admin Workstation

You can change the predefined templates to suit your particular business needs by using the optional ICR Custom Screen Builder. The Custom Screen Builder is a client database access application that is based on Powersoft



InfoMaker. The Custom Screen Builder also allows you to

create new report templates for use in Monitor ICR.

See also:

The Intelligent CallRouter Custom Screen Builder Tutorial provides an introduction to the ICR Custom Screen Builder tool.

2.3.1. Enterprise and Peripheral Reporting

The ICR’s reporting structure allows you to view organizational entities independently or generally over the entire enterprise. For example, in one report you can see how calls are being handled generally by using an enterprise service. In a second report, you can see how calls are being handled by individual agents, agent teams, peripheral services, or skill groups. Figure 11 shows an example of two Monitor ICR reports:

Figure 11: Enterprise and Peripheral Reporting

The first report contains data for several enterprise services. One of these services is called MidTier. Like all enterprise services, the MidTier enterprise service has several component peripheral services. The enterprise service report prov ide s data for the component peripheral services on an enterprise-wide basis.

To see the data broken out by individual peripheral service, you would generate a peripheral service report. Three components of the MidTier enterprise service are the subject to the peripheral service report: Bellevue.MidTier, Boston.MidTier, and Denver.MidTier.

Monitor ICR Reporting 43

2.3.2. Agent Reporting

GEOTEL•Agent Reporting is an optional feature that can be licensed for peripherals (ACDs, PBXs) in the call center enterprise. With this feature enabled, you can generate reports of agent-level data through Monitor ICR. (The Siemens 9751 CBX (9005) and Rockwell Galaxy ACDs do not support agent reporting.)

The types of reports you can generate vary in scope. For example, you might want to report on the activity of specific agents within the enterprise. Optionally, you might report on the activity of agents associated with a particular skill group or agent team. Table 5 summarizes the types of agent reports you can generate.

Table 5: Agent Report Types

Report Type Scope

Peripheral agent Displays information about selected agents throughout

the enterprise regardless of peripheral associations.

Agent by peripheral

Agent by skill group

Agent by team Displays information about each agent in one or more

Displays information about each agent currently logged into one or more selected peripherals.

Displays information about each agent currently logged into one or more selected skill groups.

selected agent teams.

The data that are displayed in these reports include real-time and historical data that cover:

 Agent status  Agent activity  Agent performance

See also:

Chapter 7 “Available Data,” provides an overview of the data available for agent-level reporting. Chapter 8, “Template Reference,” provides details on each agent-level Monitor ICR report template.

Enabling Agent Reporting

A call center enterprise can contain many agents whose states are changing frequently. Consequently, while monitoring agent states the ICR might generate and store a large amount of data. To limit the amount of data generated and stored, the ICR provides two ways to control the generation of agent data:

2. Admin Workstation

 Specify which peripherals in the enterprise provide agent data.  Define the flow of data from a specific peripheral to a Distributor

AW site. This is called an agent distributio n.

44 The Admin Workstation

See also:

The Intelligent CallRouter System Manager Guide provides specific instructions for enabling agent-level reporting. Some general guidelines are presented here.

À To specify which peripherals provide agent data:

Run Configure ICR. In the Peripheral Configuration window, set the Agent Reporting option for each peripheral you want to provide

Configure ICR

agent-level data. You can set this option on a peripheral-by-peripheral basis.

À To define an agent distribution:

Run Configure ICR. In the Agent_Distribution_Configuration window, define which peripherals feed agent data to each Distributor AW site.

Configure ICR

You can enable or disable an agent distribution at any time. Disabling an agent distribution allows you to stop the flow of all agent data to a Distributor AW when you are not viewing real-time agent reports.

Enabling Agent State Trace

Optionally, you can track every state an agent passes through and display this data in Monitor ICR reports. You can enable the agent state trace feature for individual agents.

À To enable agent state trace:

Run Configure ICR. Enable the Agent State Trace option in the Agent Configuration window.

Configure ICR

Tracking every state of an agent puts an added load on the ICR. Therefore, you should use this feature only for short-term tracking of specific agents.

See also:

See the Intelligent CallRouter System Manager Guide for more guidelines on using the agent state trace feature.

2.4. Monitor ICR Reporting Scenario

In order to quickly detect changes in call volumes and service levels, you need access to up-to-the-minute data. You also need historical data in order to analyze trends and gauge resources across the call center enterprise. Monitor ICR allows you to combine real-time and historical data in a single report. In addition, you can and have several reports displayed on the workstation screen at once.

2.4.1. Viewing Multiple Reports

By viewing multiple reports, you can get a clear picture of current and past call center performance. For example, say you are viewing a report that shows service levels for several enterprise services. You notice that the PremiumSales enterprise service has had a sharp drop in its service

Monitor ICR Reporting Scenario 45

level over the last half-hour. To further investigate the problem, you open two additional call analysis reports:

 One report provides real-time data such as calls offered, calls

abandoned, average speed of answer, and service levels for the PremiumSales enterprise service.

 The other report displays the same data for the PremiumSales

enterprise service, but historically over the last two weeks.

You now have three reports on the screen, each displaying a different set of data for the PremiumSales enterprise service. Figure 12 shows an example.

Figure 12: Sample Report

2.4.2. Analyzing the Data

As you analyze the historical data, a trend becomes obvious: between 3:00 and 5:00 P.M. each day, the number of calls offered to the PremiumSales enterprise service increases dramatically. Since agents become increasingly busy during this time, calls are being held longer than necessary, which consequently causes the service level to drop.

2. Admin Workstation

46 The Admin Workstation

2.4.3. Correcting the Situation

To correct the situation, you consider two options:

 First, you find out if there is an excess of qualified agents in other

skill groups in the call center enterprise. Are these agents available to handle PremiumSales calls between 3:00 and 5:00 P.M.? If they are, you can add these skill groups to the search list of the ICR call routing script currently in effect for the PremiumSales enterprise service. The routing script will activ ate the back up sk ill groups as necessary to ensure that service levels remain high.

 As a second option, you may decide to work with the appropriate

site personnel to determine if you can add more agents. For example, you might have several call centers in the enterprise each assign an agent to the PremiumSales enterprise service.

2.4.4. Monitor ICR Reporting Terms

Before you begin using Monitor ICR, it may be helpful to review some of the terms that are frequently used in this manual:

 Template. You use templates to create reports. A template is a file

that specifies the types of data to be displayed in a report and how the data will be displayed (for example, in a graph, a chart, etc.). The types of data and the display format are fixed in the template file. However, you can specify that you want data for a particular agent, service, skill group, trunk group, route, etc. You can also specify a range of dates for which to retrieve data.

A number of predefined templates are provided with Monitor ICR. You can use the ICR Custom Screen Builder to modify these templates or to create new ones.

 Historical templa te. A historical template is a template that is

based on historical data from the ICR central database. You can use historical templates to create reports that contain half-hour and daily summaries of agent and call center data.

 Real-time templa te. A real-time template is a template that is based

on real-time data from the Distributor AW local database tables. You use real-time templates to create reports that provide a view into current agent and call center activity.

 Report. A report is the final presentation of data, titles, dates and

times, and graphic elements displayed on the AW screen or printed. A single report can include components generated by one or more templates. For example, one report can contain a real-time pie chart and a historical grid, each generated with a different template. Once the report is displayed on the screen, it can be saved as a report definition.

 Report definition. A report definition is a file that specifies the

2.5. Web View

GEOTEL•Web View is the web-based reporting and script monitoring tool of the ICR. You can install Web View on an Admin Workstation to make it a web server in your corporate intranet. Other computers with access to the web can use the G ICR reports and monitor call routing scripts in real-time. Figure 13 shows an example of the type of Web View report that can be displayed in a web browser:

Web View 47

templates the report uses to retrieve data. The report definition also specifies other values that the report includes (for example, dates and times, particular services, skill groups, etc.). Report definitions are saved as files with .CMB extensions in the subdirectories of the icr\aw\custname\custom directory. They can be displayed at any time in Monitor ICR.

EOTEL•Web View Server to generate

Figure 13: Web View Report

The URL for the Web View internal web site address depends on the name of the Distributor AW machine where the server component is installed. See your network administrator for more information. WebView currently supports Microsoft Netscape Navigator

™

versions 3.0 or higher. The Web View on-line help

Internet Explorer version 4.0 or

provides instructions on generating web-based reports.

See also:

For details on using and installing Web View, refer to the GEOTEL•Web View Administrator Guide.

2. Admin Workstation

48 The Admin Workstation

3. Creating a Report

The Monitor ICR reporting tool allows you to report on call and agent activity throughout the call center enterprise. You can use real-time data, historical data, or a combination of the two in a single report. You can also display multiple repo rts on the screen, save repor ts, and print reports.

This chapter provides a tutorial that guides you through the process of generating a report. In this tutorial, you will learn how to:

 Start Monitor ICR.  Set up the Template Launcher.  Set thresholds in reports.

 Add drill-downs to reports.  Save report definitions.  Display reports automatically at startup.

See also:

If you need details on the features and functions of Monitor ICR, see

Chapter 4, “Reporting Basics.”

3. Creating a Report

50 Creating a Report

3.1. The Report Example

The report you will be creating includes a real-time bar graph that displays call queue status data for selected peripheral services. This data includes:

 Average Delay in Queue  Expected Delay in Queue  Longest Call in Queue  Average Speed of Answer (ASA)

The data for the real-time bar graph is taken from the Service_Real_Time table in the Admin Workstation local database.

See also:

For more information on the tables of the central and local databases, see the Intelligent CallRouter Database Schema Handbook.

The report example also includes a histo ri cal grid that displays half-hour call analysis data for selected peripheral services. This data includes:

 Service Level  Average Speed of Answer (ASA)  Average Handle Time (AHT)  Average Delay in Queue  Calls Offered  Calls Handled  Calls Abandoned in Queue

The historical data is taken from the Service_Half_Hour table in the ICR central database. The historical grid displays data for a specific range of dates and times that you specify.

The Report Example 51

The completed report looks similar to the following example:

Often when using Monitor ICR, you create reports that contain only one report component (for example, a real-time graph showing the delay in queue). In some cases, you might want to display real-time and historical data in a single report. With Monitor ICR, you can launch several report templates at the same time to create a report with multiple real-time and historical components.

Although the report generation process is basically the same whether you use one or more templates, some Monitor ICR features are specific

to multiple-component reports. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to learn how to use Monitor ICR by creating a multiple-component report.

3. Creating a Report

52 Creating a Report

3.2. Starting Monitor ICR

To start Monitor ICR, click Start, then point to Programs. In the

Monitor ICR

Programs menu, point to G ICR. The Monitor ICR main window appears:

EOTEL Admin Workstation and click Monitor

The Monitor ICR toolbar provides buttons that allow you to quickly activate the most common functions (for example, New, Open, and Save).

See also:

The Monitor ICR buttons are described in more detail in the on-line help

and in Chapter 4, “Reporting Basics.”

3.2.1. Controller Time

The Controller Time window appears whenever the Monitor ICR window is displayed:

This window shows the current date and time at the Intelligent CallRouter central controller. The central controller is the computer that is routing calls and logging management data to the ICR databases. The main central controller processes are the CallRouter and the Logger (Database Server).

Setting Up the Template Launcher 53

3.3. Setting Up the Template Launcher

To generate the report, open the Template Launcher window.

À To open the Template Launcher:

In the Monitor ICR window, click the New button. The Template Launcher window appears:

The Template Launcher allows you to choose reporting options from several tabs.

À Choose the Category and Scope options:

1. Select Service as the data Category. (By default, Service is already

selected.)

2. Select Peripheral as the Scope. (In this tutorial, you are reporting on

peripheral services rather than enterprise services. Peripheral services are services that are tied to specific ACDs or VRUs.)

The Category and Scope selections you make specify the general subject of the report.

À Choose a Business Entity:

If your ICR system has more than one business entity, choose one from this list. Otherwise, accept the default selection. The business entity specifies which subset of the ICR enterprise you will be reporting on. For example, a business entity may represent a division within a large corporation or a single customer within a service bureau.

À Choose the Date and Time options:

1. Click on the Date and Time tab and choose Absolute Dates (the

default). (Dates and times have no effect on the real-time portion of the report, but you need them for the historical report component.)

3. Creating a Report

54 Creating a Report

2. In the From field, click on the down-arrow. A calendar appears:

3. Double-click on a day (three or more days ago). A date is entered in

the From field.

4. For this tutorial, do not change the To field. The default setting will

provide data up to the present day.

5. Enter 8:00 in the From time field by highlighting the first two digits

and incrementing the time using the up-arrow.

6. Leave the To time set to the default (11:59 PM). This provides data

up to the current time.

7. Click on the “Show a date and time label…” option to indicate that

you want to show the dates and times as a separate component in the report. Your dates and times should appear similar to the following:

You can now choose the specific parts of the call center enterprise that the report will cover.

À Choose the specific Items on which to report:

In the Items tab, click on two or more peripheral services from the selection list. This specifies that you want data for these specific peripheral services.

 To select more than one item, hold down the CTRL key as you click

on each item.

 To select a range of items, click the first item in the range, press

HIFT, and click on the last item in the range.

 To select and deselect all items in the list, click the Select All

button.

Setting Up the Template Launcher 55

You can now choose the templates to use in the report.

À Choose the Templates:

In the Templates tab, choose the following templates:

 persvc01_queue_delay_status  persvc12_calls_analysis_half_hour

The Template Launcher is now set up to generate a report. Your screen should appear similar to the following example:

3. Creating a Report

56 Creating a Report

3.4. Launching the Report

To launch the report, click OK. An untitled report window appears:

À To design the report:

1. Click on the Maximize button

report window. The report window is maximized. You may also want to maximize the Monitor ICR window.

2. Drag the graph, chart, and text objects and resize them. Try to lay

out the report so that you can see all the data and the graph and chart titles. In tabular report components, like persvc12, you can use the scroll bar on the right side of the window to view more data.

in the upper right corner of the

Launching the Report 57

The following example shows the items in the report resized and repositioned. You may choose to use a different layout:

3. Click inside the title box and enter a title for the report (for example,

“Call Analysis for Bellevue, Denver, and Omaha MidTier Services”). Resize the Title window, if necessary.

4. When you are satisfied with the appearance of the report, choose Edit→Shuffle Mode from the Monitor ICR menu to deselect Shuffle Mode. When you deselect Shuffle Mode, the window borders and title bars of the individual report components are hidden.

3. Creating a Report

58 Creating a Report

Your report should appear similar to the following example:

3.4.1. What the Report Shows

The report you created contains a real-time bar graph that shows the average delay in queue, expected delay in queue, length of the longest call in queue, and the average speed of answer for each service. In this example, the real-time monitoring data is displayed for three peripheral services. Notice that the real-time data in the bar graph is continually updated.

The historical section of the report displays several categories of information related to call analysis for each of the peripheral services. Some categories in historical reports are displayed as counts, while others such as Service Level are displayed as a percentage. Depending on the type of data, the summary rows total, average, or perform another calculation on the data for each column.

See also:

Chapter 7, “Available Data,” describes the common types of data displayed in Monitor ICR reports. The Monitor ICR on-line help system also provides information on how specific data is calculated.

3.4.2. The Status Bar

If you click on a bar in the graph, a message appears in the status bar at the bottom of the Monitor ICR window. The status bar describes what the bar represents and its current numerical value. For example:

You can use this feature to get a precise reading of a value in the graph or to differentiate the bars if you have trouble distinguishing their colors.

3.5. Retrieving the Latest Historic al Data

Now that the report is displayed on the screen, you can retrieve the latest half-hour summary data accumulated by the ICR while you were creating the report.

À To retrieve the latest historical data:

Click the Retrieve button. The historical grid is updated with new half-hour summary data that has been collected by the ICR.

3.6. Printing the Report

With the report displayed, choose File→Print, or click the Print button in the tool bar. The report is sent to the printer.

Saving the Report 59

3.7. Saving the Report

At this point, it’s a good idea to save the report. After you save the report, you can open it again at any time without having to re-launch the templates.

Within Monitor ICR, reports are saved as report definitions, which are files that specify the templates to be used to retrieve data. Report definitions also specify other items that the report includes, such as dates and times or the particular subjects of the report (for example, specific peripheral services or skill groups). Report definitions can be opened at any time in Monitor ICR.

3. Creating a Report

60 Creating a Report

À To save the report definition:

1. Choose File→Save, or click the Save button. The Save Report

Definition dialog box appears.

Since you created a report on peripheral services, the Save Report Definition dialog box defaults to the persvc directory. The “persvc”

directory is reserved for storing peripheral services report definitions. Similarly, other subdirectories of the Admin Workstation’s \custom directory exist to hold other types of report definitions (for example, skill group, route, and trunk group reports).

2. Type TUTOR as the file name. The .CMB extension is retained.

3. Click OK. The report definition is saved.

4. At the Monitor ICR menu, choose File→Close. The report file is

closed, but the Monitor ICR window remains displayed.

The next time you open the TUTOR.CMB report, the real-time graph component of the report displays real-time data. The historical grid displays data for the range of dates you specified when your originally created the report. Since you did not change the end date and end time, the historical grid always displays data up to the present date and time.

You can change report definitions like TUTOR.CMB by using the Monitor ICR Definition Editor. For example, you might want to change the start dates and times in the historical component of the report.

See also:

The Definition Editor is described in Chapter 4, “Reporting Basics.”

Note: The saved report definition (TUTOR.CMB) does not appear in the

Template Launcher list of templates. It is stored as a .CMB report definition file, not as a template.

Now that you have created and saved a report definition, you can open the report and make changes and improvements such as setting thresholds and adding drill-downs. Thresholds allow you to set yellow and red indicators on important fields of data in a report. Drill-downs allow you to launch additional reports from within the current report window.

3.8. Opening the Report

You can open the TUTOR.CMB report by selecting the Open command from the File menu or by clicking the Open button.

À To open the TUTOR.CMB report:

1. In the Monitor ICR window, choose File→Open, or click the Open button. The Select Report Definition dialog box appears.

2. Scroll down in the Folders list and double-click the persvc folder (this is the subdirectory in which the TUTOR.CMB report was saved). The TUTOR.CMB report definition appears in the file list:

3. Choose TUTOR.CMB from the list.

4. Click OK. The report is opened and appears on the screen.

Now you are ready to set thresholds in both the real-time and historical components of the report.

Setting Thresholds 61

3.9. Setting Thresholds

As you examine data in the report, you might decide that you want certain data categories to stand out, especially if the values are out of an

expected performance range. For example, maybe you’d like the Service Level column in a report to turn red when the service level drops too low. You can set thresholds such as these to alert you when certain values exceed or fall below expected levels.

In the real-time bar graph, the threshold alert notifies you immediately of an unacceptable condition. In the historical grid, the threshold alert highlights areas that were out of an expected performance range over a period of time.

À To set thresholds in the real-time graph:

1. With the TUTOR.CMB report displayed, place the mouse pointer over the real-time graph and hold down the right mouse button. A pop-up menu appears:

3. Creating a Report

62 Creating a Report

2. Choose Thresholds. The mouse pointer changes to a cross hair (+).

(Alternately, you can choose the Thresholds option from the Edit menu.)

3. Click anywhere inside the real-time graph. The Threshold Editor

dialog box appears:

You can set thresholds for the four attributes displayed in the Queue Delay Status bar graph (that is, Avg. Delay, Expected Delay, Longest Call, and Average Speed of Answer (ASA)). These thresholds can be set for all the peripheral services displayed in the graph.

4. The default Relation (>=) is appropriate for the Avg. Delay thresholds you are about to set, so press T graph, you want to highlight values that equal or exceed (>=) a certain threshold.)

5. Enter 15 as the yellow threshold and press T

6. Enter 25 as the red threshold and press TAB.

7. Tab down to the Longest Call yellow threshold field. (You do not have to set a threshold for the Expected Delay attribute. The

Expected Delay is the ICR’s predicted delay for a new call added to the service queue.)

8. Set the thresholds for Longest Call and Average Speed of Answer (ASA) as you did for Avg. Delay. Enter the values as shown:

AB. (In the real-time

AB.

9. Click on Apply. (Don’t close the Threshold Editor yet.)

Setting Thresholds 63

The thresholds you just set will have the following effects, possibly immediately, depending on the values in the graph:

 When the Average Delay in Queue is greater than or equal to 15

seconds, the Avg. Delay bar in the real-time graph will turn yellow, indicating a first-level warning. The first-level warning (yellow) is intended to inform you when a count or value is approaching an unacceptable level.

 When the Average Delay in Queue is greater than or equal to 25

seconds, the bar in the graph will turn red, indicating a more serious condition. This indicates that for the affected peripheral services, the Average Delay in Queue has reached an unacceptable level.

 When the Longest Call (Waiting in Queue) is greater than or equal

to 30 seconds but less than 45 seconds, the Longest Call bar in the graph will turn yellow, indicating that the 30 second delay is approaching an unacceptable level. If that number equals or goes over 45 seconds, it means that an unacceptable performance level has been reached or exceeded. The Longest Call bar will turn red to indicate this more serious condition.

 The Average Speed of Answer yellow and red thresholds will also

be triggered when performance levels equal or exceed 15 and 20 seconds respectively.

You can now set thresholds in the historical portion of the report.

À To set thresholds in the historical grid:

1. Within the Threshold Editor, click the Next button. The Threshold

Editor displays the data attributes for the historical Calls Analysis grid.

2. Enter the threshold values as shown in the following example. (Note

that service level threshold values must be set in decimal format.)

3. Creating a Report

3. (Important.) Be sure to change the Relation for service_level to <=.

You want the Service Level threshold to be triggered when the value equals or falls below a certain value.

Click Apply.

You just set the number of Calls Offered thresholds to highlight the column if the number of calls equals or exceeds (>=) 50 and 60 in any

64 Creating a Report

half-hour interval. You also set the Service Level thresholds to <= to 80 percent for the yellow warning and <= 75 percent for the red warning.

If the Service Level equals or falls below 80 percent, the Service Level column in the chart will turn yellow to indicate that the Service Level approached an unacceptable level. If the Service Level equals or falls below 75 percent, a red warning will indicate that a serious performance problem existed.

Note: Setting thresholds on the service level can alert you to other potential

performance problems. A service level that is dropping indicates that some type of performance problem exists. To find out what is causing the service level to drop and to see if the problem still exists, you can launch an appropriate real-time template or open another report definition.

À To set the other attributes:

Choose relations and enter values that you feel set proper threshold levels for the other attributes li ste d in the Thre shold Editor.

When you are ready to close the Threshold Editor, click Apply and then click Done.

À To preserve the thresholds you set:

Although you applied thresholds to the report, you must save the report itself in order to keep the threshold settings. Save the report definition by choosing File→Save from the menu bar, or by clicking the Save button.

3.10. Adding Drill-Downs

The DrillDown Editor lets you add another level of detail to the report. For example, if you are looking at information about a peripheral service, you might want to see more information about the individual routes associated with the service. Similarly, if you have a report on an

enterprise service you might want to “drill-down” to see data for the component peripheral services. The DrillDown Editor allows you to get this kind of detail quickly and easily from within a report window.

À To add drill-downs to a report:

1. Open the TUTOR.CMB report definition.

2. Choose Edit→DrillDown. The report window is maximized.

Adding Drill-Downs 65

3. Click anywhere inside the “Periph era l Se rv ice s Queue Delay Status”

report window. The DrillDown Editor appears. In this example, the DrillDown Editor lists the corresponding real-time templates for Routes:

Monitor ICR has rules that specify the groups of drill-down templates that can be used in particular types of reports. Chapter 4, “Reporting Basics,” provides a list of the drill-down rules and defaults.

4. Click on the “routes02_call_status” template in the DrillDown

Editor. In this tutorial, you are setting a drill-down in order to view additional call status data for the routes associated with a peripheral service.

5. Click Apply to assign the drill-down template to the “Peripheral

Services Queue Delay Status” real-time graph. (Don’t close the DrillDown Editor yet.)

You will be able to invoke the drill-down routes template for each peripheral service in the graph. In other words, you can display a separate drill-down report for each peripheral service listed in the graph.

3. Creating a Report

66 Creating a Report

Now that you have added drill-down capability to the real-time graph, you can do the same with the historical grid.

À To add drill-downs to the historical grid component:

1. Click on Next. The DrillDown Editor changes to reflect the route templates that can be added to the historical grid.

2. Click the “routes12_calls_analysis_half_hour” template in the

DrillDown Editor.

3. Click Apply to assign the drill-down template to the Call Analysis chart.

4. When you are finished, click Done. The DrillDown Editor is closed and you are returned to the original report window.

You will also be able to invoke a drill-down report for each peripheral service displayed in the historical grid.

You must save the changes you made to the report in order for the drill-down capabilities to take effect. If you close the report without saving it, the drill-down capabilities will be lost.

À To save the drill-down capabilities:

Choose File→Save or click the Save button. You can now invoke the drill-downs you just set.

À To invoke the drill-downs:

1. With the report displayed, double-click on a bar in the “Peripheral Services Queue Delay Status” real-time graph. A “Route Status” drill-down report appears.

Saving Your Workspace 67

2. Double-click on a bar for another peripheral service to specify that

you want data for that peripheral service. A new “Routes Status” drill-down report appears.

3. To close a drill-down report, make the window active and choose

File→Close.

For the historical portion of the report, follow this same procedure, but invoke the drill-down by double-clicking on a specific name in the Peripheral Service column of the grid:

Once displayed, the drill-down reports can be saved as Monitor ICR report definitions.

See also:

Chapter 5, “Setting Thresholds and Drill-Downs,” provides more information on saving drill-downs as report definitions.

You can now learn how to set up Monitor ICR to save your workspace.

3.11. Saving Your Workspace

You can have Monitor ICR display the screen as you left it each time you start the application. This feature is useful in displaying your most important and frequently used reports immediately upon startup.

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68 Creating a Report

For example, say that the first thing you want to see at the start of the workday is a real-time report on call queue delays for a certain group of peripheral services. You can easily set up Monitor ICR to display this report at startup.

Note: Only saved report definitions (.CMB files) can be displayed at startup.

À To set up Monitor ICR for automatic report display:

1. Open the TUTOR.CMB report.

2. Choose Edit→Shuffle Mode and adjust the report to appear the way you want it displayed at startup. (For example, you may want to enlarge the real-time graph in the report.)

3. When you are satisfied with the appearance of the report, choose Edit→Shuffle Mode again to disable shuffle mode.

4. Choose Options→Save Settings Now. This saves the current screen settings and component positions.

Note: Make sure that Options→Save Settings on Exit is not selected when you

exit from Monitor ICR; otherwise, the settings you have saved will be overwritten.

À To test the startup settings:

Choose File→Exit to end the current Monitor ICR session. Then double-click on the Monitor ICR icon to restart the application. The report is displayed automatically.

À To return to default display mode:

1. Start Monitor ICR.

2. Choose File→Close to close the TUTOR.CMB report.

3. Choose Options→Save Settings Now.

4. Ensure that Options→Save Settings on Exit is deselected when you exit from Monitor ICR.

The report you created in this chapter used some of the major features of Monitor ICR. However, Monitor ICR has other features that can help you manage your call center enterprise data.

See also:

Chapter 4, “Reporting Basics,” provides more details on the Monitor ICR interface and several other reporting and monitoring features.

4. Reporting Basics

This chapter describes the basics of creating reports with the Monitor ICR tool. It provides details on using the toolbar, menu commands, on-line help, and the Template Launcher. Several common reporting tasks are covered in this chapter, including:

 Starting Monitor ICR.  Working with templates and reports.  Exporting report data.  Printing reports.

This chapter also describes how to set Admin Workstation preferences such as the real-time refresh rate and the background color used in reports.

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70 Reporting Basics

4.1. The GEOTEL Admin Workstation Group

From the Windows NT desktop, open the GEOTEL Admin Workstation group. The group contains several applications:

The following applications are used in reporting on and monitoring call center activity:

 Job Scheduler. Lets you schedule reports to be generated and

printed at a later time.

 Monitor ICR. Lets you view graphs and reports to monitor the

performance of the system as a whole or specific services and skill groups within the system. You can also generate new graphs and reports using templates provided.

 Print Server. Works with the Job Scheduler to allow you to

automatically print reports at specific times.

See also:

See the Intelligent CallRouter System Manager Guide, Installation Guide, and Administrator Guide for information on the other ICR

applications.

4.2. Starting Monitor ICR

To start Monitor ICR, double-click the Monitor ICR icon in the GEOTEL Admin Workstation group. The Monitor ICR main window appears:

Monitor ICR

Starting Monitor ICR 71

See also:

For information on starting Monitor ICR from the command prompt, see

“Command Prompt Startup Options,” later in this chapter. For information on starting Monitor ICR from the Windows NT Explorer see “File Association,” later in this chapter.

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72 Reporting Basics

4.2.1. Toolbar Options

You can use the buttons on the Monitor ICR toolbar to quickly activate the most common functions. Table 6 summarizes these buttons.

Table 6: Monitor ICR Toolbar

Button Action

Create a new report.

Open a report that you have previously saved.

Save the current report to a file.

Print the current report.

Invoke the ICR Event Viewer.

Pause the real-time refreshing of the Monitor ICR screen.

Resume the real-time refreshing of the Monitor ICR screen.

Retrieve the latest half-hour historical data from the central database.

Invoke on-l ine help.

You can also invoke these actions by using menu commands. A few of the commands also have keyboard shortcuts.

See also:

The Monitor ICR on-line help provides more information about the toolbar and keyboard shortcuts.

You can toggle the Options→Show Text option from the Monitor ICR menu to display the toolbar without text:

Starting Monitor ICR 73

Monitor ICR provides a pop-up menu that allows you to display the toolbar in several different ways. Click the right mouse button in the area to the right of the toolbar. A menu appears:

Toggle the Frame Bar option to hide the toolbar. To redisplay the toolbar, choose Options→Toolbar from the Monitor ICR menu. The other options in this window (except Show Text) allow you to display the toolbar in different positions and toggle between displaying large buttons with text (Show Text) or smaller buttons with no text.

Toolbars can appear “docked” to an edge of the window or floating as in the following example:

You can drag a floating toolbar anywhere within the window. If you drag it to an edge of the window, it docks to that edge.

4.2.2. On-Line Help

The on-line help system provides information on the user interface and menus of Monitor ICR. For details on the menu options and other subjects, invoke the Monitor ICR on-line help.

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74 Reporting Basics

À Invoke on-line help by using one of these methods:

 In the Monitor ICR window, click the Help button.  Select Help from the Help menu.  Press F1.

The Help contents window is shown in the following example:

Each Help system on the Admin Workstation works in the same way. If you click the Master Help button in any of the ICR help systems, another help window appears which lets you navigate to other help systems via a Help Topics window.

4.2.3. Controller Time

The Controller Time window appears whenever the Monitor ICR window is displayed. You can position the Controller Time window anywhere on the screen while you are working in Monitor ICR. It is part of the Monitor ICR application and is closed and minimized along with Monitor ICR:

The Controller Time window shows the current date and time at the ICR Central Controller. The Central Controller is the computer or computers running the CallRouter and the Database Server. An up-to-date controller time indicates that the real-time feed process is active and providing real-time data to the Admin Workstation. You can click on the radio button () to display the time zone for the Central Controller.

By default, the controller time is updated approximately every 10 to 30 seconds, depending on the AW type. You can change these valueson some AWs by using the Preferences dialog box.

Working with the Template Launcher 75

To change the refresh rate, change the value in the Refresh Rate field in the Preferences dialog box. This field also affects the rate at which real-time data is updated in Monitor ICR real-time reports.

See also:

See “Setting Workstation Preferences,” later in this chapter, for more information on using the Preferences dialog box.

You may also want to see the local time at the Admin Workstation while you run Monitor ICR. To display the local time, run the Clock task from the Windows NT Run window.

4.2.4. Command Prompt Startup Options

You can start Monitor ICR and open existing reports from the DOS command prompt. For example, in a DOS command prompt window you can type:

C:\>monitor \icr\

This command starts Monitor ICR and opens the specified report definition file. To open a specific report, you must provide the complete path along with the filename.

If you want to start Monitor ICR without opening a specific report, you can type the following command:

C:\>monitor

The monitor command can be entered in any DOS command prompt window or in the Task List window. You can open the Task List window by pressing C

Once Monitor ICR and the specified report are displayed on the screen, you can open additional reports by issuing the command again. For example, the following command opens a report from the “trkgrp” directory:

C:\>monitor \icr\

Each time you enter the monitor command, the specified report is opened and a new instance of Monitor ICR is started.

See also:

For information on starting Monitor ICR and opening reports from the Windows NT File Manager or the NT Explorer, see “File Association,” later in this chapter.

customer

TRL + ESC.

customer

\aw\custom\persvc\

\aw\custom\trkgrp\

filename.cmb

4.3. Working with the Template Launcher

The Template Launcher allows you to generate a new report using the predefined templates that come with Monitor ICR. You can also launch any custom templates that were created with the ICR Custom Screen Builder. Once you launch the selected templates, you can add features, lay out the report components, and save the report as a report defini tion . Report definitions can later be opened and modified.

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À To invoke the template launcher:

In the Monitor ICR window, click the New button. The Template Launcher window appears:

In the Template Launcher window, you choose the options that define how a report will be generated. These options include:

 Category and Scope  Date and Time  Items  Templates

After you select options in each tab, you can click OK to launch the report.

The Template Launcher window can be closed. To close the Template

Launcher, choose Close from the Template Launcher’s control panel or click the Close

(X) button.

Working with the Template Launcher 77

4.3.1. Category and Scope

Choose a report Category. You can select only one category on which to base the report.

You can create reports on the following logical groups, or categories, within the call center enterprise:

 Agent: An agent is anyone who can answer incoming phone calls. A

peripheral agent is an agent who is associated with a particular

peripheral (ACD, PBX) in the call center enterprise. A peripheral agent can be a member of one or more skill groups. (Some peripheral types limit each agent to one skill group assignment.)

 Application Gateway. You can report on several types of data

related to the Application Gateways set up in the system. The Application Gateway allows the ICR to query host systems that are running other call center applications. The ICR can then base routing decisions on the results obtained from the query. For Application Gateways, you can report on data such as the number of query requests issued to a host system and the delay involved in making queries.

 Call Type. You can report on statistics for the call types defined in

the ICR system. A call type is a category of incoming calls. Calls are categorized based on dialed number (DN), caller-entered digits (CED), and calling line ID (CLID). In reports, you might want to display data such as the number of calls of a certain call type that used default routing during a specified interval.

 Peripheral. You can use the Peripheral category to report on

switch-specific hardware and software status and some types of call and agent information.

 Route. For routes, you can report on data such as the number of

calls in progress, calls in queue, or calls handled. A route is value that is returned by a routing script. This value maps to a service and a specific target at a peripheral (for example, a service, skill group, agent, or translation route).

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78 Reporting Basics

 Routing Client. You can report on statistics for the different routing

clients defined in the ICR system. A routing client is an enti ty that sends routing requests to the ICR. Routing clients typically correspond to a subsystem within the interexchange carrier (IXC) or to a peripheral (ACD or PBX) that is performing Post-Routing. Within Monitor ICR, you might want to report on the maximum delay of route responses to the routing client for a specif i ed inte rv al.

 Schedule. You can generate reports that include staffing schedule

data that has been imported from a third-party workforce management system. The G System allows you to import schedule data and store it in the ICR database. The exact data that appears in Monitor ICR reports depends on the specific workforce management system you are using with the ICR system.

 Service. You can report on many types of data for services, such as

service level, number of calls abandoned, number of calls offered, and average handle time. A service is a particular type of processing that the caller requires. For example, in a software company’s call center, callers having questions about installing software would be directed to the Technical Support service.

EOTEL Workforce Management Import

 Skill Group. A skill group is a collection of agents who share a

common set of skills, such as being able to handle Spanish-speaking callers. For skill groups, you can generate reports that cover agent activity (for example, the number of agents talking, available, or in wrap-up for a particular skill group).

 Trunk Group. A trunk group is a collection of trunks that are

associated with a single peripheral. Often, the trunks in a trunk group are used for a common purpose. In Monitor ICR, you can report on trunk group (and network trunk group) data, such as the number of trunks in service, number of trunks idle, and the time during which all trunks in a trunk group were simultaneously busy (All Trunks Busy).

Specify the Scope of the report. These options help you to further focus your report on specific services, skill groups, routing clients, etc.

Working with the Template Launcher 79

The Scope options include:

 Base Only. This option is available only if you select Skill Group as

the Category. Base skill groups are used to organize related subgroups on some types of ACDs. For example, you might have skill groups called HelpDesk.pri and HelpDesk.sec to prioritize call routing. In a report, you can reference the .pri and .sec skill groups directly or you can refer to the base skill group.

 Enterprise. Select Enterprise to report on enterprise services or

enterprise skill groups. Enterprise services and skill groups are collections of services and skill groups that span call centers.

 Network. This option is available only if you choose Trunk Group

as the Category. Select Network to report on Network Trunk Groups.

 Peripheral. This option allows you to report on Peripheral Agents,

Peripheral Services, Peripheral Skill Groups, or Peripheral Trunk Groups.

 Array. Select Array to report on Service Arrays. A Service Array is

a collection of peripheral services across VRUs that share a common network trunk group.

 By Peripheral. This option is available only if you choose Agent as

the Category. It allows you to report on each agent currently logged into one or more selected peripherals.

 By Skill Group. This option is available only if you choose Agent

as the Category. It allows you to report on each agent currently logged into one or more selected skill groups.

 By Team. This option is available only if you choose Agent as the

Category. It allows you to display information about each agent in one or more selected agent teams.

See also:

For more information on call center entities such as Network Trunk

Groups and Service Arrays, see Chapter 1, “Overview.” Specify the Business Entity. A business entity is a subset of the ICR

enterprise that contains its own scripts, enterprise services, enterprise skill groups, enterprise agent groups, and schedules.

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80 Reporting Basics

A business entity may represent a division within a large corporation or a single customer within a service bureau. By default, the ICR enterprise consists of only one business entity. If you enable partitioning, you can define multiple business entities.

If you have only one entry under Select Business Entity, you need not make a selection. Otherwise, select a business entity from the list.

4.3.2. Date and Time

For historical reports, choose the type of date and time you want to use in the report:

Absolute Dates

Absolute dates allow you to enter an exact period of time with From and To dates and times. Choose this option if you want the report to display data from a specific time period (for example, from January 18, 1999 to January 21, 1999).

The default From and To dates and times are from the present date at 12:00 AM (midnight) to 11:59 PM. These defaults provide data up to the present time.

Working with the Template Launcher 81

If you select Absolute Dates, click the down arrow in the From and To boxes to display a calendar:

Double-click on a day in the calendar to select it. You can also click on the left and right arrows in the calendar to display different months.

To enter times, highlight the time values and use the up and down arrows to adjust them. Time is shown in 24-hour format. For example, 8:00 is 8:00 A.M. and 17:00 is 5:00 P.M.

If you leave the To time field set to 23:59, the report displays data up to the current time. (Optionally, you can type dates and times directly into the From and To boxes.)

Relative Dates

Relative dates allow you to select a predefined period of time for the report relative to today’s date. Choose this option if, for example, you

want the report to display data for the previous day, last week, or the current month. For example, if you choose Relative, you can choose an option such as “Last Week” as a Date Time. This would provide data for the last full week (that is, Sunday through Saturday).

If you select Relative Dates, click the down arrow in the From box to display a drop-down list of relative date ranges:

Choose options such as Today, This Week, or Yesterday. Enter From and To times by highlighting the values and using the up and down arrows to adjust the times. If you leave the To time field set to 23:59, the report will display data up to the current time. (Optionally, you can type the dates and times directly into the From and To boxes.)

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82 Reporting Basics

The Relative options include:

 Today. Provides data for the current day and the time period

entered. (The 00:00 to 23:59 defaults provide data from midnight of the current day up to the current time.)

 Yesterday. Provides data for the previous day and the time period

entered. (The 00:00 to 23:59 defaults provide data for the full day (that is, midnight to 11:59 P.M.).

 This Week. Provides data for the current week beginning on Sunday

and ending on the current day. You can specify a From time for the first day in the week (Sunday) and a To time for the current day. (The 00:00 to 23:59 defaults provide data from midnight on Sunday to the current day and time.)

 Last Week. Provides data for the last full week (Sunday through

Saturday). For example, if today is Sunday, the last full week would be the previous Sunday through Saturday. You can specify a From time for Sunday and a To time for Saturday. For example, you might only want to include data from 8:00 A.M. on Sunday to 5:00 P.M. on Saturday. (The 00:00 to 23:59 defaults provide data from midnight on Sunday to Saturday at 11:59 P.M.)

 This Month. Provides data from the first of the month up to the

current day. For example, if today’s date is Feb. 22, data for this month would be Feb. 1 to Feb. 22. You can specify a From time for the first day in the month and a To time for the current day. (The 00:00 to 23:59 defaults provide data from midnight on the first day of the month to the current day and time.)

 Last Month. Provides data for the last full month. For example, if

the current date is Feb. 8., then the last full month of data would be Jan 1. to Jan 31. You can specify a From time for the first day of the month and a To time for the last day. (The 00:00 to 23:59 defaults provide data from midnight on the first day of the month to the last day at 11:59 P.M.)

 This Year. Provides data for this year from 1 Jan. to the current day.

You can specify a From time for the first day in the year and a To time for the current day. (The 00:00 to 23:59 defaults provide data from midnight of the first day to the current day and time.)

 Last Year. Provides data for the last full year. For example, if the

current month is April 1997, the last full year would be Jan. 1, 1996 to Dec. 31, 1996. (The 00:00 to 23:59 defaults provide data from midnight on the first day of the year to the last day at 11:59 P.M.)

Working with the Template Launcher 83

Advantages of Using Relative Dates

The Relative Dates option provides a unique advantage over entering specific dates and times. When you use relative dates, you do not have to edit the report definition to change the report dates and make them current. Every time you bring up the report, you get data for the specified period of time relative to the present date.

For example, if you created a report and specified “Last Week” as the relative date, you could open the report on any day and automatically see data for last week. You could have other reports that displayed data for yesterday or for the last month. By using reports with different relative dates, you can see daily activity as well as activity on a weekly, monthly, or even yearly basis.

Show Date and Time Option

Click the “Show a date and time…” check box to display the date and time range as a label in the report.

Hourly Boundaries

When you indicate an hourly boundary such as 10:00 in a historical report, you get data for the 9:30 to 10:00 half-hour summary interval, not for the 10:00 to 10:30 interval. Also, the ICR central database provides half-hour summary data only for complete intervals. Half-hour summary data for the 10:00 to 10:30 half-hour interval is not available until 10:30.

4.3.3. Items

A selection list on the left side of Items tab displays specific names based on the options you chose for Category and Scope. The header of the selection list indicates the type of items in the list. The following example shows an example of a Peripheral Skill Groups selection list:

Choose the specific names of the services, skill groups, peripherals, trunk groups, etc., that are going to be the subject of the report. This list is obtained from the ICR central database. It shows the items as they are

4. Reporting Basics

84 Reporting Basics

defined in the ICR system. You can scroll down in the list to view additional items.

You have several options for selecting items from this list:

 To select a single item, click on it.  To select more items, press the CTRL key and click on the items.  To select a range of items, click on the first item in the range. Press

HIFT and click on the last item in the range.

 To select (or deselect) all items in the list, click the Select All

button.

4.3.4. Templates

The Templates tab contains the predefined real-time and historical templates and any templates you created with the ICR Custom Screen Builder. The templates you select here specify the type of report and the types of data you want to view. For example, if you selected a peripheral service as a report item, you could select the

“persvc01_queue_delay_sta tu s” template to view the call queue status for that peripheral servic e.

Click on a template name in the list to select it. If necessary, use the scroll bar to view additional templates. To select multiple templates from one list, hold the C

If you select a single te mp la te, such as a real-time graph, the report will contain one real-time graph component. If you select multiple templates, for example, two real-time graphs and a historical grid, the report will contain all three components.

Reports can have up to ten components. In other words, you can select up to ten templates to use in a single report. This allows you to mix and match real-time and historical templates to create a report that displays exactly the data you want to view.

TRL key as you click on each template.

Working with the Template Launcher 85

The template lists provide the following information about each template:

 Template name. The name of the template. Each template uses a

naming convention that includes a directory (for example, persvc, routes, trkgrp), a number, and a brief descriptive title. This is a

EOTEL naming convention. If you create your own templates using

G the ICR Custom Screen Builder, be sure to use a different naming convention. Otherwise, you may risk overwriting one of the G

EOTEL

predefined report templat es.

 Description. A description of the purpose of the template, including

the display style (for example, graph, pie chart, or grid) and the types of data the template displays.

4.3.5. Launching Templates

To launch the templates, click OK. An untitled report window appears and the Template Launcher is closed.

Typically, you launch templates after you make your final selections in the Templates tab. However, you can launch the templates from within any of the other Template Launcher tabs. For example, if you needed to go back to change your Item selections, you could click OK from within the Items tab to launch the templates.

The following example shows the Template Launcher set up for launching two real-time templates and a historical template:

To close the Template Launcher without launching the templates, click Cancel.

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86 Reporting Basics

4.4. Working with Reports

When a report first appears on the screen, it is untitled. To keep the report, you need to save it as a report definition file. This section describes several common tasks you perform when working with reports:

 Saving report definitions  Working with multiple-component reports  Using shuffle mode  Printing reports  Opening reports you have saved  Displaying reports at startup  Modifying report definitions  Deleting report definitions

4.4.1. Saving Report Definitions

Once you save a report definition, you can open it at any time by using the File→Open command. Reports are saved as report definition files with .CMB extensions.

À To save report definitions:

1. Choose File→Save, or click the Save button. The Save Report Definition dialog box appears:

Notice that the Save Report Definition dialog box defaults to the appropriate directory for the report. For example, if you create a report on a peripheral service, the Report Definition dialog box defaults to the persvc directory. The persvc directory is reserved for storing only reports on peripheral services. Similarly, other \custom subdirectories on the AW exist to hold certain types of reports. See Table 7 for a list of these subdirectories.

2. Type a file name. The .CMB extension is retained.

3. Click OK. The report definition is saved.

Working with Reports 87

If you have already saved the file, you can choose File→Save As to save the report definition to a new file with a new name. The File→Save As option also displays the Save Report Definition dialog box.

Note: Saved reports do not show up in the Template Launcher list of

templates. You must open report definitions by using the File→Open command or clicking the Open button.

Table 7: Default ICR Subdirectories

Subdirectory Report Category

agteam Agent Teams agtper Agents by Peripheral agtskg Agents by Skill Group apgate Application Gatewa ys caltyp Call Types entagt Enterpr ise Age nts entskg Enterprise Skill Groups

entsvc Enterprise Services nettrk Network Trunk Groups peragt Peripheral Agents periph Peripherals perskg Peripheral Skill Groups persvc Peripheral Services routes Routes rtecli Routing Clients schimp Schedules trkgrp Peripheral Trunk Groups

When you save a report definition, the saved version includes the following:

 The specific data elements (that is, the specific services, skill

groups, etc.) displayed in the report.

 Relative or absolute dates and times for historical data.

Not currently implemented.

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88 Reporting Basics

 Any thresholds you have defined.  Any drill-downs you have defined.  The names of the templates used in the report. The templates

themselves are not saved in the report. However, references to the templates are saved. Any subsequent modifications to the templates used by the report are reflected in the report.

The current data values are not stored in the report.

See also:

For information on saving just report data, see “Exporting Report Data,” later in this chapter.

4.4.2. Single- and Multiple-Component Reports

Each template you select in the Template Launcher becomes a component in the report. A report with a single component is straightforward. You generate a single-component report by using one template. Therefore, the report definition file references only one template.

For example, you might generate a report for several peripheral services using a single Calls Offered template. In this report, you might enter Last Week as a Relative date option. You could save this report and display it at any time. Each time you displayed the report, you would be able to see the number of calls offered over the last week for each peripheral service. The following report provides an example:

Single-component reports have standard window features and can be resized, moved, minimized, and maximized.

Working with Reports 89

You might want to create a more complex report that uses more than one template. For example, if you launch two real-time templates and a historical template, the report contains three components. You save the report definition in the same way you save a single-component report definition. However, the multiple-component report definition references three templates instead of one. You can use up to ten templates to create a single report.

Multiple-component reports are useful in displaying different types of data in the same report. Real-time components display current data and historical components display data based on a range of dates and times that you enter.

The following example shows a report that has four components:

This example is one report, not four different reports. You can distinguish the difference by looking at the title bars of each component. A report component displays a template name (for example, persvc02_calls_status). A report window displays a .CMB title in its title bar. This report example is shown in Shuffle Mode, which is a display mode that allows you to move and resize report components on the screen.

A multiple-component report can be enclosed in one window or expanded by clicking on the Maximize and Minimize buttons. Expanding the report removes the window border and report title bar. In addition, three options in the Window menu place a window around a multiple-component report: Tile, Layer, and Cascade. These options are used in arranging reports on the Monitor ICR screen.

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90 Reporting Basics

See also:

For more information on working with more than one report on the

screen, see “Working with Several Reports,” later in this chapter. Multiple-component reports can be useful in displaying different types

of data in a single report. Note, however, that each component can display only one type of data (that is, real-time or historical). This is because a single template can retrieve data from only one source: the local database or the central database. A single template cannot retrieve data from both databases.

A report created with several templates, on the other hand, can display data from both the local and central databases.

4.4.3. Shuffle Mode

When you have a report that contains more than one component, you need a way to move and resize the components within the report window. Shuffle mode allows you to lay out and resize report components on the screen. The following example shows how a report with two components first appears after it is created through the Template Launcher. When a multiple-component report first appears, it is automatically displayed in Shuffle Mode.

Note: Shuffle Mode is not required in a single-component report.

When you lay out report components, it helps to click the Maximize button so you have more screen area in which to work.

Working with Reports 91

À To lay out and resize report components:

1. Select Edit→Shuffle Mode.

2. Drag the graph, chart, and text objects and resize them. (Sometimes

a grid style report is too long to display all the data it contains. In this case, you can use the scroll bar on the right side of the grid window to view more data.)

3. Click inside the Title box and enter text for a title. (You can also

resize the Title window if necessary.) The title you type has nothing to do with the report definition file name. You enter a separate file name when you save the report.

4. When you are satisfied with the appearance of the report, choose

Edit→Shuffle Mode from the Monitor ICR menu to deselect Shuffle Mode. The following example shows a completed two-component report:

This is the final presentation mode. Title bars and window frames do not appear in this mode. To move and resize the components again, reselect Shuffle Mode.

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4.4.4. Working with Several Reports

Often, you will have more than one report displayed on the screen. You can move between reports by clicking on a window to make it active. The following example shows a Monitor ICR screen with three reports displayed (one of the reports, fourcmp.cmb, is a multiple-component report).

You can also use the options of the Window menu to move between report windows and arrange reports on the screen.

The Windows menu provides the following options for working with more than one report on the screen:

 Tile Horizontal. Arranges all currently open windows within

Monitor ICR horizontally on the screen. The windows are sized evenly and fit within the Monitor ICR screen without overlapping.

 Tile Vertical. Arranges all currently open windows within Monitor

ICR vertically on the screen. The windows are sized evenly and fit within the Monitor ICR screen without overlapping.

Working with Reports 93

 Layer. Stacks all windows within Monitor ICR on top of each other.  Cascade. Arranges all windows within Monitor ICR so that they

overlap, but each is still partially visible.

 1, 2, 3.... Lets you quickly change to a different report window.

The other options of the Window menu are described in the on-line help system.

4.4.5. Status Bar

If you click on a bar in a graph style report, a message appears at the bottom left corner of the Monitor ICR window describing what the bar represents and its current numerical value. For example:

You can use this feature to get a precise reading of a value in the graph or to differentiate the bars if you have trouble distinguishing their colors.

4.4.6. Retrieving Historical Data

Although Monitor ICR automatically updates real-time data while you are viewing a report, it does not automatically update the historical half-hour data that is displayed. While a historical report is displayed, you can click the Retrieve button to update the report with new half-hour data that has been collected by the ICR.

For example, if you had a historical report displayed on the screen and you left your desk for an hour or so, you would need to click the Retrieve button when you returned in order to display the latest half-hour data. Monitor ICR retrieves the latest half-hour data from the ICR central database and updates the data displayed in the report.

4.4.7. Pausing the Screen Refresh

You can pause the real-time refreshing of the Monitor ICR screen. The Pause button allows you to prevent real-time reports from being continually refreshed while you are working in Monitor ICR. This feature is useful in several ways. For example, say you are viewing a real-time graph and you notice that an unusual number of calls are being

offered to a particular service. You might want to “freeze” the real-time graph in its current state in order to print it, or you might want to simply keep the graph displayed the way it is while you further investigate the condition.

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You might also want to pause screen refreshing while you are working with the Definition Editor, the Threshold Editor, or the DrillDown Editor. This ensures that the function you are working with (for example, the Definition Editor) is not interrupted by the real-time refreshing of the screen.

To pause the real-time refreshing of the screen, click the Pause button in the Monitor ICR tool bar. To enable the real-time refreshing of the screen, click the Resume button.

See also:

For more information on the Threshold Editor and the DrillDown Editor,

see Chapter 4, “Setting Thresholds and Drill-Downs.”

4.5. Reconnecting to the Central Database

If the Admin Workstation loses its connection to the ICR central database or the Distributor AW’s local database, a dialog box appears on the screen to inform you that the connection has been lost. If this happens, choose File→Reconnect to ree sta bl ish the Admin Workstation’s connection to the ICR central or Distributor AW local database. At all other times, the Reconnect option is not available.

The Admin Workstation can lose its connection to the central or local database if there are problems with the network or with the central controller CallRouter or Logger. The Reconnect option allows you to quickly connect to the databases without having to restart Monitor ICR.

4.6. Printer Setup

Before you print reports with Monitor ICR, check to see which printer you are using. You may want to use a special printer for Monitor ICR reports such as a high-resolution or color printer.

In addition, you should set up the printer (through Monitor ICR) to use landscape paper orientation rather than portrait orientation. Although you can use portrait paper orientation to print reports, reports with several columns of data may not fit properly on the pages.

When you use landscape printing, Monitor ICR repeats titles and dates on each page and inserts page breaks where appropriate. Often, several pages are required to print lengthy, grid-style historical reports. Graph-style reports typically require only one page; however, you should still use landscape orientation to print graphs. This ensures that even wide graphs print properly. In general, landscape paper orientation provides a more consistent and neater format than portrait orientation.

Note: Once you make these changes to the printer setup, they are in effect for

every report generated in Monitor ICR (until you change the settings again).

Printer Setup 95

À To specify the report printer:

1. Choose File→Printer Setup. The Printer Setup dialog box appears.

2. Click on a printer to use for reports and perform one of the

following steps:

 Click on OK to save the printer settings and close the Printer

Setup dialog box.

 Click the Setup button to specify landscape printing for reports.

À To set up reports for landscape printing:

1. In the Page Setup tab, select the Landscape option:

2. Click OK to save your changes and dismiss the Document Properties

dialog box.

3. Click OK again to close the Printer Setup dialog box. You can also use the Document Properties window to choose form type,

color, or black and white printing, and number of copies. To get more information on printing options, click the Help button in the Document Properties box.

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4.7. Printing Reports

You can print reports that are displayed on the Monitor ICR screen. First, display the report and make it the active (current) window. Then choose File→Print from the Monitor ICR menu or click the Print button in the toolbar. The report is sent to the printer. A dialog box appears to inform you that the report is printing.

Note: Print reports using landscape paper orientation to ensure that all data and

graphic elements fit properly on the pages. See the previous section,

“Printer Setup,” for information on setting up reports for landscape printing.

You can also print reports that you have not yet saved. For example, when you create a report, it remains untitled until you save it as a report definition file. You might have one or more untitled report windows displayed on the screen. To print an untitled report, make it the active window and choose File→Print.

4.7.1. Printing Multiple-Component Reports

When you print a multiple-component report, Monitor ICR selects one report component at a time and sends it to the printer. You can see the order in which the components will print by displaying the report and choosing Edit→Definition to view the report definition. The order of printing follows the top down order of the templates selected in the report definition.

To print reports with multiple com ponents, fo llow the same procedure as in the previous section, “Printing Reports.” A new printing dialog box appears for each report component sent to the printer. Monitor ICR runs through each component in the report until the entire report is printed.

4.8. Opening Saved Reports

After you have saved a report definition, you can invoke it at any time by choosing the Open command from the File menu or by clicking on the Open button.

Note: You do not launch saved reports through the Template Launcher.

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À To open a report:

1. In the Monitor ICR window, choose File→Open, or click the Open

button. The Select Report Definition dialog box appears.

Only report definition files appear in the Select Report Definition dialog box. You do not see the templates, although they are also stored in these directories. (To open templates, use the ICR Custom Screen Builder.)

2. In the Folders (or Directories) list, double-click the directory where

you saved the report. By default, reports are saved in subdirectories under icr\aw\custom.

The specific subdirectory depends on the data that is included in the report. See Table 7, earlier in this chapter, for a list of the custom subdirectories and their contents.

3. Choose the file name (for example, MYREPORT.CMB) from the

list on the left side of the dialog box.

4. Click OK. The report appears in the Monitor ICR window.

4.9. File Association

The most common way to open report definition files is to click the Open button from within Monitor ICR and then choose a report file from the Select Report Definition dialog box. However, you might want to quickly open a specific report without having to start Monitor ICR and go through the menu selections. It might be easier to simply double-click on a report definition file name from within NT Explorer to start Monitor ICR and open the report, especially when Monitor ICR is not yet running.

File association makes it possible to associate a file’s file name

extension with an application. For example, once you associate the .CMB extension with the Monitor ICR application, you can double-click any .CMB report file from within Windows NT Explorer to start Monitor ICR and open the report. Once Monitor ICR is started you can double-click on other .CMB files to open those reports. Additional reports are opened in the currently active Monitor ICR application. Monitor ICR is not started again.

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À To apply file association through NT Explorer:

1. Start the Windows NT Explorer program.

2. Change to the ICR’s \custom directory.

3. Open one of the custom subdirectories (for example, persvc), and select (highlight) a .CMB report definition.

4. Press appears.

5. Choose Open With. The Open With dialog box appears with a list of standard Windows NT executables.

6. Click Other. A secondary Open With dialog box appears, prompting you to look in a directory for a specific executable to apply.

7. Change to the \icr\bin directory.

8. Within the \icr\bin directory, find “monitor.exe.”

9. Select monitor.exe and click Open. You are returned to the Open With dialog box.

10. Check the option, “Always use this program to open this type of file.”

11. Click OK to associate .CMB files with Monitor ICR. You can now open reports by double-clicking on .CMB file names.

SHIFT and click the right mouse button. A pop-up menu

4.10. Saving Your Workspace

To maintain continuity between Monitor ICR sessions, you might choose to save your workspace automatically when you exit. This means that the state of your workspace at the end of the session will be restored when you next start Monitor ICR.

You can also set up Monitor ICR to always give you the same initial workspace. For example, you might want to see a certain Calls Offered pie chart each time you start Monitor ICR. To do this, you set up your workspace once and save it manually. Monitor ICR displays the same initial workspace until you change it again.

Note: Only reports that have been saved can be displayed at startup.

À To automatically save your workspace when you exit:

Choose Option→Save Settings on Exit from the main menu.

À To manually save your workspace:

1. Set up your workspace. For example, you might open one or more reports and arrange them on the screen.

2. When you are satisfied with the appearance of the screen, choose Options→Save Setting s Now . Thi s saves the cur ren t work spa ce settings.

Note: Before you exit from Monitor ICR, make sure that

Options→Save Settings on Exit is deselected. Otherwise, the settings you have saved will be overwritten by the settings in place when you exit.

To test the settings, choose File→Exit to end the current Monitor ICR session. Double-click on the Monitor ICR icon to restart the application.

You can easily change the start-up display if you want to return to default mode or if you want to display different reports.

À To return to default display at startup:

1. Start Monitor ICR.

2. Use the File→Close command to close any open reports. (You can

also close the template launcher window if it is displayed.)

3. Choose Options→Save Settings Now.

4. Make sure that Options→Save Settings on Exit is deselected.

4.11. Modifying Report Definitions

You can edit report definitions to choose additional items to include in the report, to change dates and times, or to select different templates to use in the report.

The fields of the Definition Editor match those of the Template Launcher. However, in the Definition Editor you are not allowed to change the Category or Scope of a report. The Definition Editor is not used to launch reports, but rather to change existing reports. If you need to change the Category and Scope of a report, use the Template Launcher to create a new report.

Note: If you are modifying a real-time report, you may want to click the Pause

button to pause the real-time refreshing of the screen. This ensures that the continual refreshing does not interrupt your work with the Definition Editor.

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À To modify a report definition:

1. With a report displayed, choose Edit→Definition. The Definition Editor appears.

2. Make the changes you want, such as choosing different Items (services, skill groups, etc.), or entering different dates and times.

Note: You cannot make changes to the Category and Scope of the

3. Click OK to save your changes. The changes take effect immediately. For example, if you chose another template to include in the report, that template is launched and appears in the report.

You must save the report in order to preserve the changes you made to the report definition.

À To save changes in the report definition:

Choose File→Save to save the changes in the same report definition file. Optionally, you can choose File→Save As to save the report as a new report definition file. You are required to enter a new file name.

report. If you want to change the Category and Scope of a report, you should generate a new report through the template launcher.

4.12. Deleting Report Definitions

If you want to delete a report definition, you need to know the report file name and the directory in which it is stored. By default, reports are stored in subdirectories under the \custom directory. The specific subdirectory depends on the data elements included in the report. See Table 7, earlier in this chapter, for more information on ICR custom subdirectories.

Warning: Be sure that you want to delete the report definition file. The DEL

command is irreversible.

Cisco Systems ICM Software User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Figures

Tables

Preface

1. Overview

2. The Admin Workstation

3. Creating a Report

4. Reporting Basics