Cisco Systems ICM Software User Manual

Cisco ICM Software
Supervisor Guide

ICM Software Version 4.5

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Cisco ICM Software Supervisor Guide

Copyright © 1995 - 2001 Cisco Systems, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Contents

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

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.

17

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

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

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

NY

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