ATT DEFINITY Generic 3 Call Vectoring/Expert Agent Instructions Manual

							Functions and Examples
Issue  4   September 1995
10-11
Call Vector Form
Completion of the Call Vector form is required for using vectors with EAS. The 
form contains three pages.  However, if your vector contains 11 or fewer 
instructions, you need populate only the first p age of the form.  Page 1 of the Call 
Vector Form appears as follows:
Figure 10-4. Call Vector Form (Page 1 of 3)
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 Call Vector form are provided in 
DEFI NI TY Com munications System Generic 3 Implementation, 555-230-653.
Agent Skills
Agents are trained or hired to accommodate sp ecific caller needs. Agent skills 
represent and define the ability of the agent to handle calls that require these 
skills. Agents are assigned skill numb ers b ased on such characteristics as 
training or knowledge, access to systems or information, language ability, and 
interpersonal traits. Examp les of agent skills include the following: speaks 
Spanish, knows a bout widget ‘‘X,’’ can handle complaint calls, has access to a 
database, etc.   
A maximum of four agent skills can be assigned to any one agent.  If an agent 
has multiple skills, a single skill group can be created for each set of skills. Ag ent 
skills are assigned to agents by comp leting the Ag ent Login ID form (see the 
ACD Login ID Dialin g section later in this chapter).
It is recommended, though not mandatory, that you create a separate  skill hunt 
group for direct agent calls. Direct agent calls are queued to the first primary skill 
                                                   Page 1 of 3
                           CALL VECTOR
Number: 20         Name:________________
Basic?y EAS?y G3V4 Enhanced?n ANI/II-Digits?n ASAI Routing?n
Prompting?y LAI?n G3V4 Adv Route?n
01 _______________
02 _______________
03 _______________
04 _______________
05 _______________
06 _______________
07 _______________
08 _______________
09 _______________
10 _______________
11 _______________ 
						

							Expert Agent Selection
10-12Issue  4   September 1995
hunt group that the agent is logged in to. If you wish to use a separate skill as a 
direct agent skill, you must ensure that this skill is the first skill administered for all 
agents who receive direct agent calls.
The following table illustrates the assignment of agent skills.
NOTE:
Refer to Table 10-4 for a description of the skills indicated in the following 
table.
Table 10-7 indicates the skills assigned to five specific agents. Remember, a 
maximum of four a gent skills may b e assigned to any one agent.  From the figure, 
we see that four agent skills (22, 11, 44, 33) are assigned to Sue Carlson. These 
assignments indicate that Sue is bilingual and can service callers who need 
emergency road service or information on route planning. On the other hand, we 
see that only one agent skill (99—Supergroup) is assigned to Sam Thomas. This 
means that Sam is serving only as a backup.
In the figure, a ‘‘P’’ or ‘‘S’’ next to the skill number indicates whether the a gent skill 
is a primary skill or a secondary skill. For example, Jan O’Hara has ‘‘Emergency 
Road Service-Bilingual’’ as a primary skill and ‘‘Route Planning-Bilingual’’ as a 
secondary skill. This means that whenever Jan O’Hara becomes available for an 
ACD call, the ACD software first looks for English-speaking callers requesting 
information on ‘‘Emergency Road Service’’ from the agent. Only if there are no 
callers requesting ‘‘Eme r gency Road Service’’ does the ACD software look for 
English-speaking callers requesting information on ‘‘Route Planning.’’
For any given a p plication, EAS p uts no restrictions on which agent skills can be 
assigned to an agent.
NOTE:
Agent skills are administered by completing the Agent Login ID form.  This 
form is presented in the ACD Login ID Dialing section later in this chapter.  
Complete instructions for completing the form are provided in 
DEFI NI TY 
Communications System Generic 3 Implementation
, 555-230-653.
Table 10-7. Example of Agent Skill Assignments
Agent Skills Assigned
Jan O’Hara 22 P 44 S
Sam Thomas 99 P
Sue Carlson 22 P 11 P 44 S 33 S
Mark Davis 44 P
Amy Brown 44 P 22 S 
						

							Functions and Examples
Issue  4   September 1995
10-13
Delivering the Call to the Skill Queue
Now that we have defined and illustrated VDN skills and agent skills, we are 
ready to d iscuss (with the help of an example) how a call is delivered to a skill 
hunt group queue via vector processing.
The skills assigned to a VDN define the requirements in the vector for routing 
calls to an ACD agent with a particular set of skills. These skills b e come active for 
an ACD call whenever a 
q ueue-to main skill command is executed. The skills 
also become active whenever a 
check-backup skill command is executed and 
the threshold  condition is met. Once a skill is active for an ACD caller, the call 
cannot be delivered to an available ACD agent unless the agent also has one of 
the active VDN skills. Take a look at the following figure.
Figure 10-5. Process for Delivery of a Call to a Skill Queue
Let’s assume that an English-speaking caller needs information on ‘‘Route 
Planning’’ and dials the appropriate number (555-3333).  In such a case, the call 
enters the switch and is directed to VDN 3333, which points to Vector 3. Once 
vector processing starts, the 
q ueue-to main skill command in Step 1 queues the 
call to the skill hunt group corresponding to the 1st VDN skill (33-Route Planning-
English).  If an agent with skill 33 is available, this agent answers the call. If such 
an agent is not available, the call is eventually queued to the skill hunt group 
corresponding to the 2nd VDN skill (44-Route Planning-Bilingual) b y the 
queue-to 
main skill
 command in Ste p 3.  This time, if an agent with skill 44 is available, this 
agent answers the call.  If the call is still not answered, the call is eventually 
queued to the skill hunt group corresponding to the 3rd VDN skill (99-
Supergroup) by the 
queue-to main skill command in Step 5.
Note that the figure also shows Vector 2.  This vector would have been executed 
if a Spanish-speaking caller had called into the switch.  Accordingly, the 
443333 3399Route Planning (English)
555-3333 PUBLISHED
NUMBER
VECTOR DIRECTORY
SKILLS  NO.
VECTOR 2
1. queue-to main skill 1st pri h
2. announcement 4321
3. queue-to main skill 2nd pri h
4. wait-time 10 secs hearing music
5. queue-to main skill 3rd pri hVECTOR 3
1. queue-to main skill 1st pri m
2. announcement 1234
3. queue-to main skill 2nd pri l
4. wait-time 10 secs hearing music
5. queue-to main skill 3rd pri h 
						

							Expert Agent Selection
10-14Issue  4   September 1995
announcement provided in Vector 2 is in Spanish, whereas the announcement in 
Vector 3, which is executed in our example, is in English.
Note also that each of the 
q ueue-to main skill commands in Vector 2 queues the 
call at a 
hig h priority, whereas only one of the queue-to main skill commands in 
Vector 3 queues the call at this high a priority level. The strategy presented here 
is very valuable in cases where there is a limited number of bilingual agents in 
that such agents would be available to service callers who speak only Spanish 
more quickly.
VDN skills can also be used in 
check-backup skill, messaging skill, and 
converse-on skill commands.  Within any of these commands, a specific skill 
number can be used instead of a VDN skill Preference, provided the relevant skill 
hunt group is correctly administered. For example, Step 5 might have read 
‘‘queue-to main skill 99 pri h.’’ We will discuss this concept further in the Super 
Agent Pool  section.
Procedure Using Call Prompting
The procedure described in the previous section c an b e enhanced b y using Call 
Promp ting. For example, the user can dial a ‘‘general’’ telephone number whose 
VDN points to a Call Prompting vector.
Staying with our auto club example, recall that in Table 10-2 we define ‘‘555-
5555’’ as the ‘‘general’’ telephone numb er for the service.  Recall also that in 
Table 10-5 we identify ‘‘5555’’ as the VDN for this telephone number. Also, we 
indicate that VDN 5555 points to Vector 1.
Here’s an example of how Vector 1 might appear:
Figure 10-6. Call Prompting Vector for the Auto Club
1.  wait-time 0 seconds hearing ringback
2.  collect 1 digits after announcement 5678
    (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.)
3. route-to number 1111 with cov n if digit = 1
(English Emergency Road Service VDN)
4. route-to number 2222 with cov n if digit = 2
(Bilingual Emergency Road Service VDN)
5. route-to number 3333 with cov n if digit = 3
(English Route Planning VDN)
6. route-to number 4444 with cov n if digit = 4
(Bilingual Route Planning VDN)
7. route-to number 2222 with cov n if unconditionally
(Bilingual Emergency Road Service VDN) 
						

							Functions and Examples
Issue  4   September 1995
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Once the caller dials ‘‘555-5555,’’ the call enters the switch and is directed to 
VDN 5555, which points to our Call Prompting vector.  At this point, vector 
processing begins. Ste p 1 provides ringback if the caller has to queue for the 
announcement in Step 2. The 
collect digits command in Step 2 first provides an 
announcement requesting the caller to dial ‘‘1,’’ ‘‘2,’’ ‘‘3,’’ or ‘‘4,’’  depending upon 
the caller need and the caller’s language speaking ability. If the caller dials a 
d i git other than one of the four specified, each of the 
route-to...if d i gits 
commands in Steps 3 through 6 fails, and control is passed to the 
route-to...if 
unconditionally
 command in Step 7, which unconditionally routes the call to VDN 
2222. This VDN is assigned the ‘‘Bilingual Emerg ency Road Service’’ skill and 
points to Vector 2, which is provided in the previous section.
On the other hand, returning to the 
c ollect digits step, let’s assume that the c aller 
dials ‘‘4.’’  In such a case, Steps 3 through 5 fail b e cause the required digit (‘‘1,’’ 
‘‘2,’’ or ‘‘3,’’ respectively) has not b een dialed. Thereafter, control is passed to 
Step 6, where the 
route to...if digit command finds a digit match and 
consequently routes the call to VDN 4444. This VDN is assigned the ‘‘Bilingual 
Route Planning’’ skill and also points to Vector 2, which is provided in the 
previous section.
NOTE:
VDN Override a p plies to the skills assigned to the VDN. See VDN Override 
on p a ge 3-9 for more information.
Super Agent Pool
EAS allows a skill hunt group to function as a super agent pool.  A super agent 
pool is a ‘‘backup’’ group of one or more agents that is able to handle many if not 
all typ es of calls coming into the ap plication. In our auto club examples, Skill 
Hunt Group 99 (Supergroup) serves as a super agent pool. Also, you might recall 
that ‘‘99’’ a ppears as both a VDN skill and an Agent skill. However, a super a gent 
pool can be assigned a skill hunt group number that is not assigned to a VDN 
skill.  This can (and should) be done whenever the a p plication requires four 
levels within the skill table distribution. 
						

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10-16Issue  4   September 1995
To illustrate this, let’s first mo dify and expand on the Auto Club Skill Table (Table 
10-4) presented earlier in this chapter:
Besides a new skill numbering scheme, our mo dified skill table has four levels 
instead of the three levels provided in Table 10-4.  Except for the skill numbering 
scheme, the top two levels (Su pergroup-99 and Emergency Road Service-
Bilingual-88/Route Planning-Bilingual-77) remain unchanged.  However, note that 
the next level has been reorganized into segments to indicate the ability to speak 
English or Spanish. Finally, note that a new level has been a dd e d to denote 
particular types of accents or pronunciation in English and Spanish.
Now, let’s take a look at the following table, which illustrates how some of the 
skills in the preceding table are administered to one relevant VDN (1616):
Table 10-8. Modified Skill Table for the Auto Club
Supergroup-99
Emergency Road Service-
Bilingual-88Route Planning-
Bilingual-77
English-66 Spanish-55 English-44 Spanish-33
Bostonian-11 Castilian-13 Bostonian-15 Castilian-17
New Yorker-12 South American-14 New Yorker-16 South American-18
Table 10-9. Skill Preferences Assignments for VDN 1616
 VDN 1616 - Skill Preferences
1st: 16 Knows about Route Planning, sp eaks English, has New 
Yorker accent
2nd: 44 Knows about Route Planning, speaks English
3rd: 77 Knows about Route Planning, is bilingual 
						

							Functions and Examples
Issue  4   September 1995
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Now we are ready to  consider the following vector, which is a variation of one 
presented earlier in this chapter:
Figure 10-7. Modified Vector to Accommodate a Super Agent 
Pool
Let’s assume an  English-speaking caller needs information on ‘‘Route Planning’’ 
and would like to speak to an agent with a New Yorker accent. In such a case, 
the caller dials the appropriate number (555-1616, for example).  Accordingly, 
the c all enters the switch and is directed to VDN 1616, which points to the vector 
in the previous screen. Once vector processing starts, the 
q ueue-to main skill 
command in Step 1 queues the call to the skill group corresponding to the 1st 
VDN skill (New Yorker-16).  If an agent with skill 16 is available, this agent 
answers the call. If such an agent is not available, the call is eventually queued to 
the skill group corresponding to the 2nd VDN skill (English-44) by the 
q ueue to 
main skill
 command in Ste p 3.  This time, if an agent with skill 44 is available, this 
agent answers the call.  If the call is still not answered, the 
check-backup skill 
command in Step 5 attempts to queue the call according to the  parameter 
indicated (if calls-queued < 3) to the skill group corresponding to the 3rd VDN 
skill (Route Planning-Bilingual-77). If the call is queued, and if an agent with skill 
77 is available, this agent answers the call. If the call is not queued, or if it is 
queued and an agent with skill 77 is not available, the 
check-backup skill 
command in Step 7 is executed.
Before we discuss the execution of Step 7, note that a sp ecific skill hunt group 
number (99) and not a VDN skill Preference designation (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) is 
included within the 
check-backup skill command. Since the skill table for the 
application involves four levels of skills, and since there can be no more than 
three VDN skills, the specific skill group numb er (99) for the super agent pool 
must be included within the queuing c ommand to allow caller a ccess to the pool. 
Whereas a VDN skill is always represented in a vector by the term ‘‘1st,’’ ‘‘2nd,’’ 
or ‘‘3rd,’’ a super agent pool is always represente d by a whole number according 
to the parameters of the relevant switch (see the manual pages for the queuing 
commands in Appendix A).
Returning to the vector execution, the 
check-backup skill command in Step 7 
attempts to queue the call according to the parameter indicated (if available-
1. queue-to main skill 1st pri m
2. announcement 4555
3. queue-to main skill 2nd pri l
4. wait-time 10 seconds hearing music
5. check-backup skill 3rd pri l if calls-queued < 3
6. announcement 4666
7. check-backup skill 99 pri l if available-agents > 0 
						

							Expert Agent Selection
10-18Issue  4   September 1995
agents > 0) to the super agent pool (Supergroup-99). If the call is queued, and if 
an agent in the super agent pool is available, this agent answers the call.
NOTE:
If the call has already  queued to all three VDN skill hunt group preferences, 
it will not queue to the specific skill hunt group.  This reflects the restriction 
that a call can only queue to a maximum of three sp lits or skills. The best 
approach is to test the splits/skills first to d etermine where to q ueue the call. 
Also, see Expected Wait Time (EWT) on page 6-2.
Routing the Call to an Agent
With EAS optioned, an agent b ecomes associated at login with one or more skill 
hunt groups. A single set of work mo de buttons a p plies to all the skills assigned 
to a logged-in agent (for example, if the agent selects ‘‘Aux Work,’’ the agent is in 
Aux Work for all the skills associated with the agent). Therefore, logg e d-in a gents 
need only a single set of work-mode buttons for all relevant skill hunt groups.
Calls may be route d to the a gent from a skill hunt group, by dialing an Agent 
Login ID, or by dialing an agent voice terminal extension directly.  The following 
sections discuss these procedures.
Delivery from a Skill Hunt Group
An incoming call is matched to an agent who has at least one of the three skills 
required to handle the call.  This matching is done via ACD queuing and via 
queue-to main skill, check- backup skill, messaging skill, or converse-on skill 
commands in the vector. If more than one agent is available for a call, the call is 
delivered according to whether EAD or UCD is administered for the skill hunt 
group.
For any one login session, an agent can have a maximum of four skills. Each 
agent skill is administered as either a primary skill or a secondary skill.  The ACD 
software distributes any call that is waiting for one of the agent’s primary skills 
whenever the agent becomes available.  If no calls are waiting for a primary skill, 
the queued calls for the secondary skills are distributed to the agent.
Once an agent becomes available, he or she receives a waiting call in the 
following order:
1. Oldest Direct Agent call waiting for the agent
2. Oldest call waiting at the highest priority for all primary skills
3. Oldest call waiting at the highest priority for all secondary skills
For example, let’s assume that Jill is the only agent with skills 22P, 13P, and 47S.  
Let’s also assume that, while Jill is in AUX work mode, five calls are queued, as  
						

							Functions and Examples
Issue  4   September 1995
10-19
illustrated in the following table (which also provides the skill and priority level 
associated with each call):
Given this scenario, the following table indicates and explains the ord er in which 
Jill would handle the five calls:
If no c alls are waiting when an a gent becomes available, the agent is placed into 
the agent queue according to the call distribution method in effect. For UCD, the 
agent is placed at the bottom of the most-idle agent queue.  For EAD, the agent 
is placed at the bottom of either the primary agents in queue or secondary 
agents in queue, depending on the agent’s skill type.
Table 10-10. Example of Skill Call Queue Sequence
Call Time Queued Skill No. Priority Level
A 8:00 13 Me dium
B8:01 47 Top
C 8:02 22 Direct Agent
D8:03 22 Top
E 8:04 22 Me dium
Table 10-11. Example of Skill Call Distribution for a Single Agent
Call Handled Reason
C Only Direct Agent call queued.
D Oldest call waiting at the highest priority for all primary skills 
(Call B has the same priority level (Top), but it is assigned a 
secondary skill (47) and not a primary skill. Also, Call E has 
the same skill (22), but it has a lower priority level (Medium) 
and has not been waiting as long as Call D).
A Oldest call waiting at the highest priority level for all primary 
skills (Call E also has a primary skill (22) and the same 
p riority level as Call A, but Call A has b een waiting four 
minutes longer than Call E).
E Only remaining call with a primary skill (22) (Call  B has a 
secondary skill (47)).
B Last remaining call, and the only one that has a secondary 
skill (47). 
						

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10-20Issue  4   September 1995
The following table illustrates a call scenario that is valid for either UCD or EAD:
Table 10-12. Example of UCD/EAD Call Scenario
Time Event Skills
9:00 Jill logs in 22P, 13P, 47S
9:01 Jill available 22P, 13P, 47S
9:02 Jack logs in 22P, 47P
9:03 Jack available 22P, 47P
9:04 Call A arrives 47
9:05 Call A drop s 47
9:06 Call B arrives 13
9:07 Call B drop s 13
9:08 Call C arrives 22