ATT DEFINITY Generic 3 Call Vectoring/Expert Agent Instructions Manual

							Issue  4   Septemb er 199510-1  
10
Expert Agent Selection
Introduction
Expert Agent Selection (EAS) allows Call Center managers to provide the best 
possible telephone service to the caller by matching the needs of the caller with 
the skills or talents of the agents.  Caller needs and agent skills are matched via 
Call Vectoring. Skills can be thought of as needs or desires on the p art of the 
caller and also the abilities or talents of the agent.
Matching the call to an a gent with the a ppropriate skills reduces transfers and 
call-holding time.  Accordingly, customer satisfaction is increased.  Also, since 
an entire agent group need not b e trained at the same time for the same skills, 
employee satisfaction is increased.
EAS requires ACD and Call Vectoring.  All of the existing ACD features and Call 
Vectoring capabilities can be used within EAS applications.
As with Call Vectoring calls, EAS calls are directed to VDNs, which in turn point to 
vectors.   However, unlike Basic Call Vectoring, skills can be assigned in EAS to 
VDNs, or they can be associated with vector ste ps to represent caller needs. As 
for Call Vectoring calls, EAS calls are q ueued to ACD hunt groups.  However, 
with EAS enabled, ACD hunt groups are called ‘‘skill hunt groups’’ instead of 
‘‘splits.’’
Skill hunt groups deliver calls to EAS agents. Ag ent skills are a dministered on the 
Agent LoginID form, usually by the switch administrator.
NOTE:
These are the same login IDs used by CMS (R3V2 and later releases) and 
BCMS (G3V3 and later releases). 
						

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10-2Issue  4   Septem ber 1995
Logical Agent implies that voice terminals are no longer preassigned to hunt 
groups; only when the agent logs in does the terminal b e come associated with 
all of the skill hunt groups assigned to the Agent Login ID.
With EAS optioned and enabled, ACD calls can also be directed to a particular 
agent, instead of to the skill hunt group, by using the Direct Ag ent Calling feature.  
The Direct Ag ent call is treated like an ACD call, b ut it waits in queue for a 
specific agent to become available.  Direct Agent calls have a higher priority 
than skill hunt group calls.
This chapter d escribes EAS, and it explains, via a numb er of examples, how EAS 
is implemented.  The chapter also discusses EAS upgrades. However, before 
you start with this chapter, you should take note of the following:
nWith EAS, skill hunt groups replace splits. Skill hunt groups and splits 
cannot be administered simultaneously on a switch.  This implies that all 
ACD hunt groups must be administered as either splits or skills. If EAS is 
optioned, all ACD hunt groups must be skill hunt groups.
nWith EAS, all skill hunt groups must be vector-controlled.
nWith EAS, non-ACD hunt groups are allowed, but they cannot be vector-
controlled.
nAgent Login IDs are extensions in the dial plan, and they decrease the 
total numb er of stations that can be administered.
nWith EAS, agents have a new login procedure and a single set of work 
mode buttons, regardless of the numb er of skills assigned to the agents.
nSkill hunt groups c an distribute a call to the most-idle agent or to the most-
idle-primary agent. Direct Department Call (DDC) d istribution is not 
allowed for skill hunt groups.
For information on converting a Call Center to EAS, refer to Appendix K.
Identifying Caller Needs
Caller needs for a particular call can be identified by any of the following 
methods:
nInterpreting information (in the form of DNIS digits or ISDN messages) 
passed from the network
nProcessing Call Promp ting di gits or di gits entered at a Voice Response 
Unit (VRU)
nUsing ASAI or a VRU (such as CONVERSANT) in a host data base lookup
To illustrate how a Call Center manager might match caller needs and agent 
skills (which c an be viewed as capabilities needed from the caller’s perspective), 
let’s assume that a Call Center receives inbound calls from auto club members  
						

							Identifying Caller Needs
Issue  4   September 1995
10-3
who speak Spanish or English.  The callers in this case either need to plan a 
vacation route or have car trouble and are calling for assistance.
Note in each case that the c a pability needed is such that it can accommodate 
the caller need.  Let’s examine the strategy behind matching these caller needs 
to c a pabilities as d eemed a p propriate by the Call Center manager:
nTourist Information/Knowledge of the Region 
Travelers may need information while traveling or regarding a future trip.  
All assigned agents can provide this information.
nTo Speak Spanish/Bilingual 
Separate numbers are p u blished and used as part of Spanish 
membership information, or Call Prompting is used after a g eneral number 
is dialed.
nEmergency Assistance/Handle Stressful Callers 
Separate emergency Road Service numb ers are p u blished and used, or 
Call Promp ting  is used after a g eneral number is dialed. (For example, a 
number is provided for tow trucking.)
Note that the Call Center chose to implement Call Prompting to identify Spanish-
speaking callers and callers who require emergency assistance. This allows for 
quicker and more s pecialized treatment and therefore better satisfies the caller’s 
needs.
In a ddition, some customers might prefer to speak to the agent he or she sp oke 
to on a previous call. To accommodate this request, a Call Center manager can 
implement Direct Inward Dialing (DID) at the Call Center. Also, direct agent 
calling can be used to direct a call to a specific agent.
The following sections explain further how caller needs are identified.
Table 10-1. Example of Caller Need—Agent Skill Matching
Caller Need Capability Needed
Tourist Information Knowledge of the Region
To Speak Spanish Bilingual
Emergency Assistanc eHandle stressful callers
(Tow Truck) (Access to Dispatch Systems) 
						

							Expert Agent Selection
10-4Issue  4   Septem ber 1995
DNIS/ISDN Called Party
Recall from Chapter 3 that a set of DNIS digits can be interpreted as a VDN. The 
following table presents four services and their corresponding telephone number 
(including DNIS digits) that mi ght be provided to the caller.  
NOTE:
DNIS d i gits must be extensions that are reflected in the dial plan.
Call Prompting/VRU Digits
The Call Prom pting/VRU d i gits are entered by the caller in response to any 
recorded question about a caller’s needs.  For examp le, a hotline for a product 
may request that a product code be entered, or a travel service may request a 2-
d i git  state code to indicate the state to which the caller would like to travel. The 
following figure provides a prompt that encourages the caller to enter the 
appropriate Call Prompting  d i git for  the needed service from the auto club.
Table 10-2. Examples of Services and Corresponding DNIS 
Digits
ServiceTelephone 
NumberCorresponding 
DNIS
Emergency Road Service (English) 800-765-1111 6001
Emergency Road Service (Spanish) 800-765-2222 6002
Route Planning  (English) 800-765-3333 6003
Route Planning  (Spanish) 800-765-4444 6004
General (Call Promp ting)800-765-5555 6005
Table 10-3. Example of a Prompt for Entering Call Prompting 
Digits
‘‘For emergency road service, dial 1.
Para asistencia con su automovil, marque el dos.
For travel route directions, dial 3. 
Para informacion sobre rutas, marque el cuatro.’’ 
						

							Functions and Examples
Issue  4   September 1995
10-5
In this example, the caller is requested to dial the appropriate number between 
‘‘1’’ and ‘‘4 (cuatro),’’ inclusive.
Host Database Lookup
A host database lookup uses DNIS and ANI (calling party’s number) to determine 
what skills are required or even the agent desired.  For examp le, the database 
may show that the c aller s peaks Spanish and has b een working with Ag ent 1367. 
To access host information, either ASAI or a VRU in conjunction with a 
converse-
on skill
 step is used.
Direct Agent Calling
Some callers might prefer to speak to the agent he or she s poke to on a p revious 
call. To accommodate this request, a Call Center manager c an implement Direct 
Agent Calling at the Call Center. The caller can dial the LoginID of the desired 
agent directly. As an alternative, the caller can dial an 800 number and then be 
prompted to enter the LoginID  of the desired agent.  Vectors can b e designed to 
handle the Call Prompting function.
Functions and Examples
This section explains how EAS is implemented. To this purpose, skill 
administration, the delivering of calls to a skill queue, and the routing of calls to 
an agent are discussed.
Administering Skills
A skill is an attribute that is:
nAdministered as a skill hunt group
nAdministered to VDNs (VDN skill preference)
nAssigned to agents (agent skill)
A skill hunt group is administered for each skill. A skill hunt  group is a set of 
agents trained to meet particular customer needs.
In G3s PBP and G3vs PBP, a skill is assigned a number from ‘‘1’’ through ‘‘24’’ 
inclusive. In G3i, a skill is assigned a number from ‘‘1’’ through ‘‘99’’ inclusive. In 
G3r, a skill is assigned a number from ‘‘1’’ through ‘‘255’’ inclusive. Generally, if 
the ability ‘‘Spanish speaking’’ is assigned to skill 127, for example, it follows that 
Agent skill 127 and VDN skill 127 b oth signify ‘‘Spanish speaking.’’ However, 
note that the a gent skill might be assigned a skill term that is broader than that for 
the corresponding VDN skill.  For example, Agent skill 127 might b e labeled 
‘‘bilingual.’’  The implication is that agents with skill 127 can handle calls from  
						

							Expert Agent Selection
10-6Issue  4   Septem ber 1995
Spanish callers as well as from callers who speak another language (probably 
English).
Skills for an a p plication can be illustrate d via a ta ble. The following table presents 
a very a b breviated example of such a skill d istribution for an auto club. We will 
refer b ac k to this table several times in this chapter.
In this ta ble, five skills are d efined.  Each skill indicates knowledge or an ability 
(on the part of the agent) or a need for knowledge (on the part of the caller) vis-a-
vis an auto club.  One or more of these skills can be attributed to the a gent 
according to the agent’s expertise with the corresponding highway service(s) 
and his or her language-speaking ability. Similarly, one or more of these skills 
can be considered ‘‘needs’’ on the part of the caller.
The previous table is arranged in such a manner that the agents at the top level 
have the broadest knowle d ge (that is, these agents can handle emergency road 
service and route planning calls and can speak Sp anish). The top level (skill 
group) here is called ‘‘Supergroup,’’ and it contains agents who, as a group, can 
take any type of call regard ing the auto club.  Accordingly, this skill g roup serves 
as a ‘‘backup’’ skill group. As you descend through the table, each sublevel 
corresponds to a group of agents who have more specific skills and can 
therefore take more specialized calls.
Calls can be distributed to the most-idle agent by using either the Uniform Call 
Distribution (UCD) option or the Expert Agent Distribution (EAD) o ption. EAD 
distributes calls from a  skill hunt group to agents to whom the relevant skill is 
assigned as a primary skill before distributing calls to agents to whom the skill is 
assigned as a secondary skill. Skills assigned to an a gent as ‘‘primary’’ indicate a 
higher level of expertise or preference by the agent than any ‘‘secondary’’ skills 
assigned to that agent.
Agents are always given a preference for primary skill calls. With EAD optioned, 
callers are given a preference for primary skill agents. Such p references provide 
the best caller—a gent match. With UCD optioned, calls are sent to the most-idle 
agent with a primary or secondary skill.  This scenario provides a more even 
distribution to calls and therefore keeps agents equally b usy.
Multiple Call Handling on Request (G3V3 and later releases) and Forced Multiple 
Call Handling (G3V4 and later releases) allow an a gent to receive additional ACD 
Table 10-4. Example of a Skill Table for an Auto Club
Supergroup-99
Emergency Road Service-Bilingual-22 Route Planning-Bilingual-44
Emergency Road Service-English-11 Route Planning-English-33 
						

							Functions and Examples
Issue  4   September 1995
10-7
calls either after putting a call on hold, or when active on another ACD call. 
Forced Multiple Call Handling c an b e used to g ive p riority to an ACD call over an 
in-progress non-ACD call, or to give priority to a call from one skill over an in-
progress call from a different skill. See “ Multi ple Call Handling” in the 
DEFINITY 
Communications System Generic 3 Feature Description, 
555-230-204 for more 
information.
To administer skills, the relevant Hunt Group form must b e comp leted. The form 
a p pears as follows:
Figure 10-1. Hunt Group Form with Expert Agent Selection 
Optioned
The skill, ACD, and Vector fields must all contain ‘‘y.’’ Instructions for comp leting 
this form are included in 
DE FI NITY  Co mm unications System Generic 3 
Implementation
, 555-230-653.
VDN Skills
VDN skills (along with certain vector commands) define the requirements for 
routing calls to an ACD agent with a particular set of skills. A maximum of three 
different skills can be administered to a VDN.  Skills ad ministered to a VDN are 
commonly called VDN skill preferences. VDN skill preferences are labeled ‘‘1st,’’ 
‘‘2nd,’’ and ‘‘3rd .’’
NOTE:
While skills can be optionally assigned to VDNs, the vector controls when 
and to what VDN skill the call queues. The application of VDN skills is 
described later in this chapter.
HUNT GROUP
Group Number:                Group Extension:          Group Type:
Group Name:                          Skill?                 ACD?
Queue?                         Vector?                 AAS?
Security Code:      Night Service Destination:                 COR:
ISDN Caller Disp:                  Coverage Path:                  TN:
Measured:                          Supervisor Extension:
Priority On Intraflow?                        Inflow Threshold (sec):
Controlling Adjunct:                        Adjunct Link Extension:
Multiple Call Handling?                Acceptable Service Level (sec):
Objective:
Queue Length:
Calls Warning Threshold:         Calls Warning Port:           Extension:
Time Warning Threshold:          Time Warning Port:           Extension:
Redirect on No Answer (rings):
Forced Entry of Stroke Counts or Call Work Codes? 
						

							Expert Agent Selection
10-8Issue  4   Septem ber 1995
It is recommend e d that the 1st skill administered to a VDN b e the skill required or 
desired to service a call to that VDN. The 2nd and 3rd  skills  administered to a 
VDN should represent other skills that are allowed to handle calls to that VDN. All 
skills to a VDN are optionally administered.
The following table illustrates how skill preferences can be assigned to the five 
VDNs used for the auto club that we discussed earlier. For each VDN, the 
corresponding call type and the numb er of the vector to which the VDN points 
are indicated.  Be sure to refer back to Table 10-4 for a description of each skill.
From the table, note that two VDNs point to Vector 3, two VDNs point to Vector 2, 
and one VDN points to Vector 1.   Note also that a 1st and 3rd VDN skill 
Preference, but no 2nd VDN skill Preference, are assigned to VDN 2222. Such a 
scenario implies that the call to this VDN (if not already answered) will wait longer 
before queuing to the backup skill (Supergroup-99, in our example), provided the 
vector is designed to execute accordingly.
Table 10-5. Example of VDN Skill Preferences Assignments
Skill Preferences
Call type VDN 1st 2nd 3rd Vector
General number 5555 1
Emergency Road 
Service (English)1111 11 22 99   3
Emergency Road 
Service (Spanish)2222 22 99 2
Route Planning 
(English)3333 33 44 99 3
Route Planning 
(Spanish)4444 44 99 2 
						

							Functions and Examples
Issue  4   September 1995
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Now, let’s take a look at the following table, which illustrates the skill preferences 
assigned for one specific VDN (3333) that is used for the auto club:
In this ta ble, note that the first VDN skill Preference corresp onds to a knowledge 
area that could be considered a ‘‘subset’’ of the knowledge area represented by 
the second (and, taking it a step further, the third) Preference. Similarly, the 
second VDN skill Preference corresponds to a knowle d ge area that  could be 
considered a subset of the knowle d ge area represented by the third 
Preference. Such an a pproach is commonly use d to assign VDN  skill 
preferences. The result of this a p proach is that the longer a call waits, the larger 
the pool of agents that the ACD considers for handling the call.     
Now, recall that the vector number to which each VDN associated with the auto 
club has already been provided in Table 10-5 of this section.  A quick glance at 
the ta ble shows that VDN 3333 p oints to Vector 3.  As such, the skill requirements 
associated with the VDN are  ‘‘passed along’’ to the vector.  This process   can 
be illustrated as follows:
Figure 10-2. Example of VDN Skill Implementation
Let’s assume that the English-sp eaking caller needs information on Route 
Planning and dials the appropriate number (555-3333).  In such a case, the call 
Table 10-6. Skill Preferences Assignments for VDN 3333
 VDN 3333 - Skill Preferences
1st: 33 Directed to an agent who is knowledgeable about 
Route Planning and speaks English
2nd: 44 Directed to an agent who is knowledgeable about 
Route Planning and is bilingual
3rd: 99 Directed to an agent who can field all calls
VECTOR 3
443333 3399Route Planning (English)
555-3333 PUBLISHED
NUMBER
VECTOR DIRECTORY
SKILLS  NO.
1. queue-to main skill 1st pri h
2. announcement 1234
3. queue-to main skill 2nd pri h
4. wait-time 10 secs hearing music
5. queue-to main skill 3rd pri h 
						

							Expert Agent Selection
10-10Issue  4   September 1995
enters the switch and is d irected to VDN 3333, which points to the a ppropriate 
vector. As illustrated earlier, VDN skill Preferences 33, 44, and 99 are 
administered as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd skill preferences, respectively, for VDN 
3333.
We will hold off explaining the vector processing of our application until the 
Delivering the Call to the Skill Queue section.
Vector Directory Number (VDN) Form
The Vector Directory Numb er (VDN) form is used to administer VDN skills.  The 
form a p pears as follows:
Figure 10-3. Vector Directory Number (VDN) Form
NOTE:
While skills can be optionally assigned to VDNs, the vector controls when 
and to what VDN skill the call queues.
Complete instructions for completing the form are included in 
DEF INI TY 
Communications System Generic 3 Implementation
, 555-230-653.
add vdn xxx                                                         Page 1 of 1
VECTOR DIRECTORY NUMBER
Extension:
Name:
 Allow VDN Override?
COR:
TN:
Vector Number:
Measured:
Acceptable Service Level (sec):
VDN of Origin Annc. Extension:
1st Skill:
 2nd Skill:
3rd Skill:
Return Destination: