Telephonic communications – Centralized switching system – Call distribution to operator
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-06
2002-10-15
Matar, Ahmad F. (Department: 2642)
Telephonic communications
Centralized switching system
Call distribution to operator
C379S265100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06466664
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to information handling technology and improvements therein. More particularly, the subject invention relates to a new pacing algorithm for application in predictive dialers for use in telephone call centre operations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The concept and evolution of pacing algorithms and the benefits that result from their use in predictive dialers in call centre activities have been appreciated for a number of years. Predictive dialers and pacing algorithms result in more efficient use of operators, agents or attendants, and more satisfied response from customers.
The functional integration of data processing systems with the information capabilities of telephone systems is becoming increasingly important in the enhancement and differentiation of today's business solutions. The synergy that is provided by marrying telephones with computers opens nearly unlimited opportunities for companies to dramatically enhance service to their networked call centres. Inbound customer inquiries can be handled with increased speed and accuracy, significantly boosting customer satisfaction. Outbound customer applications such as tele-sales or tele-marketing can deliver more streamlined campaigns and increase the contact rate between agents and customers which can substantially increase revenue generation.
The CallPath® family of products available from International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) enable applications to link the data processing power of a computer with the telephony processing capabilities of telephone systems. The primary focus of these products is on inbound and outbound tele-servicing and tele-marketing application opportunities. Frequently these applications are concentrated within business in special departments known as call centres. Some examples of applications that the CallPath family of products can provide are order processing, claims inquiry, stock broker services, telephone sales, market research, help desk and dispatch, fund raising, lead generation, qualification and tracking. The enabled applications allow business to improve customer service, increase revenues, reduce telephone bills, improve employee productivity and promote overall competitiveness. These CallPath products and services enable communications between a computer and a telephone system so that an application on the computer can control and access telephony information. A variety of telephone applications can be automated including simple and repetitive requests, data/caller coordination, call handling, data collection, and outbound dialing. A better understanding of the CallPath family of products can be obtained from the publication IBM® CallPath General Information, publication #GC31-8529-0, available from IBM Corporation.
Predictive dialing is a state of the art technology for call centres. A predictive dialer automatically dials new customers before the call centre agents or attendants finish talking with their current customers. In this way, the predictive dialer is able to connect the new customers to the agents immediately after the agents become available. The core of the predictive dialing technology is the pacing algorithm which directs the telephone dialer as to when and how many customer telephone numbers it should dial. This decision is typically based mainly on the estimation of the agent availability. In addition, dial/hit ratio, dial delay and many other factors will have effects on the outcomes. The predictive dialer is able to recognize when a called telephone is engaged and a busy signal is received, when an answering machine responds to the called number, and when after a period of time the call is not answered. For an overview of the concept of predictive dialers, reference may be made to the book entitled “Predictive Dialing Fundamentals-An Overview of Predictive Dialing Technologies, their Applications and Usage” by Aleksander Szlam and Ken Thatcher, Flatiron Publishing Inc., New York, copyright 1996 Melita International Corporation.
The pacing algorithm which is the subject of this application, is based upon mathematical probability models and provides more accuracy in the dialing of outgoing telephone calls from a call centre than the use of presently known pacing algorithms. None of the existing algorithms take into account the multi-dimensional aspect of the probabilistic model as subsequently described in this application. The use of this algorithm could eliminate or at least minimize annoying calls from both the customer and the attendant's point of view, when calls are made, and it is subsequently found that no one is at the other end of the connection.
The following references provide descriptions of representative examples of known prior art automated dialing systems and pacing algorithms employed therein:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,493 was granted Jul. 8, 1986 naming Ellis K. Cave as inventor, and is entitled “Multi-Line Telephone Control System”. The subject matter provides for a continuous sequence of telephone calls made by an automated telephone calling system which are forwarded to a plurality of operators. Each call is made to a designated telephone number and is dialed in sequence by a controller, and the line condition of the called number is detected. For each line that is answered, it is connected by the communication device to a non-occupied operator. A status message is sent to the host computer indicating the answered number and the operator involved, and relevant data is displayed to the operator by the computer. All of the designated telephone numbers are dialed in sequence and made available to operators, depending on the number of operators available and the number of customers who are waiting on hold.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,261 issued to Oliphant et al on Nov. 14, 1989, and is entitled “Method for Predictive Pacing of Calls in a Calling System”. A predictive pacing algorithm instructs a dialer to place calls based upon the management of three categories of calls, namely, calls in the process of being set up, calls in a queue waiting for an available agent, and calls connected to an agent. The pacing algorithm attempts to keep the total number of these categories of calls equal to a constant value. As the size of the agent group changes, the pacing of the predictive dialer is adjusted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,563 entitled “Method for Predictive Dialing”, issued to Crockett et al on May 9, 1989, and describes a predictive dialing system based upon a prediction of the number of operators expected to be available at the end of a time interval and of the number of calls expected to be completed during this time interval. The predicted number of calls is then determined by a weighting factor which is controlled by variations in the percentage of unattended calls and variations in the average operator idle time between calls. The system dynamically adjusts the number of calls dialed based upon a comparison of these factors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,763 issued to Bigus et al on Oct. 13, 1992 and is assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. This patent, entitled “Look Ahead Method and Apparatus for Predictive Dialing Using a Neural Network”, describes a computer system connected to a telephone switch that stores a group of call records including a number of factors pertaining to previous calls and other factors; these factors include the number of pending calls, the number of available operators, the average idle time, the completion rate, and nuisance call rate. These call records are analyzed by a neural network to determine a relationship between input parameters and the dial action stored in each call record. After this relationship is determined, the computer system sends a current group of input parameters to the neural network and based on the analysis of the previous call records, the neural network determines whether a call should be initiated or not.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,490 issued to Ellis K. Cave on Jul. 5, 1994 and relates to a “System and Method for Controlling Call
Herndon Jerry W.
Matar Ahmad F.
Nguyen Quynh
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